replacing oil boiler

ednwireland

the baffeles have burnt through on my oil boiler, there welded into the casing is warped as well so i guess a replacement is in order (its 15years old )
i have just been qouted 1800 euro for a condensing boiler as agaist 550 for a standard boiler (35KW)
would consider wood pellet burner but local supplier wants 6 grand and they only do stoves with central heating combined not unit which would just replace the boiler in the boiler house.
can i get a condensing oil boiler cheeaper wood pellet is out of the question at that price.

gregos

A condensing boiler is unnecessary unless you're using it with a low-temperature system such as under-floor heating. It will do nothing for you. Buy the cheaper one.

ednwireland

gregos wrote:

A condensing boiler is unnecessary unless you're using it with a low-temperature system such as under-floor heating. It will do nothing for you. Buy the cheaper one.

don't understand? surely converting the exhaust gases to useable heat is worthwhile - it just gives you a more efficient heat conversion from the flame (unlike the current boiler where loads of heat warms up the outside of my house)
it just feeds the extra heat into the heating system rather than blowing it out the flue

in the uk most gas boilers (sorry most recent experience 0- mothers house) are condensing even for standard central heating

gregos

There is some extra efficiency with a condensing boiler but it depends on the particular building and layout. The UK decision to go for all condensing boilers was based on political optics, not technical fact. The lower the return temperature, the more effective a condensing boiler is. Conversely, the higher the return temperature the less benefit there is in fitting a condensing boiler. You could fit large rads to reduce the return temperature, at a cost. The comparison is typically about 82% efficiency for a condensing boiler under the right conditions compared to 75% for a conventional boiler, so you could save a few quid there sometimes. On the other hand, you'll also probably get to know your service fitter quite well over the next few years with maintenance calls.

There are other ways to reduce energy consumption. You could consider zoning your house with timed thermostats and motorised valves. That way, you wouldn't have to heat some parts of the house at all until you need to. Bingo. Big savings. You could increase the insulation in your attic from probably 4 inches now to 12 inches, and see a huge, instant reduction in fuel consumption, for a small outlay. And a noticeably warmer house. You could have the cavities pumped at a relatively modest cost, and also notice a big difference.

It's all a question of where you'll get the best bang for your buck.

ednwireland

thanks for the answer that makes more sense. grants (multipass) make a standard boiler with more efficient baffles but no condensor so might go for that
got 12 inches loft insulation and thermostats on all rads so we turn down rooms not used as much didn't install zones when we did the heating didn't think about it must put a room thermostat in now when boiler is replaced as well
thanks again.