Boiler replacement, whats best?

longwalks1

We have a 1930's semi with hot water cylinder in airing cupboard, 2 x tanks in the loft and an old boiler in a cupboard in the kitchen. Ideally we'd like to do away with the airing cupboard (to make a bedroom bigger) and probably keep the boiler where it is.

Is the normal upgrade a condensing combi boiler these days? (had this done about 12 years ago in a flat I lived), or is there another type that i should be looking into now?
I know condensing boilers are very efficinet, but wasnt sure if theres anything newer on the market I should consider

Any advice or pointers greatly recieved

MX5huggy

Unless you have multiple bathrooms you want to use at the same time, a gas condensing combi boiler is what you need.

C_Mababejive

It really hinges on your hot water requirements.
How many hot water outlets do you have/bathrooms/showers/washbasins?

All domestic gas boilers must now be of the high efficiency/condensing variety.
The term "efficiency" is often bandied about and when talking domestic boilers the term efficiency, in my view, generally refers to the combustion efficiency . The overall efficiency of the working system in a home has so many more variables.

longwalks1

Sorry I should of also said, there are only 2 adults in the house, 1 bathroom (we only ever really shower, even though we have a bath), and 1 downstairs toilet

ic

Combi should be all you need.

SuzieSue

ic wrote: »

Combi should be all you need.

Agreed. But remember that if the boiler breaks down you will have no hot water unless you have an electric shower. I have the same setup as you and this is one reason why I would just replace the boiler with a regular boiler rather than a combi boiler and keep a hot water tank with an immersion heater in the airing cupboard.

bris

SuzieSue wrote: »

Agreed. But remember that if the boiler breaks down you will have no hot water unless you have an electric shower. I have the same setup as you and this is one reason why I would just replace the boiler with a regular boiler rather than a combi boiler and keep a hot water tank with an immersion heater in the airing cupboard.

Combi is still by far the best option for that set up. Hot water on demand rather than heating a whole tank is the best option.


Regular boilers break down too so still needs to get fixed so a couple of days boiling the kettle for the dishes once in a blue moon won't really matter.

SuzieSue

bris wrote: »

Regular boilers break down too so still needs to get fixed so a couple of days boiling the kettle for the dishes once in a blue moon won't really matter.

Yes, if it is a couple of days, but what if a part has to be ordered?

Cisco001

SuzieSue wrote: »

Yes, if it is a couple of days, but what if a part has to be ordered?

Buy a large pot and boil water on stove for bath?

Spend £20 at your local gym, do some exercise and shower there for a month?

SuzieSue

Cisco001 wrote: »

Buy a large pot and boil water on stove for bath?

Spend £20 at your local gym, do some exercise and shower there for a month?

Yes, all doable, if you're young and fit. Not so much if you are older or have young children.

Everyone has different priorities. For me, knowing that I will always have hot water if my boiler breaks down is more important than the inconvenience/higher costs of not having hot water on demand and not having to worry about frozen pipes in the loft.

I nearly changed to a combi several years ago, but the more I have read about boilers, the more pleased I am that that I did not.

From what I have read, combi boilers are less reliable as they are more complex and so will probably have a shorter life.

I am also concerned that the increased pressure might cause leaks which are difficult to find.

Alex1983

Let’s hope your immersion works when you need it suzie.

Making a poor system design choice based on what if my boiler breaks isn’t the way to go. The correct design for this house would be a combi boiler.