Upgrade boiler in new house to Combi?

Steveotwo

BarelySentientAI said:

Steveotwo said:

jennifernil said:

Yes, the new boilers are much more efficient than a 35 year old one, something like 90% compared to 65%.

And yes, a conventional mixer type shower can be used with a combi, but using more than one shower at a time may not be satisfactory.

We have 2 showers, 1  bath, and 3 basins, plus the kitchen and utility room to supply with hot water, so considered a combi unsuitable for our needs.   Our tank is a vented type, but the cold water tank is in the loft, the living rooms on the first floor, and the bedrooms and bathrooms on the ground floor, so showers have good pressure.

We also have a “granny flat” on the upper floor, with its own boiler and tanks, and it still has a good shower as we choose one suitable for low pressure, as the others are too.

Our daughter has a large flat, with a sprawling layout, and a combi boiler that was there when she bought it, she dislikes it intensely.    Her previous home had a unvented tank system which was excellent.

She has 4 showers,  but only 3 that are used frequently.  Only one  shower is run off the  combi,  the others are electric.  Originally they were all electric, she connected one to the combi when re-doing their en suite.   Electric ones are better than they used to be, but expensive to run.

The boiler  is at one end of her flat,  near the utility room and 3 of the bathrooms, but the kitchen and the 4th bathroom are as far from the boiler as they could be, so it takes ages to get hot water in the kitchen and the bathroom wash basin, which is far from ideal.   When she replaces that bathroom, probably in a year or two, she will install some sort of instant HW system for the wash basin.

Will be many years before she can afford to replace the kitchen, but I would think she will install a Quooker type HW tap there instead, and do away with the long HW pipe runs.

Thanks for the detailed response, I have no idea how to tell if its vented or not. Im leaning towards just upgrading to a modern system boiler now

Do your hot and cold taps seem to be about the same pressure?

Often, same pressure = unvented, cold has lots more pressure = vented.

Equal pressure and very good

BarelySentientAI

Steveotwo said:

BarelySentientAI said:

Steveotwo said:

jennifernil said:

Yes, the new boilers are much more efficient than a 35 year old one, something like 90% compared to 65%.

And yes, a conventional mixer type shower can be used with a combi, but using more than one shower at a time may not be satisfactory.

We have 2 showers, 1  bath, and 3 basins, plus the kitchen and utility room to supply with hot water, so considered a combi unsuitable for our needs.   Our tank is a vented type, but the cold water tank is in the loft, the living rooms on the first floor, and the bedrooms and bathrooms on the ground floor, so showers have good pressure.

We also have a “granny flat” on the upper floor, with its own boiler and tanks, and it still has a good shower as we choose one suitable for low pressure, as the others are too.

Our daughter has a large flat, with a sprawling layout, and a combi boiler that was there when she bought it, she dislikes it intensely.    Her previous home had a unvented tank system which was excellent.

She has 4 showers,  but only 3 that are used frequently.  Only one  shower is run off the  combi,  the others are electric.  Originally they were all electric, she connected one to the combi when re-doing their en suite.   Electric ones are better than they used to be, but expensive to run.

The boiler  is at one end of her flat,  near the utility room and 3 of the bathrooms, but the kitchen and the 4th bathroom are as far from the boiler as they could be, so it takes ages to get hot water in the kitchen and the bathroom wash basin, which is far from ideal.   When she replaces that bathroom, probably in a year or two, she will install some sort of instant HW system for the wash basin.

Will be many years before she can afford to replace the kitchen, but I would think she will install a Quooker type HW tap there instead, and do away with the long HW pipe runs.

Thanks for the detailed response, I have no idea how to tell if its vented or not. Im leaning towards just upgrading to a modern system boiler now

Do your hot and cold taps seem to be about the same pressure?

Often, same pressure = unvented, cold has lots more pressure = vented.

Equal pressure and very good

Sounds like an unvented cylinder like mine then.

Steveotwo

ic said:

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?

ic said:

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?

its a baxi solo from 2004 im guessing its around 70% efficient now