Boiler

PurpleSkies

I've just moved into a new flat and when I went to view it the guy told me it had a combi boiler. Not knowing anything about boilers myself I just took him at his word so when I moved in and found I didn't have running hot water I thought this was a bit strange.
My dad was there to help me move in and when he checked it out he told me that it was actually a conventional boiler and that I had to heat my water through the storage tank, which the guy from the agency neglected to mention.
I'm sorry if this is a bit ranty but I'm really annoyed, not only that the agency lied to me about the boiler, but also due to the fact that conventional boilers are less efficient and cost effective.
I've never had anything other than a combi boiler before so I'm a bit worried about how much more this will add to my fuel bills (nothing too substantial I hope!) as I was looking to keep my bills as low as possible.

Is there anything that I can do about this?

thriftyamy

I don't think you can do much unless you have something in writing, have you spoken to them?

I don't know about the differences between boilers but I don't think mine's a 'combi' I don't have constant hot water, it has to be heated as I need it so I run a program so that it comes on before I get up and before I need to wash up a tea time, the routine works OK for me and I think my fuel bills are fairly low?

olly300

No there isn't you are stuck there until your AST contract expires.

As thriftyamy says you will soon learn how much hot water you need.

poppysarah

Did you get an EPC?

PurpleSkies

I asked them for an EPC before I moved in but they said it hadn't come through yet. I'm still waiting actually, that's been over a month now.

poppysarah

What are the penalties for failing to supply an EPC?
A penalty charge notice may be issued containing a charge of £200.00. [r43(1)(a)(i)]. This is not a daily charge, however there appears no reason why an enforcement officer could not issue a penalty charge notice each day until an EPC has been obtained.



http://www.epc4landlords.net/?q=node/2



Who are the enforcing authority?
Every local weights and measures authority is an enforcement authority for the purposes of this Part.

Spirit666

Hello there.

I am a heating engineer and I hope this information is abit of a help. The difference with a combi and a system boiler is this. Combi has instant hot water therefore you are only heating up water as you use it. System boiler (which I believe you have) has to store hot water in a cylinder, which is fed from tanks normally in a loft space.

Dont be fooled that a combi is more efficient to run than a system boiler because this is not always the case. The only way of telling would be to look up the manufacturers information on the appliance or have a heating engineer to have a look at it for you. If there is any problems with the appliance or you are not happy with it the previous owner has the responseability to fix this for you normally within the first 7 days of you moving. Sometimes this can be extended.

I hope this has helped if you want to know more just give me a shout. :T:T:T

BitterAndTwisted

I have the same kind of water-heating arrangement as the OP. I found, as I live alone, that setting the hot-water timer for 20 minutes in the morning gave enough piping-hot water for a nice, deep bath every day and ten minutes in the evening was adequate for washing dishes and whatnot later. My quarterly gas bill for the summer months when I wasn't using any heating whatsoever was £50 so that works out at just over 50 pence a day.

carefullycautious

I moved from a house with hot water tank to flat with combi boiler and my heating bills are dearer than the house.

PurpleSkies

poppysarah wrote: »

What are the penalties for failing to supply an EPC?
A penalty charge notice may be issued containing a charge of £200.00. [r43(1)(a)(i)]. This is not a daily charge, however there appears no reason why an enforcement officer could not issue a penalty charge notice each day until an EPC has been obtained.



http://www.epc4landlords.net/?q=node/2



Who are the enforcing authority?
Every local weights and measures authority is an enforcement authority for the purposes of this Part.

Thanks for this but the website says it only applies for England and Wales. Does the same penalty apply in Scotland?

Also now that I'm actually living in the flat is it still worth me chasing up the EPC?

PurpleSkies

Spirit666 wrote: »

Hello there.

I am a heating engineer and I hope this information is abit of a help. The difference with a combi and a system boiler is this. Combi has instant hot water therefore you are only heating up water as you use it. System boiler (which I believe you have) has to store hot water in a cylinder, which is fed from tanks normally in a loft space.

Dont be fooled that a combi is more efficient to run than a system boiler because this is not always the case. The only way of telling would be to look up the manufacturers information on the appliance or have a heating engineer to have a look at it for you. If there is any problems with the appliance or you are not happy with it the previous owner has the responseability to fix this for you normally within the first 7 days of you moving. Sometimes this can be extended.

I hope this has helped if you want to know more just give me a shout. :T:T:T

Thanks for the info.
Yes, I have the tank. I don't have any information about the boiler, there was no manual or anything when I moved in so I've had to use a bit of guess work to get it working!
I did have a problem with low pressue so when I called up the agency to get that sorted I found out that my landlord has boiler cover with Scottish Gas. This meant that I got my pressure problem sorted out very quickly and the guy even gave me a crash course in how to work the boiler properly! This also means that if I have any more problems with the boiler I can call Scottish Gas directly and they'll come and fix it for me asap. So at least that's one good thing about it!