New Combi boiler question

[gas4you]

You could try your local council for a grant.

If all else fails, contact your local age concern for help and advice. They will know of good trusted local installers . I am called in by my local 'branch' sometimes to help the elderly.

 

[muggles]

Since when?

Sorry, let me rephrase, a powerflush is recommended by most reputable manufacturers, dunno about baxi heaps.

What has Baxi got to do with it? The post is about a Worcester-Bosch



How many bathrooms / shower rooms etc are there? I would have thought that a Junior would be insufficient to meet the demands of a house of the size you describe, as far as hot water requirements go. Whilst it may suit someone living on their own, considering the long-term future of the property it could be better to stick with a boiler and cylinder arrangement. You can have a condensing system boiler which will make use of the existing cylinder and still give your mother improved efficiency over her old boiler. Also check heat output requirements - what power output is the present boiler? Is it sufficient to give reasonable warm-up times?

 

[Agile]

As British Gas go this is a fairly reasonable quote for them!

I usually expect to be able to charge at least £1000 less than BG, however, in this case my rule of thumb quote is still £2140.

Tony

 

[chr15]

As British Gas go this is a fairly reasonable quote for them!

I usually expect to be able to charge at least £1000 less than BG, however, in this case my rule of thumb quote is still £2140.

Tony

I also thought this quote seemed unusually low for BG having seen some recent quotes of theirs ...

 

[D_Hailsham]

my rule of thumb quote is still £2140.

Let's assume the lady accepts your quote. She currently spends £1700 a year on gas and has been told she will save 30%, that's £510. So it will take her just over four years to pay for her new boiler (Nearly five and a half years if she went with the BG quote).

Is it sensible for a person 77 years old to layout so much money?

The first thing to do is try to reduce her gas bill, which is why I suggested improved insulation, TRVs, a better thermostat etc. A change of supplier might save her several hundred pounds each year.

 

[gavinda]

remember if she decided to downsize from her current home to somewhere belse that this would be a good selling point and would be a benefit to her hip [/wormcanopener]

 

[Agile]

It was stated initially that this is a well insulated FOUR bedroom house where the 77 y.o. lives on her own!

It seems pretty obvious that she is heating all four bedrooms which is totally unnecessary and a blatant waste of fuel causing unnecessary greenhouse gases.

There should be a law against that. However, if she will not respond to the excessive gas bills and pays all the bills then there is nothing we can do. Only the relatives can try to get the settings to a more economic usage. My experience is that because relatives have no financial involvement they are just not interested!

I would also say that a combi is NOT the best boiler solution for a house which can potentially house a large family and a heat only boiler retaining stored water will make the best solution if the future use is taken into account.

She should be persuaded to move to more suitable accommodation which at 77 would usually be a warden controlled retirement flat or small bungalow where security is good and help is on hand.

Tony

 

[gavinda]

surely the suitability of the combi depends on the amount of bathroom asnd the water pressure. i have a greenstar 35 combi and a 22mm mains supply to the boiler itself. suffice to say when im in the shower with the dishwasher on i do not really notice any issues , even when the toilet is flushed also.

but i aggree with what you say about one person living in a 4 bed house.

what about having some trv's fitted to the bedroom sand spare rooms and instructing her to keep as many doors shut .

btw op hasnt specified what boiler it is and why its been suggested for replacement. i know some of my colleagues have a rep for being pushy about boiler swaps but some like me will only do this where it is of actual benefit for the customer.

obsolete boiler with very limited parts availabilty perhaps. i know i dont like cutting oldies off in december with nothing to say but 'i told you.'

 

[D_Hailsham]

It was stated initially that this is a well insulated FOUR bedroom house where the 77 y.o. lives on her own!

Three of us live in a well insulated FOUR bed house with a 20 year old boiler. My gas bill is about £850. and I'm in the middle of changing suppliers, which will save me about £100 pa.

It seems pretty obvious that she is heating all four bedrooms which is totally unnecessary and a blatant waste of fuel causing unnecessary greenhouse gases.

I heat the whole house, so that does not explain her bill being twice as much as mine.

Only the relatives can try to get the settings to a more economic usage. My experience is that because relatives have no financial involvement they are just not interested!

It decreases the relatives' inheritance!

I would also say that a combi is NOT the best boiler solution for a house which can potentially house a large family and a heat only boiler retaining stored water will make the best solution if the future use is taken into account.

Agreed.

She should be persuaded to move to more suitable accommodation which at 77 would usually be a warden controlled retirement flat or small bungalow where security is good and help is on hand.

Just because she is 77, does not mean that she is incapable. My mother lived on her own for 13 years, until she was 89 and only gave up driving the year before she died. She would have soon told us where to go, if we had suggested she went into a warden controlled flat or bungalow.

 

[Agile]

Only the relatives can try to get the settings to a more economic usage. My experience is that because relatives have no financial involvement they are just not interested!

It decreases the relatives' inheritance!

I must disagree with my learned friend, reducing heating costs will enable more money to be saved so it will INCREASE inheritance.

I once went to a 91 y.o. who qualified for FREE loft insulation but still she had NONE!

She should be persuaded to move to more suitable accommodation which at 77 would usually be a warden controlled retirement flat or small bungalow where security is good and help is on hand.

Just because she is 77, does not mean that she is incapable. My mother lived on her own for 13 years, until she was 89 and only gave up driving the year before she died. She would have soon told us where to go, if we had suggested she went into a warden controlled flat or bungalow.

That property is grossly oversized for one person. Many retirement flats are just like any other flats except only available for over 50s etc. They are not "warden controlled" but just have a warden on site if anyone needed any help. People get older and no one knows what the future holds for them

Tony

 

[D_Hailsham]

Only the relatives can try to get the settings to a more economic usage. My experience is that because relatives have no financial involvement they are just not interested!

It decreases the relatives' inheritance!
I must disagree with my learned friend, reducing heating costs will enable more money to be saved so it will INCREASE inheritance.

I should have said it affects the relatives' inheritance, so they will have a financial involvement.

That property is grossly oversized for one person.

It may be. But, fortunately we do not live in a country where the government dictates what size property you are allowed to live in.

A few years ago we (4 people) were living in a 5 bed Edwardian semi. A Vietnamese student came to live with us for a year. Her first words, as she entered our house for the first time were: "Only four people live in this large house?!" We later found that she and her family, including grandparents lived in a two room flat with hot water once or twice a week. She spent 45 minutes in our shower for the first few nights!