is this possible: add GAS CH with electric Heating already installed ?

[amichaelglg]

Currently have twin 6K potterton electric boilers and a water cylinder in airing cupboard and tank in loft. This powers the heating and hot water in the house.
My question is it possible to additionally install a gas combi boiler in a different location. So I was thinking to install it where the kitchen sink exists there is also a radiator near by - so surely all the pipework needed to feed into a gas boiler are nearby - it would be on a wall where the other side is outside (for the flu).
I could then have the option to heat water or heat house using gas or electric ?

All i would need to do in preparation is to get the gas distributor to feed the gas pipes near that point and an energy supplier to fit a meter very near it too.

In theory is this possible?

 

[cross thread]

Combi attached to your system is a no,the combi is mains pressure to the tap’s and your system is tank feed.in theory with all sorts of valves etc it could be done but why

 

[flameport]

a gas combi boiler

Do you really mean a combi boiler - one that heats hot water on demand?
Or just a normal gas boiler which would be used with a hot water cylinder?

Most things as possible, but generally you have electricity or gas. Not both.
It's not just a case of connecting a boiler to a nearby radiator, and whether the gas meter can be located where you want it isn't certain either.
While gas is cheaper than electricity, the costs of installing a new gas supply and a new gas boiler will be £1000s, you will never make any savings.

 

[ianmcd]

Can't understand why you would want to? either go all gas or leave it as is

 

[amichaelglg]

I do mean a standard normal combi boiler. Instead how about perhaps a conventional boiler - does that make it easier and possible?

With regards to costs - think about 12kw per hour for heating water and/or radiators. I've worked out we have the potential of using 13,000 kw p.a . Obviously that includes everything else that uses and will still use electricity - which is not really much.
Even with 14 solar panels (recently fitted) it really is not going to make much of a dent in that! Especially when winter is the time the electric counter will be going crazy and there is not much being generated by solar panels.

and to answer the last post - the electric boilers are smack bang in the middle of the house in a wardrobe and ripping out and replacing it with gas will add a lot more in costs and more importantly disruption in house decor.
So if you can keep that in place and situate a new gas boiler -why not.

During the summer in theory with the solar panels we could use electric to heat the water. use the electric boiler rather than the cylinder immersion - as that would be quicker to heat the water.

 

[flameport]

There will be plenty of disruption wherever the gas boiler goes.
You can't just connect it to a nearby radiator - it needs to connect to the rest of the system where the control valves are, which is probably the same place the electric boilers are now.
That's either put the gas boiler where the electric ones are, or install new pipes from there to the boiler location.

A heat only gas boiler could theoretically be used, and could heat the existing radiators and hot water cylinder.
A combi boiler is intended to heat water on demand, with no cylinder. It's possible to configure one to heat a cylinder for some outlets and on-demand for one or two others, but that adds even more cost and complexity, and there isn't any realistic way to have the on-demand outlets from the combi supplied from anything else.

In theory is this possible?

It's all theoretically possible, but you have grossly underestimated the amount of work required and the costs involved.

 

[oldbutnotdead]

Yes your plan is possible but would need a bit more info on your current setup. If your cylinder is in fact a thermal store of some sort, critically with spare connections on it, then you can connect an additional heat source to it. Combi or heat only would be up to you- combi serving the kitchen tap only might be very useful- quick run hot rather than a minutes wait for run from cylinder.
Connecting new boiler to the end of the loop serving the rads would be tricky- all sorts of issues with getting proper circulation through the system. Much better to connect new boiler direct to the heat store.
If you don't currently have a gas supply to the house that could be a showstopper- get prices for that job first. After that you would need a good heating engineer (not a box-slinger) to have a look and prepare a scheme.