What is a Warm Air Heating System and What Are Your Options When You Need To Replace One?

As the owner of a warm air system, you are a member of a club that has been around for over two millennia. The earliest reference to the ancient 'hypocaust' (from the Greek hupó meaning 'under' and kaustós meaning 'burnt') underfloor warm air system dates to the Temple of Ephesus in Greece around 350 BC. The Romans, true to form, claimed the invention for themselves, with Vitruvius, the Roman engineer and architect, attributing its invention to one Sergius Orata around 80 BC. Its widespread use across the Roman Empire in public hot baths and other public buildings, and in the homes of the wealthier merchant class means that it can justifiably be described as the world's first central heating system technology - the distant progenitor of all modern central heating systems.

In 1805, Englishmen William Strutt and Charles Sylvester pioneered a warm-air furnace that heated cold air, which then travelled through a series of ducts into the rooms. The first notable installation was at the Derby Infirmary in 1819. Details of which can be found in Sylvester's 'The Philosophy of Domestic Economy: As Exemplified in the Mode of Warming, Ventilating' (1819). Sylvester later installed similar systems in a wide range of buildings. Jump forward 150 plus years and we find in the Britain of the 1960s, 70s and 80s, a great many new homes equipped with a warm air central heating system as standard - with a gas-fired heating unit distributing heating to each room through a built-in network of ducting. The vast majority of these systems were made and supplied by Johnson & Starley of Northampton, who remain by far the dominant supplier of warm air solutions in the UK.

Today, many warm air systems of this era have been replaced with 'hydronic' heating systems better known as 'wet radiator' systems -such as a combi boiler and radiators. However, warm air heating remains widespread and has a very loyal and enthusiastic following.

But what happens when your beloved old warm air system becomes obsolete and new parts that are needed to keep it chugging along are no longer available?

Well, you basically have three options:

Have your old warm air heater replaced with a modern-day equivalent such as the Johnson & Starley WarmCair system.
Have the entire warm air system stripped out (with the ducting outlets in each room sealed off) and replaced with a 'wet radiator' system, with both heating and hot water delivered by, for instance, a combi boiler.
'Go hybrid' and replace the warm air 'heater' with a combi boiler interfaced to an Aquair Heat Interface Unit.

The first option would seem the obvious choice. However, it is expensive and the annual servicing of the system will still have to be carried out by a Gas Safe qualified engineer with the requisite warm air certification. Nowadays, such engineers are relatively thin on the ground, so you will have to hunt around to find one. The annual service is expensive too, approximately twice the cost of the annual service of a wet radiator boiler.

The second option, is again an obvious choice. However, you will need to brace yourself for the disruption resulting from the installation of pipes and radiators. And if space in your home is at a premium, you may lose some due to the physical presence of radiators.

The third option, which can be described as a 'hybrid' solution, is without doubt worth considering. It enables you to keep all the advantages of your warm air system, avoid installing radiators and pipes, and get the full performance flexibility of a modern boiler (which can be a regular boiler, system or combi). The Aquair is a compact white box, the size of which ranges (depending on the kW output) from 76.6 cm x 30 cm x 54.9 cm up to 104.5 cm x 71 cm x 73.3 cm - so it is very space friendly. The way it works is beautifully simple; the boiler delivers on-demand hot water to the kitchen/bathroom taps and showers and also to the Aquair. The boiler supplied hot water flows through a heat exchanger within the Aquair, which then uses a fan to blow air over the heat exchanger, warming the air and then circulating it through your existing ducting. Plus you will find it much easier and cheaper to arrange the annual service, because any Gas Safe qualified engineer can service the boiler and Aquair.

In deciding which option best suits your home and heating needs, it is always advisable to consult a firm that are expert in both warm air and wet radiator boiler systems. One such firm is UK Boiler Care, better known as UKBC. UKBC provides free-of-charge on-site consultative surveys, during which one of their warm air qualified gas engineers will visit your home and advise on the best option. They will also use UKBC's on-site quotation tool to immediately generate a quotation for your chosen option. Their expertise and efficiency will save you both time and money.

UKBC can be contacted on 0800 43 46 494 or via their website at www.ukboilercare.co.uk.

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