Upgrade boiler in new house to Combi?

Steveotwo

We have just moved house, moved from a place where we had a Worchester 30kw 4000 Boiler and it was super efficient to run. super low gas bill etc. In our new place which is there is a 21 years old baxi solo system boiler.

I'm nervous of the bills spiking from heating a water tank and not using all of the water that is heated and also the boiler been inefficient given its age. in our old house we paid around £90pm for our energy. How much of a spike should I expect given the older boiler? 

Additionally I have gotten some qoutes for a combi upgrade with system flush and magnetic filter, been quoted around £2800 on some alpha tec and ideal logic max models. around 93% efficient. 

Is it worth running this thing into the ground? Is any payback from upgrading miniscule? 

Another thing I was thinking given I am in a hard water area, the system flush during upgrade may help protect the piping in the house from hard water damage? 

MysteryMe

I think I'd wait until after winter to see what the heating bill is like. That's the only way you are really going to know if it's worth upgrading whilst you still have a fully working system. If you have moved into a larger property the bills are likely to be higher just by having more area to heat etc. Is the rest of the property well insulated? Windows/ doors sound, adequate loft insulation etc. Perhaps look at that in the immediate term.

FreeBear

Steveotwo said: Additionally I have gotten some qoutes for a combi upgrade with system flush and magnetic filter, been quoted around £2800 on some alpha tec and ideal logic max models. around 93% efficient.

Get a quote from someone like Octopus for a heat pump. Some posters here have been getting prices for roughly half the cost of a new gas boiler install. The quote I had earlier in the year was within a couple of hundred of what I paid for a new combi last year.

Properly specified and set up, the running costs should be comparable.

Kiran

How many people in your household, having a tank isn't a bad thing. A tank opens up multiple options for you to use. e.g. heat pump, electric, gas, solar for heating water and with the correct controls gives you multiple options for heat sources and build in redundancy. The downside is the cost up front, the positive is you can pick your fuel sources and during better weather you can achieve zero bills.  If your house is suitable for a heat pump its a viable option. You will be able to test this after you move in if you turn your heating flow rate down to 55 degrees and you are still comfortable in your home then you may be able to switch to a heat pump without upgrading pipe or rad sizes or carrying out work to the building fabric. You will still need someone to correctly design/specify the system for you to make sure it can work efficiently.

RavingMad

FreeBear said:

Get a quote from someone like Octopus for a heat pump. Some posters here have been getting prices for roughly half the cost of a new gas boiler install. The quote I had earlier in the year was within a couple of hundred of what I paid for a new combi last year.  Properly specified and set up, the running costs should be comparable.

Does the quote include upgrading the radiators? I'm guessing existing rads won't be big enough to kick out the heat or am I wrong to assume this?

Ectophile

I can't imagine the extra gas used by the existing boiler is going to cost £2000 over any reasonable time frame.

FreeBear

RavingMad said:

FreeBear said:

Get a quote from someone like Octopus for a heat pump. Some posters here have been getting prices for roughly half the cost of a new gas boiler install. The quote I had earlier in the year was within a couple of hundred of what I paid for a new combi last year.  Properly specified and set up, the running costs should be comparable.

Does the quote include upgrading the radiators? I'm guessing existing rads won't be big enough to kick out the heat or am I wrong to assume this?

The quote I had from Octopus included new/larger radiators all round (subject to survey). I'd already replumbed the system and fitted oversized radiators in most rooms. Combined with the thermal upgrades that I'm making, the current radiators might be suitable with a heat pump. I need to run the system at lower flow temperatures and collect more data.

Grenage

We have a 26+ year boiler.  The efficiency isn't great, but it never goes wrong and the gas bills aren't horrific.

It costs about 35-45p a day to heat the tank if I don't have the solar diverter on.

When it comes to heating costs, home insulation is the biggest factor.

Steveotwo

@FreeBear
Ill look into it, Ive heard mixed things, don't they currently cost more to run? 

Steveotwo

@Ectophile
Thanks, so maybe stick and look at boiler cover given its age?

ic

Have you checked the details of your boiler?  Whilst it might not be condensing, given its age it could still be pretty efficient - and might be B or C rated.  You might find yourself spending £1000s on an upgrade that might never pay for itself - especially if you might then move to a heat pump within the next ten years anyway.

Simple stuff like flushing the system, fitting TRVs if they're not present, upgrading the controls, insulating the tank and pipework to it could offer a far better return.  Also all the usual stuff - is the loft insulated, cavity walls, doors and windows draught proofed?