Should we upgrade our gas boiler?

cykedout

We have a few bob left after most of our house improvements and the next thing we are thinking about is upgrading the old gas boiler. We have a Baxi Solo 2 PF wall mounted in the upstairs bathroom (not sure which sub model though). It's over 15 years old but still works fine. After checking about the SEAI grants, they are still giving €560 (down from €700) towards that and the Controls upgrade.

Can anyone give any advice about how much an upgrade would cost? We do have the option on the cistern for turning off the radiators in the summer, etc. Is it worth doing the upgrade, etc? (We don't have a very big budget left)

It looks like the current boiler is rated about 68%, less even than the G rating. The newer Baxi Solo HE A rated boiler is available from some english sites for around £600 - £750. What would an SEAI approved RGI charge for it and installing and would it be easy to fit where the existing one is?

Any info or advice would be appreciated. Thanks!!
Any

Cicero

You can get a grant that can help towards an upgrade....read more about it here...15 years old is quite old- from talking with a Registered Gas Installer not so long ago, recommendation would be to upgrade if possible- especially @ 68%- if you get the individual room temp regulators fitter to your rads (which might be a condition of getting the grant- can't remember)- you will save even more on bills- think with grant,, overall cost will be circa 2k - 2.5K (but open to challenge on that by someone who may know a bit more)

http://www.seai.ie/Grants/Better_energy_homes/

cykedout

Thanks.

Joey the lips

Supply and fit of a new boiler is in the region of 2.5k. Its a difficult decision to make for such a small efficiency gain.

If it were me i would upgrade my insulation first and look at using my gas less.

DoneDL

Considering the age of the boiler I would say change it, have a look at Viessmann, vaillant or Worcester bosch as well. Baxi are quite a good boiler but check warranty length and ease of getting spares. It won`t cost you anything to get a few quotes.

lomb

Factor 10-15% of the gas savings in increased maintainance cost and early capital replacement of condensing boilers too.

cykedout

Thanks for the advice. Money not the greatest and we have other priorities first so we may just leave the boiler for a year or more and go as is. If it goes, then we can look at getting the job done.

Joey, may take your advice and look at upgrading the attic insulation and sealing any openings to keep more of the heat in...

Micky Dolenz

Have to agree with insulation. I would only consider a boiler change if current boiler was giving trouble. The Solo 2 is reliable and parts are readily available.

How ever about generating heat, retention is key.

DoneDL

+1, the heatloss from the property will significantly affect the boiler size. That said the efficiency of the boler will always be a concern. Insulate first and there are grants available.

Cicero

For me, individual room temperature regulators along with insulation is probably the best route from a cost saving perspective as not all rooms need to be heated at the same time- long term returns though will be made on replacing your boiler with a more efficient one

air

I also have an older gas boiler with a similar efficiency.
I may be wrong but I think a lot of the improvement in the efficiency figures are down to improved insulation of the boiler itself.
The upshot of this if my suspicions are correct is that if your boiler is within your house the heat lost is helping to heat your house anyway so it's not a big deal.
If you happened to have your boiler in a shed or whatever this would of course mean you would have more to gain from an upgrade.

Personally my boiler is in my utility room so I don't think there's any case for an upgrade. It's reliable and parts are cheap if required.

I've attached a thermal image of my boiler running in it's press in the utility room, as you can see it loses a lot of heat to the room you locate it in.