Replace warm air boiler or install new heating system?

Reveuse90

Hi! 

I live in a 1960s Bungalow which came with a warm air heating system. I actually do like it, but apparently we are likely to need a new boiler in the next few years and replacing it will be around £7k including installation. I think the quote is accurate as we were quotes maybe 5k by a different warm air company 4 years ago. 

After digesting that figure, it occurs to me I could get an entirely new wet heating system (I think that’s the term? A combi boiler and radiators) installed for less than that I think.

I live in a small 2 bed bungalow so I’m guessing it might be around £4-5k based on reading online? I’m in the south east of England.

my partner is keen to keep the warm air but it doesn’t make sense to me to invest so much in a new boiler for a heating system which would likely deter future buyers. 

We aren’t looking to sell anytime soon but we are young and likely will at some stage. 

The main downside is that we have concrete floors but I have seen plenty of radiators fitted discreetly above floor before. 

What would you do? 

tacpot12

I don't think you will get a complete wet system for £4K My parents are in the Midlands and paid more than that just for a back boiler change to a Combi. A simple like-for-like Combi boiler swap would be about £3K these days.

I think you will be paying closer to £6K in the South-East, and the result might not be as neat as your current setup. 

That said, you could be future proofing your heating system if you specify a low flow temperature, so that a future owner could fit a heat pump. It will also reduce your heating costs. 

Another option to look at is a moderm air-to-air heat pump (essentially air-conditioners that can work in heating and cooling modes). This could be another future-proofing option if either of you are sensitive to heat - climate change means that the South-East is likely to have more 'heat-wave' days than in the past. 

Albermarle

Another option to look at is a moderm air-to-air heat pump (essentially air-conditioners that can work in heating and cooling modes)

This could be a good idea, but worth noting that the available grant of £7500 for an air source heat pump, is not valid for these systems.
But then there is no grant for installing a new gas boiler/wet system either. 

OP- Worth reading this thread from last month,
Central Heating Installation (Semi Detached, 3 Bedrooms) — MoneySavingExpert Forum

FreeBear

Albermarle said:

Another option to look at is a moderm air-to-air heat pump (essentially air-conditioners that can work in heating and cooling modes)

This could be a good idea, but worth noting that the available grant of £7500 for an air source heat pump, is not valid for these systems.
But then there is no grant for installing a new gas boiler/wet system either.

If the ASHP is providing heat only, then I'm pretty sure the £7500 grant would be available for an air-to-air system. Also think that the grant would be available to install a wet system even if the old one just blew warm air around. The qualifier is the fuel to heat rather than the medium used to carry that heat. However, it is unlikely that someone like Octopus would offer an air-to-air system (they are one of the cheapest suppliers), so the OP would need to go to a specialist installer.

The other complication with old warm air heating systems is asbestos - The current installation would need to be carefully checked, and if asbestos is found, removal could be very expensive.

ThisIsWeird

Hi Reveuse.
Could you confirm, please - the current gas burner lives in a centrally-located cupboard, and metal ducts run off from there to the rooms, where they exit via grilles just above skirting level? 
If so, then fitting a combi and wet system strikes me as being surely be the easiest install possible? Plenty of room for a wee combi boiler, and the rad pipes can be run in these ducts to new, wall-mounted rads, ideally positioned to hide the old grille/duct exit points. 
'Oversizing' these rads will have the boiler running as efficiently as possible, and also allow a future transfer to an ASHP.
The boiler location will need a water supply, and also a means of disposing of condensate, but both should be easy solutions - pipes most likely routed via the kitchen.

Reveuse90

Hi, 
thanks for the responses! 

I must say I’m not fully up to speed on the new types of heating systems although I have heard of the heat pumps. If they aren’t able to provide hot water, that would maybe be a bit of a downside for us. 

Our current set up is we have a water tank in the loft and also a water heater in the airing cupboard. There is a cupboard next door to it which houses the enormous boiler. The ducts run within all the walls and rooms either have vents above skirting boards and also a few in the ceiling of larger rooms. The boiler is positioned between the bathroom and kitchen so I assume would be fairly easy to connect it with a water supply? 

Whichever way we proceed, we are quite keen to have something which will also supply hot water so we can do away with the water tank. 

The presence of asbestos is likely going to be a pain in the bum. I imagine there will be some somewhere in the heat system, given the properties age 🙈

ThisIsWeird

Your options for hot water (DHW) would likely be 'instant' from a gas combi boiler, or 'stored' in a hot cylinder, which again would be heated by the gas boiler - the cheapest method.

An ASHP would require some form of water storage cylinder, but i suspect you have the room for that.

It strikes me as tho' this would be the simplest of 'wet' (ie conventional water-filled radiators) gas boiler installations, as the largest part of these jobs is usually running the two pipes to each radiator, which usually means either placing them under the floor, or surface-running them - or sometimes dropping them down the walls from the loft. 

In your situation, I bet the runs would be very straight forward, as you already have ducts running to each room! 

Anyhoo, the starting point is to get at least 3 GasSafes out to look and quote.

Does the current heater have a name plate? If so, see if you can contact the manufacturer to confirm whether it has asbestos in it.

FreeBear

Reveuse90 said: I must say I’m not fully up to speed on the new types of heating systems although I have heard of the heat pumps. If they aren’t able to provide hot water, that would maybe be a bit of a downside for us.

There is a section in this forum dedicated to heat pumps with some very knowledgeable people posting -> https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/categories/heat-pumps
Whilst it is possible to install a heat pump without a hot water system, these are very much in the minority. Domestic installations will normally include a hot water tank. This would be plumped directly in to the mains water supply (so no separate tank in the loft) giving you hot water at the same pressure & flow rate as cold.

danrv

I replaced an electric warm air system with air to air for ground floor heating/cooling. Three bed semi-detached property with
hot water on immersion heater heated on Economy 10 cheap rate.
Install cost for the multisplit was £6900 South East location.

The dilemma was no gas supply and a complete heatpump/wet system install would have been £15k+.
The government grant was £5k at the time but I abandoned the idea in case I decide to move.

Your warm air heater is likely to be Johnson & Starley. The beige units I don't think contain asbestos but best contact them to be sure.
My Unidare R10 was this colour and Dimplex confirmed that it was built using no asbestos materials so I dismantled it myself. The heater cupboard door though was lined with AIB so I disposed of that correctly.
A gas WA heater would need a registered pro for disconnection I would have thought.