warm air running costs

[martynhsmith]

I'm looking to replace my warm air heating. I have a couple of quotes, both using johnson and starkey units

A J50 open flue unit like my existing one
Or a
Economaire 50, that would need a new flue fitted along the route of the existing one.

The cost of fitting the Ecnom. 50 is nearly £1700 more.
is this extra cost worth it? Will I ever reclaim it?

Sorry for asking a use question on a DIY forum but its the only place I have found warm air mentioned
And before anyone asks, No I don't want wet heating!

Thanks

M

 

[Gas2Air]

Warm air has about the same efficiency as heating a room with a hairdryer.

 

[JohnD]

efficiency is not the same as output power, so that is quite a poor reply.

 

[Gasguru]

AFAIR the only real difference with the Econmaire is the fanned flue and lack of permanent pilot. I doubt the unit would be significantly more efficient than the J50. The other advantage would be the safer balanced flue.

Have you considered condensing warm air units, they are available from Johnson & Starley, Lennox etc and these would be considerably more efficient but I can't vouch for the long term reliablity.

 

[Agile]

Why do you think you need to replace your existing boiler?

Warm air units are probably about 80% efficient.

They heat up the air so there is a rapid warm up time which gives a small saving too.

Tony

 

[ianmcd]

something you will have to consider is what material your existing flue is made of , if it is asbestos as was very common on warm air units you could be looking at a substantial sum to replace, as you say if you are happy with your WAU then yes stick with it

 

[martynhsmith]

Thank you for the replies, to answer some of the questions.

I have looked at changing to Radiators but the cost is comparable and I lose wall space for radiators.

I don't think I would want to change anyway, I switch on the Heating and it's warm with in minutes.

Reason for replacing - The plumber who services it, did the sharp intake..
The main reason is the hot water part failed and can't be replaced and I'm sending EON an arm and a Leg to heat the water with an immersion heater.
He also said being 35 years old a newer model is more efferent


The flue - It's not asbestos, it was checked.

I don't think I want to heat my house with hairdyers but if someone wants to that's up to them


Still haven't decided - I suppose the safety issue should sway me a bit not just the cost savings

M

 

[simond]

The newly released J&S warmcair range are highly efficient and use a similar (but not the same) type of flue as Economaire.

Personally, I cant see J&S continuing with Economaire much longer.

The only question on them is reliability, but then the Economaire has had a few problems over the years.

The Lennox G61 MPVT is a US made condensing warm air unit that is very efficient and reliable, coming from a continent where warm air is still a very popular format, however these are not made with a water heater.

 

[Agile]

What is actually wrong with the water part? How can you be so sure that it cannot be repaired?

It would be quite cheap to have a gas instant water heater.

But if you had a proper off peak electric supply for water heating it would not cost very much more than gas heating.

Have you calculated how many years it would be before the extra electricity costs would equal £2000 !

Tony

 

[Gasguru]

The water circulator has probably leaked/scaled up or is solid with combustion soot. Most I've seen have been in a terrible state and long past it due either to lazy gas installers failing to clean the heat exchanger properly or homeowners not bothering with servicing.

Most of these circulators are hopelessly inefficient (open flued) and run on mechanical thermostats with no timed control. When you add in the initial outlay or replacement cost then I doubt long term there's much difference between heating the water by gas or electrical energy.

 

[Agile]

I find that a WAY has even less chance of getting serviced than a boiler.

The reality is that they have a higher likelihood of becoming dangerous and therefore its even more important that they are serviced/safety checked every year.

Tony