MSE News: Government boiler scrappage scheme launches today

amboy

richardc1983 wrote: »

Ah rite ok... well they have a good working baxi bermuda back boiler.

YOu can also be eligible to have another back boiler fitted if its to replace one, provided you can get a few points, full details here:

http://www.baxi.co.uk/docs/Baxi_Bermuda_Guide.pdf

Dont quite understand this points system, is it to check eligibility for a free replacement fire design?

How does this impact on making the whole system energy efficient, as i am torn between replacing the reliable back boiler.

richardc1983

Basically this is to do only with back boilers and is nothing to do with the government scheme.

I was just putting it there as some people believe you cant replace a back boiler with a new back boiler but you can under circumstances such as not able to put in another room etc etc.

Dont bother replacing ur back boiler, what you will save on gas u will fork out on a new boiler in 5 yrs time and many repairs lol!

luxor4t

This scheme only applies in England.
Perhaps the thread title needs changing as it implies a national scheme when in fact Scottish, Irish & Welsh MSE-ers are exempt until such time as Edinburgh, Belfast & Cardiff create similar schemes.

AbbieCadabra

we've got a 15'ish year old glow worm, heat only system that's working ok but does need a system flush & service sometime soon.

we've got a power shower so a combi isn't an option for replacement. looking online at Which?, seems a condensing heat only boiler would suit us - £800 for the boiler & another £500-£700 for fitting.

i'm wondering if it's just worth getting the current system serviced/flushed instead of going for new? our combined elec/gas is £1177 per year with NPower on a 3 bed detached so i'm not sure what sort of savings we could expect?

decisions, decisions?!

edgex

of course, theres other things that should be done before speccing a new boiler/heating system:

insulate & double-glaze the property


by doing that, you benefit straight away, & will continue to benefit if you do replace the boiler

richardc1983

Ur gas and elec seems reasonable.

Ur gonna have to replace a new boiler in 5 yrs time whereas u could have ur backboiler working another 15-20yrs so think wisely before ripping it out!

As andy says above he had a backboiler and wishes he had kept it for all he spent on the "saving of gas" getting it fixed!

When you say power shower where does it get the hot water from?

cdbe

If you are lucky enough to still have a simple reliable heavy weight boiler you should think about holding onto it. They are nowhere near as efficient as modern boilers but can last literally for ever with minimal maintenance - from a money saving perspective the savings in gas will be unlikely to recoup the initial outlay (and a premium installer such as BG could charge you £4,000+ for a boiler, power flush, new gas pipe and whatever other "essential" works they decide you need). Plus modern boilers are less reliable, have a shorter lifespan (maybe as little as 10 years) and need more maintenance - you will be pressurised (and probably not a bad idea) to take out insurance to cover repairs, another hidden cost. The practice of replacing convential boiler/hot water cylinder systems with combi's means if your combi packs up you have no hot water and no immersion heater as a backup. From an environmental perspective keeping your old boiler may remove the need for thousands of BG engineers and their vans, factories churning out plastic boilers and fat cats flying the world and driving around in jags on the profits from overpriced boiler installs. Far better to insulate your house as much as possible and try and improve the controls/timer etc on your existing system to minimise usage and waste.

Finally, there is a finite amout of gas and oil left - it will be used till it is gone, no-one is just going to leave it in the ground because it is bad for the environment! It will produce the same amount of CO2 whether it lasts 75 years or a 100. And in 50 years we will be using nuclear, solar or magic pills that you add to water and oil and gas will be consigned to history like coal.

br1anstorm

luxor4t wrote: »

This scheme only applies in England.
Perhaps the thread title needs changing as it implies a national scheme when in fact Scottish, Irish & Welsh MSE-ers are exempt until such time as Edinburgh, Belfast & Cardiff create similar schemes.

Can anyone explain why this scheme only applies to people in England? Is this a genuine economic and green initiative, or a cynical ploy by the (UK) Labour government in a pre-election period?

Taxation, benefits and other subsidies are administered nationally across the UK. When the UK government (in London) introduced the car scrappage scheme, it applied to the whole of the UK. And the utility companies - one or two of which are now adding their own additional rebates, just like the car dealers - operate on a national basis and do not discriminate regionally in who they supply and how.

And if the rationale for the scheme is (a) to give a stimulus to boiler-manufacturers as a boost in recessionary times, and (b) to promote energy efficiency as a green gesture, then arguably the need, and the justification, is greatest in those areas of the country which are usually colder for longer. The further north, the higher the energy usage and the greater the gain from improvements in efficiency.

It so happens I live in Scotland. But these are rational points on the policy, not special pleading.

Dave_save

As far as I can make out the Scottish Government has it's own allocation of funds for energy saving initiatives. It's up to the Scottish Ministers to decide how to spend it.

AbbieCadabra

richardc1983 wrote: »

Ur gas and elec seems reasonable.

Ur gonna have to replace a new boiler in 5 yrs time whereas u could have ur backboiler working another 15-20yrs so think wisely before ripping it out!

As andy says above he had a backboiler and wishes he had kept it for all he spent on the "saving of gas" getting it fixed!

When you say power shower where does it get the hot water from?

from the water that's been heated & stored in the immersion (?) tank i presume, it's not an electric shower.

i think we're about as insulated as you can get - loft all done, cavity wall insulation, double glazed.

i need to do a bit more research & ask a few friends who are in the trade, but i think i'm already coming to the conclusion that keeping our trusty 'old' boiler (glow worm fuel saver mk II) might be the way to go...

thanks for the input