The so-called 'experts' have no idea, do they?

MillicentBystander

Reading this article by Christine Toner of Moneywise regarding the huge Winter fuel bills that are expected and at the end she gives a few energy saving tips to help save money:

2. Replace your boiler – old boilers do not run as efficiently as they could. If your boiler is more than 10 years old it is unlikely to be working efficiently. Modern condensing boilers are much more cost efficient than the older conventional boilers.

http://www.moneywise.co.uk/news-views/2010/12/15/consumers-face-record-winter-fuel-bills

What ridiculous advice! Shakes head in disbelief.

backfoot

I know nothing about this but have an old boiler.

Can you explain the pros and cons ,please?

Pincher

Up to 15th December, when Warmfront could have put in a condensing boiler for free, so it was a viable option, especially for poor people.

Or are you saying poor people are people who can't afford gas in the first place?

MillicentBystander

backfoot wrote: »

I know nothing about this but have an old boiler.

Can you explain the pros and cons ,please?

It's all to do with money saving, backfoot. My boiler is 20 years old, we have it seviced annually and, so far, touch wood, nothing has gone wrong with it (old boilers are far more reliable than the new, sophisticated boilers, btw). I reckon our boiler is running at 80% efficiency compared to a new one. Our annual gas bill amounts to approx. £450. A new boiler running at maybe 95% efficiency would therfore, theoretically, save us maybe £70-£80 per annum. Yay!! wait a minute - how much to replace a working boiler? £2,000+? That would mean the new boiler would 'pay' for itself in 25 years! that's if it lasted that long (the new ones simply don't). That's why it is stupid advice to replace a working boiler in the vast majority of cases.

MillicentBystander

Pincher wrote: »

Up to 15th December, when Warmfront could have put in a condensing boiler for free, so it was a viable option, especially for poor people.

Or are you saying poor people are people who can't afford gas in the first place?

The article was published on 15th December. And they are rarely free, anyway, on account of using ridiculously expensive installation companies.

edit: not forgetting the fact that warm front (when they had the cash) wouldn't replace a working boiler, anyway.

TwittersPVFC

I'd agree with the OP. My gas bill is £500 so I very much doubt I would see any savings during my stay in our house. The only benefit I'd have is if it increased the price of the house when we come to sell up.

If you can get grants then it is good advice, but for those who can't it's awful advice.

penrhyn

My boiler is 12 years old, the British Gas engineer came to check it over the other day, his advise was as they could still get parts for it and it is a reliable one and to stick with it.
My annual gas bill is around say £500, so if a new boiler is 20% more efficient then i'd save around £100 /year, balance that against the £2-£3K it would cost to have a new one installed.

Cardew

The point made by the OP is absolutely correct and covered many times. See:

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/2686691

With old boilers(mine is 22 years old) there is nothing to adjust that affects its efficiency - 'servicing' is simply a matter of cleaning and visual inspection.

In any case the theoretical 90%+ efficiency of modern condensing boilers is apparently rarely achieved in practice according to the experts.

backfoot

Excellent thanks guys.:j

davidgmmafan

I know what you mean, you'd save arguably on your bill but you'd be out the money for the new boiler. Its a bit like saying its ALWAYS more efficient to have a new car, the engines probably do get more efficient over time but same thing you'd have to factor in the cost of the new vehicle.

cing0

Whatever savings you make on gas with an energy efficient boiler, you have to factor in
cost of service/maintenance cover each year which could be £120+ per year.