Hot-Water Boiler Market?

I am somewhat astonished at the numerous ads and sales pitches by manufacturers of new boilers - and the number of different manufacturers that are still competing. I'm happy with my old hot-water heat, don't get me wrong. But around here, the percentage of new homes with hot-water heat is zero. It's all forced warm air, sharing a duct with central air conditioning.

Of course, there is the relatively large boiler replacement market, but even that must not be growing or is even shrinking - particularly since a decent boiler's expected lifetime is 30-50 years.

What am I missing?

 

One of the things on my check list when purchasing our first home was HWB heat. I wouldn't even consider a home with FHA. I find it extremely uncomfortable. Sure it's easy to incorporate into new homes especially knowing central air is such a common requirement now. For a builder, it's a win win.

 

Tom, I like the way you think - but I think we're in the minority. And, buying an existing house with hot-water heat doesn't really increase the market for residential boilers.

 

In reality the issue is lack of skilled installers..

I installed boilers as a kid and HVAC was rare. Now all the developments are all HVAC. If you want a boiler its big $$$ as an option. ( If one is even offered. And since its not many times you need to hire your own contractor.)

people are not going for that and do not know the benifits of hydronic heat...

I myself would never own a home with forced air heat...

Looks at the contractor vans and trucks on the road today and how many do you see that say plumbing and heating??? Its a rarity.. Those are the boiler installers...

Now the HVAC guys do it... Not sure how the license works with that though and none of them often have a plumbing licence...

Just my take on it...

 

I'm just a Real Estate Broker; but I can say that there seems to be a growing number of people with children having asthma, or family members with other lung conditions, and who insist on NOT even considering homes with forced hot air heat because of the particulate matter that might be present inside the living quarters.

One of my neighbors is a logger, and has access to an unlimited amount of timber, but because his children have asthma, he had to install an outside boiler to supply heat for the interior baseboard heat distribution system in his home.

This may not be quite what you were looking for . . . . but it's related (I think).

 

In my neck of the woods, God sits on the right hand of the plumbers. Nearly every plumbing truck you see, except for some of the franchises, have plumbing, heating, & air conditioning on them. If they are a licensed plumber, all they have to do is get their CFC card & rock on. Most don't know one end of a boiler from the other but that's ok. They is plumbers. A classic case of the fox watching the hen house.