Boiler replacement advice needed

Albermarle

wendb69 said:

wendb69 said:

FreeBear said:

Was in a similar position myself last year with an even older Baxi back boiler. Have been investing heavily in insulation & doors/windows, and was then faced with having to replace the boiler. Didn't even consider contacting British Gas. Did approach Eon as they were my energy supplier at the time, and they gave me a quote of just shy of £5K just for a boiler swap & reworking the hot water plumbing.

Sat down with the Stelrad heat loss calculator and played with the numbers to see if any of my radiators needed changing - Ended up replacing most of them (and adding a couple more), oversizing them by around 30%. Also took the opportunity to replumb the system and route the pipes more sensibly. Hopefully, the work will put me in a better position when the day comes and heat pumps are the only option.

Negotiated with one of the national boiler installation outfits (not Boxt), and got a fixed price installation of ~£2500. The radiators, pipework, and fittings cost me another £800 or so. Did all the CH & DHW plumbing myself, so saved a packet on labour (neighbour a few doors down was having a new heating system installed around the same time by a local company, and it cost them £8K). Could have gone with a 0% financing option, but decided against it....

If I were to go through the same exercise today, I would seriously consider a heat pump through someone like Octopus. Now that the government is offering up to £7500, Octopus is coming up with a price of £2700 (subject to survey and a valid EPC)...

Thanks for this - had a look on Octopus, but I can only see a link for ECO4 which is related to people on pension credits, benefits etc.    Any ideas?

FreeBear said:

ThisIsWeird said:

It's a tough call, FreeBear. If your old boiler had held out another year or so, the decision to go 'alternative' would likely have been a no-brainer.
Prices coming down, efficiencies improving, probably more compact designs...

If I had waited another couple of months, I could have got the same boiler installed by the same outfit for just £2300. But how long does one wait - With a gas boiler, it is better to get it replaced during the warmer months rather than waiting for it to break down in the middle of the winter. No pressure in summer, so you can take your time. In the winter, you have to keep warm and are held to ransom by the weather and engineers/installers that are in demand.

Wait too long to get a heat pump, and you may well find that the government incentives have been reduced or even withdrawn completely.

Actually just saw something on Octopus about a heat pump...... thoughts?

There is a lot to think about. It is normally not just a matter of replacing the gas boiler with a heat pump.
Firstly it has to go outside, normally on the ground floor as they are quite bulky.
Then they work much better with a well insulated house. So some upgrades to home insulation may be needed depending on what kind of home you have.
Also some upgrades of radiators/pipework may be needed.
A change of hot water system may be needed.
Etc Etc

Eldi_Dos

Come April the price I will be paying for electricity 23.97p kWh and 5.91p kWh for gas. In the coldest weather the CoP of a airsource heat pump can fall as low as 1.5. At the time of year when it is needed most I cannot see a economic advantage in having one.

Albermarle

Eldi_Dos said:

Come April the price I will be paying for electricity 23.97p kWh and 5.91p kWh for gas. In the coldest weather the CoP of a airsource heat pump can fall as low as 1.5. At the time of year when it is needed most I cannot see a economic advantage in having one.

There isn't one, can even be the opposite.
The advantage is less impact on the environment in the long run, as less gas is used and more electricity comes from renewable sources.

jonnydeppiwish!

FreeBear said:

Was in a similar position myself last year with an even older Baxi back boiler. Have been investing heavily in insulation & doors/windows, and was then faced with having to replace the boiler. Didn't even consider contacting British Gas. Did approach Eon as they were my energy supplier at the time, and they gave me a quote of just shy of £5K just for a boiler swap & reworking the hot water plumbing.

Sat down with the Stelrad heat loss calculator and played with the numbers to see if any of my radiators needed changing - Ended up replacing most of them (and adding a couple more), oversizing them by around 30%. Also took the opportunity to replumb the system and route the pipes more sensibly. Hopefully, the work will put me in a better position when the day comes and heat pumps are the only option.

Negotiated with one of the national boiler installation outfits (not Boxt), and got a fixed price installation of ~£2500. The radiators, pipework, and fittings cost me another £800 or so. Did all the CH & DHW plumbing myself, so saved a packet on labour (neighbour a few doors down was having a new heating system installed around the same time by a local company, and it cost them £8K). Could have gone with a 0% financing option, but decided against it....

If I were to go through the same exercise today, I would seriously consider a heat pump through someone like Octopus. Now that the government is offering up to £7500, Octopus is coming up with a price of £2700 (subject to survey and a valid EPC)...

Really interested in the ASHP - will look at Octopus when we move next month!

Eldi_Dos

Albermarle said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Come April the price I will be paying for electricity 23.97p kWh and 5.91p kWh for gas. In the coldest weather the CoP of a airsource heat pump can fall as low as 1.5. At the time of year when it is needed most I cannot see a economic advantage in having one.

There isn't one, can even be the opposite.
The advantage is less impact on the environment in the long run, as less gas is used and more electricity comes from renewable sources.

One of the selling points they use is that they can be used to cool the property in the summer, which to me means more electrical consumption in the summer.

Albermarle

Eldi_Dos said:

Albermarle said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Come April the price I will be paying for electricity 23.97p kWh and 5.91p kWh for gas. In the coldest weather the CoP of a airsource heat pump can fall as low as 1.5. At the time of year when it is needed most I cannot see a economic advantage in having one.

There isn't one, can even be the opposite.
The advantage is less impact on the environment in the long run, as less gas is used and more electricity comes from renewable sources.

One of the selling points they use is that they can be used to cool the property in the summer, which to me means more electrical consumption in the summer.

Cooling a house by just putting a standard ASHP in reverse ( not sure that is the right technical term) , will only have a minor cooling effect, and may cause issues with condensation on your pipework, radiators etc .
Having a proper system that can both properly heat and air condition/cool the house, means you do not get the grant.

FreeBear

Albermarle said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Albermarle said:

Eldi_Dos said:

Come April the price I will be paying for electricity 23.97p kWh and 5.91p kWh for gas. In the coldest weather the CoP of a airsource heat pump can fall as low as 1.5. At the time of year when it is needed most I cannot see a economic advantage in having one.

There isn't one, can even be the opposite.
The advantage is less impact on the environment in the long run, as less gas is used and more electricity comes from renewable sources.

One of the selling points they use is that they can be used to cool the property in the summer, which to me means more electrical consumption in the summer.

Cooling a house by just putting a standard ASHP in reverse ( not sure that is the right technical term) , will only have a minor cooling effect, and may cause issues with condensation on your pipework, radiators etc .
Having a proper system that can both properly heat and air condition/cool the house, means you do not get the grant.

An air to air heat pump will do the job, but in addition to not getting the grant, you'd also need to apply for planning permission. Installing a heat pump purely for heating falls within permitted development, and for most people, won't need a PP application.

shawnwalter

hello
I have a currently working very old Hydrotherm, gas boiler natural vented with three circulators on for 4000 ft.² house. I’m trying to replace it with Well McLean conventional gas fired naturally vented boiler CGI series. I’m a bit confused about what model should I order based on BTU requirements . I would like to match BTU ratings. I’m attaching the picture of my boiler model and series number.

FreeBear

shawnwalter said: I have a currently working very old Hydrotherm, gas boiler natural vented with three circulators on for 4000 ft.² house. I’m trying to replace it with Well McLean conventional gas fired naturally vented boiler CGI series. I’m a bit confused about what model should I order based on BTU requirements . I would like to match BTU ratings. I’m attaching the picture of my boiler model and series number.

You won't get Building Regulation sign-off with that boiler. It would need to be condensing to comply with UK regulations.

I'd suggest posting your question on a North American forum where you might get a more pertinent response.