Central heating information overload !

[ben2726]

Well i am looking at getting a new central heating system installed as we currently have only storage heaters. The house is a 3 bed semi 1950's with one bathroom.

I have had a couple of plumbers round and thought i had come to a decision on a combi boiler ,mainly for space cost and as we only have one bathroom.

Was advised to go for an ideal logic over a worchester bosch. As apparently worchester have statred to use more plastic parts inside and they are failing. Does this sound correct?

Then the other day i had a plumber straight away say , go for an electric boiler with wet system, installed in loft with a tank so ill get excellent flow rate and copious amounts of water , which sounds good over a gas combi. My only concern is the running cost.

With gas prices rising and russia controlling the flow does this make sence to go electric?

Also they are almost silent, 99.9 efficent and with a hot water cyclinder they dont have to run at max thrust all the time.

Also in 10 -15 years gas combi's will not be installed in new homes ?

Im very open minded about all this and don't want to make the wrong and expensive decision!

Any advice would be great

 

[ChrisOxford]

99.9 efficent

By definition, electric heating is almost always very efficient. When you pass electricity through a resistance you get heat, not much else. But efficient is NOT the same as economical. I suspect it would be very costly to run. See the end of this thread: //www.diynot.com/forums/plumbing/can-this-be-repaired.288576/page-2#2099834

Was advised to go for an ideal logic over a worchester bosch. As apparently worchester have statred to use more plastic parts inside and they are failing. Does this sound correct?

I'm not in the trade, but if you look through the last few pages of posts on the Plumbing and CH forum, you'll see that this question comes up a lot. Opinions vary widely, but most agree that WB are good, though some models are better than others. And a lot of pros have said that the quality of the installation has more to do with the reliability of the system rather than the make of boiler per se. Other well-liked brands seem to be Vaillant and Viessmann (spelling?). See also the FAQ section: //www.diynot.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=175736

 

[flameport]

With gas prices rising and russia controlling the flow does this make sence to go electric?

No. If gas prices increase, so does electricity. Around 40% of electricity is generated by burning gas.

 

[mehran]

you can do more useful stuff with electricity then heating stuff up... think about it. a power station will be burning gas to make electricity for you to heat your water... you are getting two lumps of losses here. the loss in the process of making the electric and the loss in transmitting it to you.

I remember being told that the whole system had 60% efficiency losses. so your 99.99% is really nonsense

the only time is would ever tell anyone to go all electric is if they were getting solar electric panels on the roof to off set the cost of the electricity and did not like gas....

 

[ben2726]

I see what you guys are saying. Do you think this is maybe a bit to far into the future ? I know wind farms are apparently the next best thing.

Im thinking stick with the majority of the UK and go gas combi ,
not had the quote for electric boiler system yet but for the combi im looking around £4000 with 8 rads.

 

[mehran]

were about in the country are you?

it depends of what you are like? are you in to your green issues? I would still look in to getting solar electric panels on your roof.

 

[ben01892]

To be honest I want a decent system that is cheap to run , not sure I'll be in the property that long to get my money back from solar .

 

[flameport]

Im thinking stick with the majority of the UK and go gas combi

A sensible choice

not had the quote for electric boiler system yet but for the combi im looking around £4000 with 8 rads.

Can't see how it could be much less - the radiators and pipework will be the same, the electric boiler won't be much different in price to a gas combi, and installation would be pretty much the same.
There is also the question of whether an electric boiler will be powerful enough to heat your house.
One thing is certain - it will cost far more to run than gas.

I would still look in to getting solar electric panels on your roof.

A total waste of money and time.

 

[ben01892]

dont really fancy being a guinea pig for everyone else when i fine out how much my electricity bill is lol.

Just hope im not dissapointed witht the flow rate of the shower from the combi

What do people think of alpha (cd50)with the water storage inside itself, more hassel than its worth?

 

[ServiceNumpty]

Take a step back bud, think about what you want from the system, what kind of shower you require etc,
Do you have suitable flow rates and pressure from the incoming main, if the answer is I don't know, you need to find out first.
If no installer has checked this out bin em.
I would never quote for a combi without checking this out first.

 

[muggles]

Ditto Michele, you need to get your incoming flow rate and pressure checked before you go for a combi - this will affect both the decision on whether to have one at all, and if you are having one what power is most sensible. There's no point having a big powerful boiler if you can **** faster than your mains is coming in.

As for which boiler to go for if you do have a combi, every installer has their own preference and to a certain extent the quality of the installation is as important as the choice of boiler. Many installers are accredited by certain manufacturers and can offer extended warranties as a result. My personal recommendation is always the Intergas Combi Compact HRE, I don't think you can really do any better.

 

[Agile]

Any decent installer should be able to quote for and recommend different boilers and explain their advantages eloquently.

A single brand installer is either not very versatile or he is driven by the discount structure and his profile is him motivation rather than giving the customer the best options!

Tony Glazier

 

[ben01892]

thanks for all the replys .

my flow rate is good im in lincolnshire so hopefully a combi will be ok. The electric boiler sounded great with more pressure and hot water tank shame it will probably cost a bomb to run .

 

[ChrisOxford]

Bizarrely, as I type this, there's an advertising banner on screen saying "Affordable electric heating. As cheap to run as gas"

 

[Youllneverguess]

If you are looking at a reasonably cheap mainstream option get a Worcester combi and pay the extra for a five year warranty.

That way only an accredited installer does the work, you get a half decent boiler, and the backup should they manage to screw it up.

there are more expensive alternative out there, but the WB option probably suits the current world better.