Boiler Efficiency

Cardew

Canucklehead wrote: »

Cardew: I've answered your question... any thoughts/comments?

Canucklehead

Hi,
The DT link is out of date so doesn't work. However I found this extract I posted some while ago. (you can find the original links if you do a search using my name and some of the extract)

I have put in bold the part about reliability - and I have seen similar statements.

On the level: what gas really costs
(Filed: 12/10/2005)
Ask Jeff
There's a lot to be said for wiring-in electric panel heaters or night-storage heaters, writes Jeff Howell

A month ago I wrote about switching energy suppliers, and have since been asked by several readers for my views on the most economical energy source. I get a steady trickle of letters with this query anyway, but the recent rises in gas and electricity prices, press stories about diminishing stocks of natural gas, and the increase in the crude oil price following hurricane Katrina have all led to a greater concern about energy supplies and prices.

Most readers in urban areas will have natural gas piped into their homes, and might assume that this is the cheapest fuel. But over the past few years I have viewed a lot of new housing developments (many as a judge for The Daily Telegraph/What House? awards), and I have been struck by the fact that most new houses and flats these days tend to be fitted with electric panel heaters rather than gas-fired central-heating systems. On the one hand, this could be seen as a cynical ploy by the developers to cut costs. After all, wiring is cheaper than pipework, and there are no boilers, pumps or radiators to break down or leak, requiring remedial call-backs. On the other, it might be a blessing in disguise for the new owners. Sure, they are paying more per unit for electricity than for gas, but their annual maintenance costs will be practically zero, whereas gas-fired central heating incurs considerable maintenance and depreciation costs. So let's have a closer look at the subject.


Fuel prices vary across the country, and different suppliers have different charging practices (some add standing charges, and some operate a sliding tariff, with the first hundred or so units being more expensive). But roughly speaking, a standard "unit" of electric power, a kilowatt-hour (kWh) - which will heat a one-bar electric fire for an hour - costs about 7p. Off-peak electricity ("Economy 7") costs about 3.5p per kWh. Natural gas piped into the house ("town gas") costs about 2p per kWh, but gas boilers might be only 75 to 80 per cent efficient, giving a truer cost of nearer 2.5p. Heating oil and LPG (liquefied petroleum gas, or "Calor Gas"), using similar boilers, currently provide heat at a rate equivalent to 4.5p and 4p per kWh respectively.

On the basis of fuel costs alone, gas, oil and LPG are cheaper than standard-rate electricity. But this does not take into account the costs of buying and installing boilers and fuel tanks, nor the annual maintenance costs, nor the fact that boilers have a finite life. The trade price for a new gas boiler is about £600, but you'll be lucky to find a gas fitter who will supply and install one for much less than £ 1,500. Big companies such as British Gas routinely charge £3,000 or more.

Old gas boilers had few moving parts and could be expected to last for 30 or 40 years, but the new ones are packed full of electronics and might last 10 years or less. So let's budget £200 per year in boiler depreciation. Then there's an annual servicing cost of at least £50 - and some readers are still paying £180 or more to British Gas for annual breakdown cover, even though this does not include a proper strip-down service. So readers who think that gas is the cheapest fuel should remember to factor in £250 to £400 per year as an extra "standing charge" when they do their calculations. (Add to that the annual landlord's gas safety certificate - £50 - and the Government's proposal that in future every home might also have to have an annual gas safety inspection.)

Electric heating, by comparison, is practically maintenance-free, and has a conversion rate of energy into heat of 100 per cent. For readers with an existing gas, oil or LPG heating system, the most economical option is probably to keep it going. But for those considering a change of fuel, or starting from scratch, there's a lot to be said for wiring-in electric panel heaters or night-storage heaters, or even simply plugging oil-filled electric radiators into the existing wall sockets.

I would add that I don't accept all his assumptions. e.g. the criticism of BG's £180 service for not being a full 'strip-down'. If this is an inadequate service(not to the manufacturer's specification??) that causes the boiler to be less reliable, then the cost of that reliability falls to BG who have to make repairs as part of the service.

A final thought...new cars utilize complex technology...are they less reliable than older vehicles or just more difficult/expensive for the DIYer to repair?

Fair point. However I have seen plenty of articles that opinion cars will become uneconomic to repair after a relatively short life if major electronic modules(injection pumps etc) need replacing. This particularly applies to the latest breed of 'high performance' diesels.

Before it was 'tin worm' that usually decided the life of a car - not so these days?

Canucklehead

Cardew wrote: »

Hi,
The DT link is out of date so doesn't work. However I found this extract I posted some while ago. (you can find the original links if you do a search using my name and some of the extract)

I have put in bold the part about reliability - and I have seen similar statements.




I would add that I don't accept all his assumptions. e.g. the criticism of BG's £180 service for not being a full 'strip-down'. If this is an inadequate service(not to the manufacturer's specification??) that causes the boiler to be less reliable, then the cost of that reliability falls to BG who have to make repairs as part of the service.



Fair point. However I have seen plenty of articles that opinion cars will become uneconomic to repair after a relatively short life if major electronic modules(injection pumps etc) need replacing. This particularly applies to the latest breed of 'high performance' diesels.

Before it was 'tin worm' that usually decided the life of a car - not so these days?

Good evening: Thanks for your thoughts on the subject...I have an obvious bias on the matter ( married to a CORGI). Final thought...non-condensing boilers have had reliability issues in the past (Potterton Suprimas and dodgy PCBs spring immediately to mind ...many MSErs have posted their woes http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=389187)...unfortunately not all were/are the simple, easy to repair workhorses such as the Potterton Kingfishers and Ideal Mexicos (my OH loved those halcyon days;))...extremely inefficient,painfully so at today's gas prices, but cheap to maintain.

Canucklehead

AWinner

A final thought...new cars utilize complex technology...are they less reliable than older vehicles or just more difficult/expensive for the DIYer to repair?

Off track for this thread but a friend who worked some years ago at the UK Head Office of a leading German car giant told me that although the open line was that modern cars needed their ever increasingly sophisticated vehicle systems for fuel economy and safety, the manufacturers fully believed that by moving to computerised diagnostic systems they would eventually stop the weekend dads servicing their cars at home and shut down the small garages, driving owners to them.

The huge investment would then be recooped by charging the extortionate hourly rates main dealers now charge their clients.:eek: