Our house currently has a heat only boiler (Potterton Netaheat Profile 50e) that's 23 years old and works perfectly. If/when it packs up I was wondering whether I could replace it with a combi boiler rather than another heat only one, while still retaining the existing HW cylinder, 3-way valve, programmer, and wall thermostat.
The combi would heat the radiators AND HW cylinder, but supply direct hot water to just one tap - the kitchen tap. All the other HW taps and showers would be via the HW cylinder.
Are there any reasons or prohibiting regulations for not going down this route? I assume the electrical connections to the boiler would be straightforward.
The main advantage would be that with the kitchen sink being right next to the boiler, hot water to the kitchen tap would become almost instantaneous. (The pipe run between boiler and HW cylinder is about 6 metres, so currently hot water has quite a long way to travel from cylinder to kitchen tap). Also, combi boilers appear to be no more expensive than heat only ones, and may even be cheaper like for like.
The present system is a sealed system, with a remote expansion vessel and pump. Presumably both of these would become redundant as I think these are integral within the casing of a combi boiler.
The house has 3 bathrooms - all with showers or shower and bath tub - 4 bedrooms and 4 WCs. The total heating and HW requirement according to the online calculators comes out at around 13 kW for the house.
The combi would heat the radiators AND HW cylinder, but supply direct hot water to just one tap - the kitchen tap. All the other HW taps and showers would be via the HW cylinder.
Are there any reasons or prohibiting regulations for not going down this route? I assume the electrical connections to the boiler would be straightforward.
The main advantage would be that with the kitchen sink being right next to the boiler, hot water to the kitchen tap would become almost instantaneous. (The pipe run between boiler and HW cylinder is about 6 metres, so currently hot water has quite a long way to travel from cylinder to kitchen tap). Also, combi boilers appear to be no more expensive than heat only ones, and may even be cheaper like for like.
The present system is a sealed system, with a remote expansion vessel and pump. Presumably both of these would become redundant as I think these are integral within the casing of a combi boiler.
The house has 3 bathrooms - all with showers or shower and bath tub - 4 bedrooms and 4 WCs. The total heating and HW requirement according to the online calculators comes out at around 13 kW for the house.
