OT: New Gas Boiler

No, the energy market isn't like the mobile phone market with free/subsidised hardware every few years.

You would be better off finding a local firm to install and maintain a boiler.

What annoys me is that if I have to replace my combi boiler I understand that I will have to have a boiler with a tank which stores a huge quantity of hot water. Fine for a family, but hopelessly expensive in fuel for a single person. I use almost zero gas when the central heating is off.

Uh? Surely you just replace the combi with another one. We did just that early last year.

Well, maybe my information is incorrect! I understood from a friend who had one fitted recently that the plumber implied that they are regarded as ecologically unfriendly these days. :) I'll check with him tomorrow....

It does seem to be confusing.

At this site

they say "Why are only high efficiency (condensing) gas boilers listed on our site? This is due to Building Regulations set by the Government which now make it illegal to install a standard efficiency boiler except in extreme circumstances

Building Regulations Part L From 1 April 2005, the Government raised the energy performance standard for new and replacement gas-fired hot-water central-heating boilers. From that date, in normal circumstances when you plan to install a new boiler or replace an existing one, you will need a condensing boiler to meet the higher standards for energy efficiency. Similar standards applying to oil-fired hot-water central-heating boilers will come into effect on April

2007. "

But on the other hand they also say here

"The high efficiency condensing combi or combination boiler is an ingenious space-saving idea, and an increasingly popular choice in UK homes. In fact, combis now account for well over half of all the new domestic boilers installed in Britain every year."

Does this imply that combi boilers are also (or some types are) condensing boilers? Ahah, yes it does because on the same page it also says "There are 3 different types of high-efficiency condensing boiler: Combi Regular System "

And on the home page of this site they have a combi boiler prominently advertised.

Thanks for that. I'm not very clued up on this sort of thing. In the old days it would have been a case of going to British Gas (LOL). Can someone throw some recommendations at me? It's a 3 bed house and the boiler's for heating and hot water. Meanwhile I'm off to money saving expert... Cheers. Tro.

Isn't there a scheme for people over 60 to get first time combi boilers installed at half price, an EU thing run by the local council along with cavity wall insulation and roof insulation?

Mark BR

Probably a Vaillant. The other main option is probably Worcester - they seem to do quite a lot of stuff for oil fired systems.

Bitstring , from the wonderful person Tumbleweed said

Yes. A 'condensing boiler' is just one where the waste/exhaust gas temperature is so low that a low of the water vapour (from burning the fuel) condenses to liquid water (which needs to be piped down a drain). Whether it is driving a combi, regular, geyser, or hot air system, makes never no mind to the actual boiler type.

The downside of Combi is that you don't have a nice big tank of hot water (which you can heat overnight with Economy7 electricity).

Not necessarily true.

Since a combi can heat radiators, there is a possibility that you can plumb a tank into the radiator circuit, and connect the combi's fresh hot water output to only some of the house's hot taps.

The disadvantage of a combi when you want lashings of hot water in a hurry (for a nice deep bath, say), is that it may not be able to heat the water hot enough at a fast enough flow rate, in other words, the bath will take ages to fill.

So you could have a tank just for the bath. But if you're going to have a tank anyway, you might as well use it for all the hot taps and not bother with a combi.

That's OK too, as condensing doesn't have to be combi.

Well 'anything is possible', but by default they don't. That's 99.9+% of all known installations.

Or in my case the power shower won't work right .. you need an industrial sized combi to keep up with a 3 bar power shower (and maybe heat the house at the same time).

ISTR a respected plumber/CORGI man recommending those. Tro should check these posts and/or post on uk.d-i-y.

Daytona

Tumbleweed wrote

All very confusing, as you say, I didn't think you could have a condensing combi! Thanks for your trouble, and apologies for not snipping in this case.

Yes, if they are on benefit, I'm not sure of the exact rules though.

Benefit being? Drawing a pension or not working or? Tro

The (complicated) rules are here:-

Enter "warm front scheme" into the search field.

My lady friend receives pension credit and assistance with rent. Her house had CH when she moved in, so she only received the insulating and draught-proofing grant, whereas her neighbour got central heating installed, so that must be the approximate qualifying level.

Worth enquiring about, anyway!

An excellent link - thnx! Tro