Gas Heating - Condensing boiler or not?

deedon

Hi,

I'm planning to install a new gas heating system in our 4 bed house. We'll be replacing all piping, radiators and the boiler. We've had a plumber in to have a look and he is to come back with a price.

So first off, any ideas on what is a reasonable price for this? (bear in mind that downstairs has solid concrete floors which will need to be cut out to lay pipes)

When he was here we had no discussion about the type of boiler. When we bought the house (few months ago), the surveyor recommended a condensing boiler. Does anybody have any experience of these - price / performance / reliability?

Thanks for help

Pete67

A condensing boiler should be as reliable as a traditional boiler. They cost a bit more initially but as they are about 20% more efficient you get your money back fairly quickly.

They run at lower temperatures to ensure that the flue gases are fully condensed so the radiators need to be slightly oversized to make up for the lower output per square ft. Make sure the system designer takes this into account. BTW this also makes them very suitable for under floor heating systems which run at low termperature anyway.

Also make sure that any pipes to be buried in concrete are fully insulated and no bare copper is left in contact with concrete as it will corrode and leak fairly quickly. Plastic coated copper is available for this purpose, or a suitable plastic pipe can be used, as long as it has a barrier system to prevent oxygenation of the water which can lead to system corrosion.

You can only buy and fit condensing boilers now, that is the law , for info on condensing have a look http://www.condensingboiler.org.uk/, As Pete wrote they are just as reliable as anything else but pay close attention to gas supply size to ensure it's big enough and that the system and boiler is flushed as per manufactures instructions with a inhibitor added after, which next to no installer does. My wish list would be a viessmann boiler with a outdoor sensor( no connection with viessmann, i just like them as I'm a boiler nerd), 3 channel programmer for hot water, rads upstairs with a room stat, rads downstairs and a room stat, thermostatic rad valves on all rads bar one (normally towel rail, to work as a bypass), drain off points near the back door and the front, which i have never seen fitted here, they are handy when you want to drain the system down without any drama, Gary.

JamesM

gary71 wrote: »

You can only buy and fit condensing boilers now, that is the law , for info on condensing have a look http://www.condensingboiler.org.uk/, As Pete wrote they are just as reliable as anything else but pay close attention to gas supply size to ensure it's big enough and that the system and boiler is flushed as per manufactures instructions with a inhibitor added after, which next to no installer does. My wish list would be a viessmann boiler with a outdoor sensor( no connection with viessmann, i just like them as I'm a boiler nerd), 3 channel programmer for hot water, rads upstairs with a room stat, rads downstairs and a room stat, thermostatic rad valves on all rads bar one (normally towel rail, to work as a bypass), drain off points near the back door and the front, which i have never seen fitted here, they are handy when you want to drain the system down without any drama, Gary.

Not sure about gas, but you can still buy standard non condensing oil boilers in Ireland.
Jim.

Traditional

Four bed house i would say about 4 to 5 depending on type of boiler you require rads etc would have to see it to give price , any questions fire away .

Fishtits

I have installed a condensing boiler, it runs at the same temperature as the previous non-condensing type (thermostat on the boiler determines temp) it uses the same rads as the previous type, the house is every bit as warm as it was before I changed.

My fuel consumption has decreased by about 33%.

The critical thing with a condenser type boiler is the return water temperature, have your system balanced and commissioned by a pro and you will have no problems IMHO.

No brainer as regards changing, it will pay for itself very quickly.

MiniGolf

JamesM wrote: »

Not sure about gas, but you can still buy standard non condensing oil boilers in Ireland.
Jim.

You can buy non condensing gas and oil boilers in Ireland.
Although it is not strictly illegal to install them you have to have a valid reason NOT to install a boiler with a seasonal efficiency rating of 86%!! Regulation came into force March 2007!
See www.sei.ie/harp for listings of all boilers that comply and those that don't.
I personally do NOT install anything BUT "A" rated boilers (Oil & Gas) even though I know I have lost work to less scrupulous installers who put in the cheapest available, regardless of the efficiency!
To answer the original question on this thread..... It would be a "no brainer" to choose condensing over non-condensing!
Just a word of caution.... There are "A" rated AND "B" rated condensing boilers (Gas that is...) so ensure you are comparing quotes like for like!
Please ensure that your installer is a Registered Gas Installer (RGI) for gas... obviously:D

gary71

gary71 wrote: »

You can only buy and fit condensing boilers now, that is the law quote]

That was a attempt at sarcasm, doesn't work as well in text, there are lots of standard efficiency boilers at rock bottom prices, as all the SE boilers were sent here when they were banned in the UK which was enforced, so there are lots of dodgy installers fitting them here because the regs are not enforced, Gary.
.

deedon

Thanks for the advice guys. Some food for thought and extra questions to ask tradesmen