should new gas boiler be installed with timer?

littlerock

My son recently moved back to London after several years abroad and is renting a terraced house with his wife and two small children. Around one month ago their CH boiler packed up. His wife rang their letting agents who contacted Owner who said he had a contract with BG. They came out, pronounced boiler dead and installed a new one - a Bosch Worcester.

This is fine but there is no room thermostat and no timer on the boiler. It is either on or off, although you can of course turn the water temperature and radiator temperature up and down on the boiler itself. (Their rads do not have thermostatic valves.). Having been abroad for some years, my son was used to boilers coming with built in timer and surprised to find this one did not. On the day it was installed he had to work and his wife, who has not lived in the UK before, just accepted it as normal when they did not install a timer as she has no experience of uk heating systems. Our son did not see the quote - which went to the agents or owner - but he knows the owner is overseas at present.

So question is - before he goes back to the agents, is there anyone here who has had a new boiler installed by BG recently ? Did the quote and installation include a timer and/or room thermostat.?Is this standard or is it now an optional extra?

CashStrapped

Nope.

It is logical to have, and you would expect one to be installed as a matter of convenience with a new boiler but it is not a requirement.

I would request the landlord install one for convenience sake. The cost for a basic wired timer ranges from £10 up to £150+ for a top of the range wireless and lot of options in between.

If you are correctly using the controls you have at them moment it may not save much money but just make everything much more convenient.

southcoastrgi

It must have a room stat as this is the boiler interlock, the best option would be to get BG to fit a programmable room stat

littlerock

What is a boiler "interlock"?

Le_Kirk

It's the device that tells the boiler to stop firing because the room(s) are warm enough otherwise you are relying on the boiler temperature control to turn gas on and off.

Biggles

If all they have done is replace the boiler, presumably he was happy to rent the house initially with no programmer/thermostat?

That being the case, all he can do is ask the landlord nicely if he can have one fitted. TBH, if he paid for it himself (with landlord's permission), he would save money in the first year.

casper_g

Is time control really not required? The building regulations Domestic Heating Compliance Guide certainly gives the distinct impression it is in the extract below. At the very least it's strongly recommended.

In order to comply with the requirements of Part L, gas-fired central heating systems which are provided as new systems or replacement systems in dwellings should meet the following conditions:
[...]
f. The minimum provisions for boiler interlock, zoning and time control and temperature control of the heating and hot water circuits as described in Table 2 should be met.

Then in Table 2:

Time control of space and water heating should be provided by:
i. a full programmer with separate timing to each circuit; OR
ii. two or more separate timers providing timing control to each circuit; OR
iii. programmable room thermostat(s) to the heating circuits(s), with separate timing of the hot water circuit.

Biggles

casper_g wrote: »

gas-fired central heating systems which are provided as new systems or replacement systems in dwellings should meet the following conditions

Sure, but as this isn't either of those, but just a replacement boiler, they were correct to replace like with like?

casper_g

Biggles wrote: »

Sure, but as this isn't either of those, but just a replacement boiler, they were correct to replace like with like?

You may be correct, and frustratingly I can't find anything definitive one way or the other, although the same document also says:

The guidance in this section applies to the following situations:
[...]
c. The specification of a replacement central heating system and/or component in existing dwellings where central heating is already installed - this situation is referred to in this section as a replacement system.

NB the wording "central heating system and/or component".

Also in Table 2, the column "Minimum provision for replacement systems" says the required control provisions are "As defined for new systems unless only the hot water cylinder is being replaced...". This implies that replacing just a hot water cylinder comes under the provisions for "replacement systems", so I'd certainly expect this to apply to a replacement boiler.

Elsewhere, this BEAMA guidance document says "While upgrades to controls in existing heating systems, other than at times of boiler replacement, are not specifically required under the building regulations..." suggesting the opposite might apply when the boiler is replaced.