Renting out my house, Warm air heating or Central heating

ED2

Hello all,

The old boiler in my new property needs replacing.

The existing system is an old warm air type. I've had a couple of quotes, it seems that a new combi system will cost about the same as a new warm air boiler, with hot water cylinder replaced.
I also need to take out the old asbestos flue, on the advice of the surveyor. This is factored into both of the quotes.

Im going to rent the property for a year or so, before moving into it.

The pros of the warm air system; more space in the rooms and I like the look of it.

The cons, I only get a years guarantee and from what I've heard they are less easy to maintain should something go wrong, less people are qualified to work on them. The company that would install the new boiler, naturally have their own insurance scheme for landlords.

The pros of a new combi system, a new downstairs cupboard for storage and upstairs cupboard where the cylinder would be removed. 10 year guarantee. Easy to maintain (possibly cheaper) which is an advantage and gives peace of mind when renting.
The cons, bit more limitation as to how I can lay the rooms out.

I'm leaning towards the new system, which will take a bit more arranging as I have to find an asbestos company that will take out the old flue, whereas the warm air co will arrange it themselves.

Thoughts appreciated, especially from those who are landlords with experience in heating systems. Cheers.

AnotherJoe

I had a house which was warm air, loved it.
It was no more difficult to service than a wet system (I contacted someone and they came and serviced it!)
No space taken up by radiators, much faster to warm up (and quicker to cool, that could be good or bad)
It could also be run in summer without the heating, providing a pseudo-air con.
I dont see why you'd get a different guarantee, one year seems very poor. is that the company? Anyway there was a lot less to go wrong than with a wet system. Considerably less.

Downsides; when selling because its unfamiliar* some buyers may get the heebie jeebies about it, if you are asthmatic i understand it can be an issue.

The company that maintained mine was in Basingstoke if that area of the country works for you (I'm in Reading) PM me and I'll pass their details on.


* In the UK, in N America its absolutely standard they seem to get on fine with it.

Cakeguts

You won't want to move into it after it has been rented for a year or two especially if it hasn't been specifically chosen as a rental property.

ED2

AnotherJoe wrote: »

I had a house which was warm air, loved it.
It was no more difficult to service than a wet system (I contacted someone and they came and serviced it!)
No space taken up by radiators, much faster to warm up (and quicker to cool, that could be good or bad)
It could also be run in summer without the heating, providing a pseudo-air con.
I dont see why you'd get a different guarantee, one year seems very poor. is that the company? Anyway there was a lot less to go wrong than with a wet system. Considerably less.

Downsides; when selling because its unfamiliar* some buyers may get the heebie jeebies about it, if you are asthmatic i understand it can be an issue.

The company that maintained mine was in Basingstoke if that area of the country works for you (I'm in Reading) PM me and I'll pass their details on.


* In the UK, in N America its absolutely standard they seem to get on fine with it.

Thnaks, Yes its true to say that N America have been using warm air with no problems. Glad that you've had a good experience with it. Worth noting that the existing boiler is 20 years old and still going, the surveyor and vendor suggested that I replace it though as it is in its last days, and I do want to rent.

The 1 year guarantee is a bit short so I will not bother with that company. Basingstoke is a bit far from me but I will PM you to get the details of that company, in case they do come down to my part of London. Much appreciated.

picky123

We are replaced warm air with combo boiler last year.

Situation appears to be same as yours, old boiler failed and the price of a new warm air was only slightly cheaper than removal of asbestos flue and new system with boiler on loft and no hot water tank.

Can honestly say replacing it was the best option, whilst I was not against warm air when we had it, really appreciate the constant warmth of rads. As mentioned, warm air heats quickly but then cools, so you end up with the house oscillating between warm and cold.

I think that your installer needs to be good,as whilst upstairs pipies are under floor boards, the downstairs rads are fed from exposed pipes. We managed to get no pipes on show in lounge as the rads are supplied from pipes visible in the hall and kitchen

teddysmum

My gran had warm air in her new council bungalow and we found it (I lived with her for a while as she was blind) very dry. He system also had lots of cool spots and she spent al lot or time in an armchair right by a vent.

PasturesNew

Warm air... which I have had in the past:

- it blows dust everywhere...
- the hot air seems to rise quickly to the ceiling, leaving your toes cold - I guess they all do that, but air is faster acting.
- spiders can crawl in/out of the vents and make comfy homes inside .... meaning you've the fear of an entire spider's nest crawling out the first few times you use it each winter.

r2015

It is less efficient than a combi and radiators.


I replaced my warm air heating with a combi and radiators and in the last year that I had the warm air I used 17,160 kWh of gas.


This year in the same time period I have just used 12,760 kWh of gas.


Though most of the savings could probably be attributed to the fact I no longer have a great big Scottish Gas mandated hole in the wall for ventilation.

Owain_Moneysaver

Warm air would put me off, as a prospective tenant. It suggests the system is very dated -- even if it's a new install.

Combi boiler should give you a good mains pressure shower, but can be unacceptably slow filling a bath. What is your mains pressure and flow like, and how many bathrooms/showers are there?

A boiler + cylinder system still has a lot going for it, including the ability to have an immersion heater as backup hot water when the boiler breaks.

ED2

picky123 wrote: »

We are replaced warm air with combo boiler last year.

Situation appears to be same as yours, old boiler failed and the price of a new warm air was only slightly cheaper than removal of asbestos flue and new system with boiler on loft and no hot water tank.

Can honestly say replacing it was the best option, whilst I was not against warm air when we had it, really appreciate the constant warmth of rads. As mentioned, warm air heats quickly but then cools, so you end up with the house oscillating between warm and cold.

I think that your installer needs to be good,as whilst upstairs pipies are under floor boards, the downstairs rads are fed from exposed pipes. We managed to get no pipes on show in lounge as the rads are supplied from pipes visible in the hall and kitchen

I would have all the pipes visible downstairs due to concrete floors, this is part of the reason I'd like to keep the warm air. I have to get the asbestos flue out whatever system I choose.

Know what you mean about the rapid cooling, there is a load of extra insulation in the loft. Perhaps it was put in place because of the warm air system.

ED2

Owain_Moneysaver wrote: »

Warm air would put me off, as a prospective tenant. It suggests the system is very dated -- even if it's a new install.

Combi boiler should give you a good mains pressure shower, but can be unacceptably slow filling a bath. What is your mains pressure and flow like, and how many bathrooms/showers are there?

A boiler + cylinder system still has a lot going for it, including the ability to have an immersion heater as backup hot water when the boiler breaks.

My mains flow is good, two toilets, one shower/bath. The shower has its own electrical heater which I'll keep.

I was living in the States for a few years, as another poster said everyone is using warm air over there. Personally, I liked it. Instant warm up on a cold winters morning.

But if I can get a cheaper install with rads, I'll take it.