We've just moved into a new house (4 bed, 1 bath, 1 shower) and were considering replacing / upgrading the heating & hot water before we start decorating.
We currently have a Potterton Profile boiler approx 10 years old, and a well insulated tank which is in good condition and has an electric immersion heater in it for emergencies. All of the radiators are about 30 years old and are mostly the old single width type without any sort of fins on them - none of them seem to show any problem signs at the moment.
We've had three plumbers around to give their verdicts, and had three different responses - could you help us understand which is likely to be the best option for us?
A) Replace the boiler with a condensing one, upgrade the tank, replace all of the radiators.
B) Keep the boiler (it hasn't died yet), no need to replace the tank (because it is in a good condition), replace only the radiators which are too big / small for the room, but fit all of them with thermostatic valves.
C) Install a Megaflow system, remove the tank, replace all of the radiators and install thermostatic valves on them all.
Efficiency is important, but not if cost is high and the gains are small. Eventually, we would want to add solar heating into the system - I don't know if that makes a difference...
What would you recommend?
We currently have a Potterton Profile boiler approx 10 years old, and a well insulated tank which is in good condition and has an electric immersion heater in it for emergencies. All of the radiators are about 30 years old and are mostly the old single width type without any sort of fins on them - none of them seem to show any problem signs at the moment.
We've had three plumbers around to give their verdicts, and had three different responses - could you help us understand which is likely to be the best option for us?
A) Replace the boiler with a condensing one, upgrade the tank, replace all of the radiators.
B) Keep the boiler (it hasn't died yet), no need to replace the tank (because it is in a good condition), replace only the radiators which are too big / small for the room, but fit all of them with thermostatic valves.
C) Install a Megaflow system, remove the tank, replace all of the radiators and install thermostatic valves on them all.
Efficiency is important, but not if cost is high and the gains are small. Eventually, we would want to add solar heating into the system - I don't know if that makes a difference...
What would you recommend?
