What actually happened when my boiler went

b1ackcr0w

Hopefully this tread will actually help!

My Situation: Me & Mrs Cr0w have a 1 bed first floor flat on a mortguage in Weston Super Mare. We both work, and have a combined income of 39k, I have been unemployed for most of the last 2 years so we're not in the poor house, but not flush with cash either. Our boiler went last night so we've no heating or hot water.

The flat was built in 1995, and the boiler was the one installed at build. The boiler has conked out a few times, and we've had it repaired. But this time, the boiler is making some very nasty sounding noises and we wouldn't trust it, even if we could get it repaired.

I have a 9-5 job working Tech support at a Legal firm. So when I couldn't get a shower this morning, I phoned it in because it wasn't really fair to the Mrs to just leave her to start dealing with it. (And i didn't want to mr.stinky in the office!)

So, in the first few hours, how far have I got?

I've called the energy saving trust. They have suggested the Green Energy Bill to me. As I understand it, you pay £50 to £80 to get a survey done of what would be the best ways to improve energy efficiency in your house. If you could be making significant savings, they can tell your energy provider to fund the improvements by offsetting the cost against the savings on your bill. Then over a period of years, the new more efficient boiler pays for itself.

Sidenote: This is the first bit I thought was weird. Apparently, your gas bill obviously goes down because you're using less gas, but your electricity bill goes up a commensurate amount, and that's how the supplier get's their cost back. But apparently, you never pay back more than you have saved, and the agreement stays with the property if you sell the house. Don't know quite what to make of that, but I'm not looking to move in the next ten years, and boilers are blooming expensive, so I'm game but a little suspicious.

Now as other people have mentioned, that process can take some time. EST have told me to ring my local council to see if they can help. I did that just now, but they only have schemes for elderly and vulnerable people. I'm only 40 and i'm in reasonable health, so nothing doing there.

I have rang a local firm who have previously repaired my boiler, and they have provided a pretty good service and their bills were fair (actually to be fair to them, the repairs have lasted a few years now, so i'd say the cost represented good value). So they got a call this morning, and they can send a guy out to do an estimate Tuesday afternoon.

Next:
Who shall I go with?
How much will this cost me?
What help will I get?
Can I get a shower at work?

I'll keep you posted with what happens next.

brewerdave

Could just be a fan motor -my duaghter's boiler sounded like a 747 coming into land recently and cut out - just needed a new fan motor fitting - cost ~ £150 if I remember rightly inc callout charges.

firefox1956

How on earth are we supposed to know if you can get a shower at work or not ??????????

Cardew

You seem to have decided that you are going to get a new boiler(that you can't afford) without knowing if the old boiler is repairable.


It is possible to wash(all over!) using a bowl/basin and a kettle of hot water.

b1ackcr0w

Sorry, should have explained that I was wondering out loud how I'm going to keep clean while the boiler isn't working.

As it turns out, apparently, my firm does have facilities at work. good on them

As far as have I decided to get a new boiler? It just seems inevitable. The existing one is 20 years old, has broken down several times over the last few years, and from what I read, is very inefficient compared to newer design boilers. Even if I can get this one fixed, I think it's going to be a temporary measure. Over time keeping this one will be more costly in terms of regular repairs and using more fuel.

lstar337

b1ackcr0w wrote: »

Sidenote: This is the first bit I thought was weird. Apparently, your gas bill obviously goes down because you're using less gas, but your electricity bill goes up a commensurate amount, and that's how the supplier get's their cost back. But apparently, you never pay back more than you have saved, and the agreement stays with the property if you sell the house. Don't know quite what to make of that, but I'm not looking to move in the next ten years, and boilers are blooming expensive, so I'm game but a little suspicious.

Um, I'm pretty sure that they say you are not meant to pay back more than you save, it is however quite possible to be paying back more than you save.

Green Deal loans
A Green Deal loan works differently to a loan from a bank or other credit provider:

• Green Deal loan repayments are added to your electricity bill. You repay the loan through your electricity bill payments (by direct debit, for example, if that's how you pay).
• One of the key aspects of the Green Deal is the 'Golden Rule' – loan repayments should never exceed the savings you make on your energy bills from the installation of measures recommended in your Green Deal assessment. So, in theory, you should see no increase in your electricity bills.
• However, the Golden Rule is not a guarantee that your bill savings will match your loan repayments. It is based on estimates of a typical household's energy usage and savings, and doesn't take into account future energy price rises.
• Your lender will be your Green Deal Provider. It decides on the terms of your loan, such as how much you can borrow (there is no limit), how long you can borrow for, and the rate of interest you'll pay.
• The loan is attached to the property you live in, not you. If you sell your home, it will pass on to the new owner.
• A Green Deal loan is not a loan or grant from the government. You may be able to benefit from cashback or additional discounts through the Energy Company Obligation if you take out a Green Deal.

http://www.which.co.uk/energy/creating-an-energy-saving-home/guides/the-green-deal-explained/green-deal-finance---paying-for-the-green-deal/

lstar337

b1ackcr0w wrote: »

Sorry, should have explained that I was wondering out loud how I'm going to keep clean while the boiler isn't working.

As it turns out, apparently, my firm does have facilities at work. good on them

As far as have I decided to get a new boiler? It just seems inevitable. The existing one is 20 years old, has broken down several times over the last few years, and from what I read, is very inefficient compared to newer design boilers. Even if I can get this one fixed, I think it's going to be a temporary measure. Over time keeping this one will be more costly in terms of regular repairs and using more fuel.

You would probably be better off getting a loan with a better interest rate than the Green Deal (and saving all the pi55ing about that entails), and getting RGI to fit it for you.

oldskoo1

What happens if you don't save any gas or very little gas how do you pay for the boiler?

This scheme might be more convenient but so are x year loans and even more convenient is a much cheaper repair bill.

My parents swapped from a 20 year old boiler, potterton I think to a new WB condensing model, supposedly one of the better ones and they saved 12% on their annual bills. It is also very hard to estimate the true saving unless the temperature is equal year on year

Pincher

If it was a ten year old car, nobody would argue you should move on. If you save £200 a year in gas and repair bills, that's reason enough.

C_Mababejive

b1ackcr0w wrote: »

Sorry, should have explained that I was wondering out loud how I'm going to keep clean while the boiler isn't working.

As it turns out, apparently, my firm does have facilities at work. good on them

As far as have I decided to get a new boiler? It just seems inevitable. The existing one is 20 years old, has broken down several times over the last few years, and from what I read, is very inefficient compared to newer design boilers. Even if I can get this one fixed, I think it's going to be a temporary measure. Over time keeping this one will be more costly in terms of regular repairs and using more fuel.

Thats nothing. My boiler is 35 years old and still working just fine.

lonestarfan

Let us know what the engineer says this afternoon about his opinion on whether to repair or renew.
C _mab - yes I've had boilers of plus 30 years that carried on and on but its not the modern way now. I do have experience of a few new boilers since 1990 and if you get past 10-15 years you're doing well.
In case this helps anyone I've been able to get free emergency cover with Sheila's wheels house insurance two years running and that pays for you to get an engineer to identify problem and some labour to fix it.

Sheilas’ Wheels contents and building insurance comes with the option of home emergency insurance, to give you a single phone call solution to your domestic emergency. If you have our home emergency insurance option, all you need to do is to ring us if your central heating breaks down, you discover a water leak or your drains become blocked. We’ll arrange for a contractor to come and sort out your problem. No ringing around or out of hours rates to worry about – just a single phone call and we’ll arrange for emergency repairs from a reputable contractor subject to an overall limit of £500 (including VAT) for the call out charge and up to 2 hours labour, plus parts and materials up to a maximum of £100 (including VAT).