While there's no doubt we need to reduce our reliance on fossil fuels, they are still an important part of the energy requirements in New Zealand. Light oil (diesel and kerosene) are fundamental to our transport network and for heating residentially and commercially. The availability, ease of transport and storage, especially in the outer regions are major factors in its viability.
Premium comfort from underfloor and convector radiator warm water central heating systems is growing in demand from rest homes, hospitals, and schools. The backbone of these systems is the diesel boiler, predominantly in areas where there is no reticulated gas or difficult access for large electricity supply.
Modern diesel central heating boilers are nearly three times more efficient than the best diesel engine car, this is in terms of getting the most from a litre of fuel and in combustion gas emission.
The new Blue Flame Burner technology in Firebird Boilers combined with low flow temperature condensing heat exchangers enables efficiencies of between 92 and 95%. With no odour or smoke and virtually silent in operation, they are squeezing the most out of a finite resource.
The current price of diesel enables running costs lower than natural gas and electric heat pumps, and the capital cost is less than a third of the equivalent capacity cost of refrigeration technology.
For light to medium commercial or industrial applications, cascading boilers enable efficient load matching and failsafe backup. The KaikÅura Hospital is one example of a cascade Firebird diesel boiler setup used for heating both the space and domestic hot water for the hospital.
Firebird Commercial Boilers range from 44kW to 100kW and have a 5-year warranty on the heat exchanger.
