complete central heating system - what do I need to know

[danlightbulb]

Hi all,

I am moving into a house with storage heating, which I plan to remove and replace with a complete gas central heating system.

I intend to get several quotes, but what pointers can people give me about things i need to know? I'll be doing alot of reading up on the subject but would appreciate any advice / tips from the people on here!

Regards
Dan

 

[gas4you]

1) You need to decide if you want a combi or traditional heat only boiler with hot water tank.

2) If a combi what size you need. Don't go for anything less than a 30Kw. If you have baths more than showers then a 37Kw would be better.

3) If a traditional boiler and cylinder, do you want an un-vented cylinder (best but a lot more expensive) or open vent with storage tank in loft.

4) Decide roughly your budget

5) Get 3 reputable installers in to get a written itemised quote (NOT an estimate)

6) Probably should have been first Arrange gas connection if you don't already have gas on property. Can take several weeks

7) If you can find an installer who uses Plumb Center and is registered on the A1 boiler scheme there is a subsidy of £275 for having storage heaters taken out (Fuel Switch subsidy). I pass £225 of this onto customer.

 

[Rob]

3 mains types of system are..

1. combi-suited to flats where space is limited or 1 bathroom houses.

2. conventional boiler and gravity fed hw cylinder. can add shower pumps etc for extra performance.

3. unvented/mains hw cylinder and conventional boiler. Most expensive as mains will probably have to be renewed as well material costs.

 

[Agile]

I pass £225 of this onto customer.

One wonders what you do with the other £50 ?

We would use all of it to subsidise the installation.

Tony

 

[gas4you]

I keep this for myself as with all other A1 grants customer gets boiler at reduced price and installer gets £50 as an incentive.

Why should I lose out on my incentive of £50 because the entire grant is in one payment of £275

I am open and upfront with the customers about it. Most installers either don't even know about it of keep it for themselves

 

[danlightbulb]

3. unvented/mains hw cylinder and conventional boiler. Most expensive as mains will probably have to be renewed as well material costs.

How much more expensive we talking, 100's or 1000's.

The house is a 3 bed family house with a single bathroom upstairs and kitchen downstairs. I plan to have a bath and a shower in the bathroom but the shower will be an electric one probably as don't really see any benefit from having a power shower.

If I go for combi boiler can I have it in the loft as space in the kitchen will be tight?

 

[gas4you]

If you don't need incoming mains replaced (assuming that it is 25mm plastic) and your cold mains internally is 22mm, a rough price would be around £1000 - £1500 extra depending on location etc. Combi's can go in lofts but there are more regulations for them being fitted up there.

 

[danlightbulb]

Thanks all for replies.

Will prob go for combi boiler then as long as it will provide enough hot water for running baths?

Then will have electric shower rather than power shower.

I know its probably completely variable depending on various installation issues, but if I wanted a combi boiler feeding 8 radiators and hot water what sort of cost would I be looking at for all parts, materials and installation? There is already gas supply to the house but additional pipework from meter to boiler would be needed.

 

[gas4you]

For a Vaillant 31Kw combi and your suggested set up an approx guide would be £3500 + VAT in my area with me doing it. Different parts of the country will have greater or lesser prices.

 

[oilman]

Will prob go for combi boiler .........

When your boiler breaks down, or your electric goes off, you will wish you hadn't, as it will mean NO HOT WATER!!!!

If you think it's no problem, just turn off your hot water for the day (when the weather's cold) and see how you like it.

 

[danlightbulb]

Hadn't considered that but power cuts don't happen often do they?

I want a simple, robust system hence why I thought combi would be better. Plus I want everything in the loft (can a hot water storage cylinder be put in loft?)

 

[Dan Robinson]

Properly installed and well made combis are no more or less reliable than any other type of boiler.

Yes, powercuts shut them off,

And yes there is no Immersion heater for back up. However - see above.

However, they take up a considerably smaller amount of space.

Peronally I prefer an unvented cylinder and a separate boiler.

However, a good installer will give you the correct advice for your circumstances. Not all boilers suit all houses and poeple.