Boiler in conservatory?

andre_xs

Dear All,

We need a new boiler (combi boiler) and today an engineer was here to give us a quote. Boiler is in the kitchen, and in front of the kitchen is a conservatory. Because the flue situation is a bit complicated, the engineer suggested to install the boiler in the conservatory. We actually like the idea, because it would give us more space in the small kitchen.

However, only after the engineer left, I realised: Isn't there the rule that the conservatory is not allowed to be attached to the central heating system of the house? Would that rule be violated by installation of the boiler (but no radiators!)?

If the conservatory would be attached to the heating system of the house, then the whole conservatory would need to fulfil building regulations, right? Out of curiosity, suppose the boiler is installed there and it would violate the regs: What are the consequences of this? Fees/penalties, lawsuits, losing insurance, hard to sell,...?

Kind Regards,
Andre

ThisIsWeird

As you surmise, it's having the rads in a Connie that contravenes building regs, as it's considered a waste of heat - it won't have adequate insulation.
But that doesn't stop many folk from doing this. It's not considered a 'gasp' breach, and you wouldn't be breaching it for this reason anyway.
Whether there's any other good reason not to, I don't know. I presume the GS is confident he can take the flue through whatever roof type you have with no issues?

FreeBear

andre_xs said: However, only after the engineer left, I realised: Isn't there the rule that the conservatory is not allowed to be attached to the central heating system of the house? Would that rule be violated by installation of the boiler (but no radiators!)?

In short, no.

A conservatory, like a garage, is considered an "outbuilding" - Installing a boiler in such a location is permitted, how ever, you should check with the boiler manufacturer to see if the proposed location affects any warranty.

You will lose around 2% of the heat being generated through the casing (anything from 50W to 600W depending on modulation level of the boiler) - As far as heating the conservatory, this heat loss would be incidental and ignored by building regulations much in the same way as the heat given off by a light.

markin

For me the noise would destroy the peace and quiet of the room, is it a combi, so heating and running all summer too?

Will the frost stat be running all winter any time its below 6c in there?

ThisIsWeird

Boilers are pretty quiet, certainly in CH mode. I'd recommend having a cupboard built over it in any case, for aesthetic reasons, and that should also largely remove any frost issues too.
I'd certainly consider the Connie option get the ugly brutes out of the house

TELLIT01

Noise from the boiler??  I use the room the boiler is in as an office and I can honestly say I've never noticed any noise from our boiler when it's running.  Maybe a few seconds when it powers up but that's all.

andre_xs

Thanks for all the feedback. The way we use the conservatory, noise is not an issue.

The engineer mentioned that the boilers have frost thermostat and would fire up if it gets too cold. But I guess rather unlikely that this will happen very often (London area).

For us there are two main reasons: Having it out of the kitchen (precious space for another cupboard! ), and installation of the flue would probably be actually easier than when installed in the kitchen.

Conservatory roof is these kind of transparent plastic sheets, not glass, and the engineer said that they do that from time to time and no issues with drilling a hole into them and sealing them.

So main disadvantage would be heat loss. Any other potential disadvantages we should consider?

FreeBear

andre_xs said: For us there are two main reasons: Having it out of the kitchen (precious space for another cupboard! ), and installation of the flue would probably be actually easier than when installed in the kitchen.

Conservatory roof is these kind of transparent plastic sheets, not glass, and the engineer said that they do that from time to time and no issues with drilling a hole into them and sealing them.

So main disadvantage would be heat loss. Any other potential disadvantages we should consider?

The flue terminal needs to be some 600mm away from any opening window and the same from a vertical wall Installation instructions will give exact distances in order to comply with building regulations. A boiler will have the flue coming out of the top around 80mm (125mm on the centre) from the wall. So you'll need an ugly step out to achieve the correct clearance depending on which wall the boiler is mounted. Discuss with the installer the flue, boiler location, and exit route through the roof - With my boiler, I had intended to run the flue up ~1m internally before going through the wall to reduce the number of bends required. Decided it was going to look real !!!!!!, so went for going through the wall low down, and extra bends in the garage (flue exits through a flat roof out there).

In a conservatory, it should be nice & dry with little condensation. The heat loss through the casing will raise the temperature out there by a couple of degrees which might make it a comfortable space during the winter. Hopefully, frost protection won't kick in too often which will help to conserve gas.

Emily_Joy

Out of interest: we have radiator in our connie, built in 2007 (the connie itself appears to be a breach of the covenant). Apart from "the lose of heat" are there likely to be any problems?

ThisIsWeird

Emily_Joy said:

Out of interest: we have radiator in our connie, built in 2007 (the connie itself appears to be a breach of the covenant). Apart from "the lose of heat" are there likely to be any problems?

No. It's all about loss of heat. The connie will clearly not get anywhere close to current insulation regs, so they don't like the idea of heat being 'wasted'.

And infinitesimal risk of enforcement.

ThisIsWeird

andre_xs said:

Thanks for all the feedback. The way we use the conservatory, noise is not an issue.

The engineer mentioned that the boilers have frost thermostat and would fire up if it gets too cold. But I guess rather unlikely that this will happen very often (London area).

For us there are two main reasons: Having it out of the kitchen (precious space for another cupboard! ), and installation of the flue would probably be actually easier than when installed in the kitchen.

Conservatory roof is these kind of transparent plastic sheets, not glass, and the engineer said that they do that from time to time and no issues with drilling a hole into them and sealing them.

So main disadvantage would be heat loss. Any other potential disadvantages we should consider?

Sounds ideal location.

I'd repeat, tho' - for both aesthetic and heat insulation reasons, I'd build a storage cupboard around it. The installation instructions will give the required 'clearance' guidelines. You can make it wall-unit style for just the boiler, or full height from the floor to add useful - and nicely dry - storage. Boilers are ugly beasts... :-)

But that's your call, of course.