Thouhgts on a new boiler - Combi?

martinthebandit

Have you considered having one, or both showers electric? Then you would not need any hot water storage arrangement.

Wywth

ahar wrote: »

Yes, it would seem so. Can everyone just pretend my boiler is broken and can't be fixed when replying?

I think, in fact I know, we are getting into the realms of fantasy now

ahar_2

martinthebandit wrote: »

Have you considered having one, or both showers electric? Then you would not need any hot water storage arrangement.

Are electric showers any good? My ones I've seen aren't very powerful

yangptangkipperbang

Wywth wrote: »

I think, in fact I know, we are getting into the realms of fantasy now

"You can take a horse to water but you can't make it drink " ;);)

martinthebandit

ahar wrote: »

Are electric showers any good? My ones I've seen aren't very powerful

We have a Mira sport and are very happy with it.

ahar_2

martinthebandit wrote: »

We have a Mira sport and are very happy with it.

Cheers - will take a look

Cardew

ahar wrote: »

Are electric showers any good? My ones I've seen aren't very powerful

Firstly I also agree with the above - don't replace a working boiler.

Regarding electric showers, it depends largely on the power rating of the shower and the temperature of the incoming cold water.

Electric showers range from 6.5kW to 10.5kW. However the wiring from the consumer unit (particularly for the 10.5kW) can be very expensive, as can the plumbing.

victor2

Another vote for Mira showers. We have a 9KW Mira Sport Max with "airboost" and are very pleased with it. The airboost essentially pumps a little air into the water flow, making it pulsate. You don't get any extra water, but it feels like a stronger shower! You do get less flow through an electric shower in the winter as heating colder water is achieved by restricting the flow. However, it worked well through the winter.
It's not the cheapest around, but well worth it. As Cardew says though, installation can be expensive if you don't already have the power and plumbing for one.

blogger57

A few points to consider

Instantaneous Electric showers
Depending on kW power, an electric shower can produce around 4-5 litres of water/minute in the winter (more in the summer as the incoming water temperature is higher). Some people think this fine and it is certainly much better than a dribble. Personally I prefer a high pressure mixer shower which can deliver 9-10 litres per minute.

The higher rated 10.5kW electric showers take around 45 Amps. Older houses used to have a 60 Amp mains supply and newer ones tend to have 100 Amp supply. So before investing in an electric shower (or two as someone suggested) you need to find out what the total power supply to your bungalow is. Putting the electric shower and the cooker on at the same time could cause you problems.

New Boiler
A new 'A' rated condensing boiler is rated at being 90% efficient. Depending on the age and condition of your old boiler it could be 50-70% efficient. So it is perfectly reasonable to assume that if you were spending £1200 year on fuel that you could save £300 year on reduced fuel usage. Whilst this may not pay for all your spend, depending on your circumstances you may get a payback.

If you are doing this then make sure the rads are flushed and put a magnetic filtration system on the radiator circuit to avoid the sludge problem in the future. Also I would suggest TRVs on the radiators (except for one) to get the heat where you need it.

If you are experiencing problems which lead to costly heating engineer callouts be aware that most modern boilers come with at least a 5-year warranty.

Hot water cylinder replacement
If I were replacing a hot water cylinder now (for a high presure system rather than an unvented system as you currently have) then I would certainly go for a twin coil cylinder to give the option of using other forms of energy to heat the water in the future i.e. biomass or solar water heating.

Investing in solar water heating does not have a great return currently but there is a £600 grant for those putting it in. Also the government is due to announce the details of the Renewal Heat Initiative during the Summer which is likely to give payments per kW of energy generated by solar water heating panels. This will change the attractiveness of this investment.

Hope this helps. Good luck with your project.

macman

If you are putting in an ensuite soon, why would you even consider a combi? No combi can supply 2 bathrooms simultaneously.