Jargon Busting

The advent of modern technology has many of benefits, but one of the drawbacks is the rise and rise of jargon, which can be quite daunting. We hope that the following glossary will help you to navigate through the maze of jargon, so that you are able to understand technical issues and make informed choices.

Each entry in this glossary is assigned to a context, such as gas, electrical or heating - or any appropriate combination. It is possible to shorten the list by selected one of these contexts. If you wish to choose one particular context, select the appropriate context from the drop down list below and then press 'go'.

Term	Context	Definition
Air Brick	Gas Heating	Perforated brick used for ventilation to floors and roof spaces.
Balanced flue	Gas Heating	Metal device which allows air to be drawn to an appliance whilst also allowing fumes to escape. A flue system included in the boiler which can discharge flue gases at low level, vertically or horizontally.
Combination Boiler	Gas Heating	A central heating boiler which has an integral hot water tan A boiler provides an instant domestic hot water supply as well as space heating.
Condensing Boiler	Gas Heating	A boiler that recovers the heat from the steam that forms part of the flue gases.
Cylinder Thermostat	Gas Heating Plumbing	A switching device fitted to the domestic hot water cylinder which controls the temperature of stored water. This should not be higher than 60 degrees centigrade.
Flue Lining	Gas Heating	Metal (usually stainless steel) tube within a flue essential for high output gas appliances such as boilers. May also be manufactured from clay and built into the flue. Metal (usually stainless steel) tube within a flue - essential for high output gas appliances.
Flue	Gas Heating	A smoke duct in a chimney, or a proprietary pipe serving a heat-producing appliance such as a central heating boiler. A smoke duct in a chimney, or a pipe for a heat-producing appliance eg a central heating boiler.
LPG	Gas Heating	Liquid Petroleum Gas or Propane for gas appliances in areas without mains gas.
Motorised Valve	Gas Heating	An electrically powered valve for the control of water flow through pipes, it can be operated by a time switch or thermostat.
Open Flue	Gas Heating	A chimney taking flue gases from an appliance which terminates in the open air, usually above roof level. Masonry chimneys must always be fitted with a flexible flue liner to prevent the gases coming into contact with the chimney itself. The liner needs to be replaced each time a boiler is fitted. An appliance connected to an open flue must be provided with a combustion air supply directly from the outside.
Pressure Jet Boiler	Gas Heating	A burner used on all boilers and a number of cookers which includes the pump to force the oil through a nozzle and burns the resulting spray.
Programmer	Heating	A time activated switching device used to regulate the times when space and water heating services will be operated by the boiler. A single channel programmer uses one set of times to operate both services. For space and water heating control it is better to use a two channel programmer which enables services to be operated independently to each other.
Regular Boiler	Heating	boiler that can heat domestic hot water through a storage cylinder.
Room Thermostat	Heating	A device which switches heating control equipment on and off according to the temperature which has been set into it by the user.
Sealed System	Heating	A Central Heating System where the
Thermostatic Radiator Valves	Heating	Non electric valves which regulate water flow through a radiator in accordance with the amount of heat required to maintain a pre set temperature in a room.
Vapourising Boiler	Gas Heating	A type of burner often used in cookers and roomheaters which burns the oil by heating it so that vapour is given off to maintain the flame.