Still worth getting a replacement gas boiler?

[NJneedshelp]

Our ~15-year-old boiler just broke down (the spark igniter gave out and we got it replaced), and set out a discussion to go ahead and replace it, as it's starting to kettle as well, and it will probably just be downhill from here.

Background: 1905 built (renovated in 2010) Edwardian terraced. The house is 2 floors and runs 2 different systems and hot water. It's an unvented system with a DHW tank. On the ground floor, we have water-based underfloor heating with tile and wood floors, each room having its own thermostat. On the first floor, we have a series of 5+1(towel rack) aluminum and steel radiators, hooked up to a Nest thermostat in the hallway, all of them still have a manual valve (so no zoning is possible at the moment). The system has 2 valves: Heating and Hot Water, so if the heating downstairs comes on in a single zone, the upstairs heating does as well.


Now with all the fuss around Air-source heat pumps, is it still worth getting a replacement gas boiler for the next ~10 years, so we don't have to rip out our floors to get the piping for the Heat-Pump to the DHW cylinder?

My thoughts right now are to ride out the winter with the current boiler and then replace it with a new gas boiler in the early summer, and:

1. Add in another valve to zone the upstairs
2. Add an expansion vessel, so we don't suffer from any pressure swings
3. Upsize the 5 radiators so they're ready for whenever we upgrade to an ASHP and add TRVs to each of the 5 radiators

Sounds like a smart plan, or stupid thinking? I guess the alternative could be to run the whole system on an electric system boiler, but I fear that could be immensely more expensive, even with the current high price of gas.

 

[ianmcd]

Electricity is still a lot more expensive than Gas, new boiler and upgrade controls so you are only heating the parts that need heating

 

[muggles]

Sounds like you just need a new spark generator and a powerflush, but if you really want a new appliance then go for it. A new one is unlikely to be much more efficient than the one you have though. Nobody is going to force you to change to an ASHP, and the gas supply isn't going to get turned off.

 

[flameport]

electric system boiler,

The worst possible option. Do not go there ever.

 

[gas112]

What is your present boiler make and model

 

[robinbanks]

I'd recommend performing an insulation upgrade and air tightness detailing before you install a heat pump, unless the 2010 works you mentioned already did that