What is a boiler flue?

vertical boiler flue
Definition: A boiler flue is a component which enables gas to escape safely from boiler. In most cases, this is a pipe or a duct, which is fitted to the boiler to carry exhaust gases away from your home safely.

The aim is to remove waste products without exposing you or anyone around you to them. The duct is attached to the boiler unit, and it travels to the outside of the building, providing a secure passageway.

Without a boiler flue, there would be a risk of exhaust gases permeating the air in your home, which is definitely not advisable. Every new boiler installation requires a new boiler flue as per regulations.

As you can probably gather from this brief description, boiler flues play a very important role, and this is why it’s always advisable to seek expert help if you think you might have a problem with your boiler flue. We recommend the same if you’ve moved home, as you won’t know what kind of condition the boiler flue is in.

Unless we reach a point where incredibly intelligent scientists develop fuels that produce gases that are completely clean and harmless, we will continue to rely on boiler flues to protect us from potentially harmful emissions.

Why is a boiler flue important?
Without a boiler flue, there’s every chance that you could be exposed to harmful gases. There’s also the environmental impact to consider.

When fitting boiler flues, there are strict criteria in place to ensure that combustion fumes and hazardous gases are released into the atmosphere safely.

Does everybody have a boiler flue?
If you’ve got a boiler at home, it’s highly likely that you’ve also got a boiler flue.

Boiler flues are fitted when using combi, regular, and system boilers. The only exception that may apply to a small number of homeowners is a back boiler.

This is a type of boiler that is fitted behind a fireplace. If you have a gas boiler behind your fire, the emissions will exit through your chimney, rather than via a boiler flue.

It is worth noting that back boilers are a dying breed because they are much less efficient than combi and regular boilers.

If you do have a back boiler at home, or you’re considering purchasing a property, which has this type of boiler installed, it’s worth exploring other options and thinking about updating your system.