Question about adequate heating

[harmonia]

Hi,

I am in the process of buying a three bed house which has recently (last year) had a HE24 Ideal Combi Gas Boiler installed. I have just had the survey back and it mentioned that there is still a night storage heater in the kitchen and that two of the bedroom radiators upstairs were recently installed but not, as I noticed, under the widows but against the opposite walls. Anyway I am beginning to suspect that it was done on the cheap as the place is currently owned by an old lady and requires a far amout of modernisation.

My question is whether the central system is man enough for the job (model www.idealboilers.com/docs/pdf/icos_system_he_users_guide.pdf) given the fact that it is an older 1920s semi without d/glazing and it will have a young family in it. I am going to take another viewing to check out the number of rads installed but if anyone could post their opinion I would be grateful

Adam

 

[Agile]

First, you dont decide to buy or not based on the heating system! Thats just a fraction of the cost of the house!

You have a new condensing boiler although they are not the most reliable.

Rads can be moved at low cost if necessary.

I am sure you would be replacing the windows soon and then the rad locations becomes less important. New houses dont usually put rads under windows any more because its not necessary with a well insulated room.

A DG semi with loft insulation usually needs 10-12 kW of heating and that boiler is 24 kW so there is plenty of boiler power, too much if its a heat only boiler with a HW cylinder!

Tony

 

[swbjackson]

Your main issue will be with the hot water output of the combi. You'll get around 9.5 l/min which is fine for showering, washing etc. but a pain in the backside if you like to bathe often.

 

[fitz1]

installed heating was probably done on a grant , so should be up to standards.

 

[mickyg]

First, you dont decide to buy or not based on the heating system! Thats just a fraction of the cost of the house!

No tony but if the system is a complete mess and needs re-doing we're talking at least 2-3k possibly more, so its very sensible to investigate potential costs.
As said above you will not exactly be impressed with the hw output. Its difficult to give the best advice(financially). These boilers are awful and if it were me I'd rip it out. However as a consumer it seems a terrible waste to scrap a brand new boiler. If the hot water output does turn out to be unsuitable for your usage(likely). Then the only common solutions would be to add an unvented cylinder to the system or replace the boiler. Long term if this boiler lives up to reputation you will wish you had scrapped it.

 

[Agile]

With average house prices averaging £160,000 the cost of rejigging a few rads pales into insignificance.

The replacement windows at £4k-£6k will be a much more significant expenditure.

Although pensioners usually can get full lost insulation installed free I find very few have much or any at all!

I estimate from my visits that about 15% of homes in London have virtually no insulation even though the cost is recoverable in just one year!

Tony

 

[gas4you]

Your main issue will be with the hot water output of the combi. You'll get around 9.5 l/min which is fine for showering, washing etc. but a pain in the backside if you like to bathe often.

As said , this is the main point you need to consider, not the radiators.

Also with this lousy boiler you need to get a service contract as it will cost you a fortune to keep being repaired

 

[harmonia]

thanks for your advice guys.

esp the issue regarding the HW output of that boiler for bathing etc. That has answered a question I had about the bathroom:- it has an older showerunit that has a fairly recent electric shower. I guess the current owner must have discovered that the hot water supply was ltd herself and/or the previous gas boiler was even worse... This all needs to be taken in consideration ..as a family we use the shower far more than the bath (v. rare)

thanks

Adam

 

[bengasman]

Yes, your boiler is strong enough.
Rads not under windows is no problem, I put them by default behind the doors as you never use that space anyway and the rads don't get closed in by the curtains.
Your real problem is the make of the boiler; I can not remember having one seen of that brand newer than 2000 that was installed correctly. On top of that, it is one of the worst brands commonly seen.
Expect a fair amount of money for repairs on a regular basis.