Should I fork out to cut costs (new radiators and pipe work)?

maf20

Good morning, all.

Our gas bill, like many other people's, is not what we'd like. I'm not saying that we do everything we possibly can to keep it low, but we do try and keep it as low as we can. The only thing we can think left to try and reduce costs is to look at the system. We have a newish condensor boiler, but really old radiators and pipe work, with no thermostatic valves. None of the rads have convectors, the pipe work is micro bore, many of them are single panel, and there's no reflective material behind the rads, either.

My question is, will putting in new, more modern rads and pipe work cut out bills significantly? I was surprised to see a guide price of around £900 for 8 new rads and pipe work. Thought it would be a lot more than that.

Cheers

HappyMJ

No it will not cut your bills significantly. The heat still goes somewhere and unless these pipes are outside then the heat lost from the pipes still goes into the house just in a different part of it. I don't know what you would save exactly but it won't be much and I don't think it will be enough to cover the interest lost on the £900. So I'd keep the £900 in a savings account and use the interest you get on the £900 to pay the gas bill.

macman

TRV's alone would be a cheaper option, to give you far more control.

ic

As above, if the gas is being used, the heat from it is going somewhere. By renewing and upsizing the radiators you'll probably find rooms will heat faster, but not much else. TRVs and a programmable thermostat will help you to better control the system. Is your house fully insulated? Have you cut down on draughts (have a feel around the edges of the floors at the skirting boards - there might be draughts you didn't know about!).

maf20

Thanks for the replies.

We've been told we can't fit TRVs as the pipes are micro bore and too old and fragile to take them. We have wall insulation, up to date loft insulation, and a wireless thermostat. Although, the wireless thermostat is quite basic and doesn't allow us to do anything else other than set the temp. The controls on the boiler are only 24h. I'm looking at a new programmer at the moment. I had a look on the EST website but they recommend so many!

I think we can do more on the drafts side of things, and I'm going to take a look at this at the weekend. Is there any scientific way of detecting drafts? Or is it the good old fashioned way of bend down and feel?!?! When detecting them, is it a simple case of sealant?

Heather_E

I have had a similar problem with my living room simply not getting warm enough, the radiator fitted is just not big enough to do the job, upstairs I have too much heat! We are on oil which costs about £800 per tank per year. Definitely need thick curtains in this old house, floor to ceiling are best!
The TRVs are excellent for turning some radiators down or off when rooms not in use.
In the end I turned the radiator off in the living room and bought an electric infrared heating panel which just screw fixes into the ceiling and plugs in, I have it on a basic programmer. This has kept us perfectly warm enough over the past two winters and as it only uses 850watts I havent really noticed any differencce on my electric bill. But it has resolved the problem and quite cheaply too!

maf20

Good feedback.

Does anyone know if there are systems out there which run using manifolds? By that I mean systems which are able to direct heat to different radiators and at different times? For example, kids' bedrooms at different times to parents' bedrooms and/or heating which can heat downstairs and not upstairs, and vice-versa.

Cheers

Pincher

The typical under floor heating system works off a manifold like you describe. Each room has a thermostat, which controls the flow at the manifold.

Any variation on this theme is up to you.