[Mailman]

Originally Posted by wizzo227

If you are short on money then don't waste a penny on obsolete fossil fuel appliances and don't be fooled by the phrase <<hydrogen ready>>. A 1950's town-gas boiler used quite a proportion of hydrogen in the poisonous mixture sent to it, so any talk of spending money to make to gas pipes hydrogen-ready is just an excuse to spend more of your money on trash which only road-diggers and gas-plumbers would want put in. When I got quoted more than ten years ago to have a replacement gas boiler, I didn't do that and instead found a small air source heat pump for a single room+ inside the budget of a boiler swap/upgrade. Having that heat pump has saved me money ever since.

Thank you for your thoughts. Glad that your experience of ASHP is a positive one. The economics of ASHP v Gas Boiler from an economic POV is something I would delve into thoroughly when the time comes to any boiler renewal. Maybe things will change in the medium term 5-10 years for me to make a more informed choice and preferably one that doesn't leave me without a £ safety-net and feeling cold during my dotage. Hence my comments being about the short-term. 👍

Perhaps you are right about Hydrogen boilers but for sure they will develop (or not develop) and we will know within the next 5-10 years, I guess, as to its feasibility. I'll come back to this thread in 10 years perhaps.😄

[meldrewreborn]

@Mailman

When the gas changed from coal gas to North sea methane, there was huge conversion programme to retrofit all gas appliances to work on the new fuel. If our existing appliances are rendered obsolete by a change in the supply then i would expect the same to happen. There would be a revolt is people were left to fix their appliances themselves.

[Mailman]

Originally Posted by meldrewreborn

@Mailman

When the gas changed from coal gas to North sea methane, there was huge conversion programme to retrofit all gas appliances to work on the new fuel. If our existing appliances are rendered obsolete by a change in the supply then i would expect the same to happen. There would be a revolt is people were left to fix their appliances themselves.

Having talked it over with SWMBO, we are both of the opinion that we will keep going with our fossil boiler until the day when it decides its had enough of life or it were to become to expensive to run in comparison with what is going to be available at that time and in the near future thereafter. We just don't have the luxury (at the moment) of making decisions on moral grounds alone WRT to boiler replacement (if we had to do it next week). 👍

[meldrewreborn]

@Mailman

My boiler is 34 years old, very reliable, but not as efficient as current models. I'd need a system boiler as my thermal solar panel heats my water in the summer. The more expensive gas becomes, the more likely I'll install a new boiler. But if the price of gas to electricity ration changed greatly i'd go for a heat pump.

Consumers will be looking for some sort of solid steer from government on their policies. A lot of people claim to have bought a diesel car because of government incentives. I've never subscribed to that point of view and I've never owned a diesel vehicle, but enough people believe it and would be wary of snake oil politician's promises.

[DebF_EONNext]

We don't have a boiler at home just an immersion heater (it's very old and so expensive to run it's a nightmare!) if I'm being honest though I didn't even know there were different kinds of boilers 👀.

I've heard of a combi boiler but that's it 🙈. I just so happened to come across these on our YouTube channel earlier today they give you a bit more info about the different types of boiler and how they work, they do go a bit salesy at the end, however thought I'd still share in case someone like me who has no clue reads this, as they do actually give some useful information 😊

Regular Boiler...


System Boiler...


Combi Boiler...

[retrotecchie]

@DebF_EONNext

I would never have a gas combi ever again. I always used to replace them with system boilers whenever I lived in a place that had one. But since moving to Wales, I've been a total convert to oil. I'd never voluntarily go back to gas. Or electric for that matter. Under 5p per kWh and no standing charges. And no meter readings👍

[DebF_EONNext]

I agree @retrotecchie 💯 I lived in another off grid rural property before, it had an oil tank for heating & hot water. While it did work out much cheaper the biggest issue I had was that it was a massive upfront outlay, the tank was huge so it cost a small fortune to fill.

Of course once you get started it's easy enough to budget for the year ahead just like you would for your gas & electric, however the initial payment can sting & sadly not everyone can manage a big whack to the wallet like that especially when just moving in to a property.

I have to admit though if my landlord wanted to have oil installed here I would be thrilled!

[retrotecchie]

@DebF_EONNext

My tank is 2000 litres but there's no law says you have to fill it right up. A cheeky five hundred every so often when prices are favourable. Another trick is not to buy it from a heating oil supplier, but an aviation fuel supplier. OK, you pay 20% vat instead of 5% but Jet-A1 is a lot cheaper if you buy by the metric tonne so if you have a big tank that's the way to do it👍

[DebF_EONNext]

Now that is smart @retrotecchie I never would have thought about an aviation supplier 🤯 we always used a heating oil supplier, we would get a 10% discount though if anyone else in the street was having oil delivered on the same day 😊

[meldrewreborn]

I've done a few calculations and reckon that a new boiler could save me at most £250 per year with gas at 8p per unit (inc VAT). I ignore the standing charge because I also have gas hob, oven and flueless fire, which Iwould need to retain.

The cost of a new boiler (including fitting) is an absolute minimum of £2,500, a figure inflated by the add on of items required by building regulations (but which are of dubious real value).

So I might break even after 10 years, just as it would probably be necessary to invest in yet another boiler because the new ones are high tech and use lightweight heat exchangers which unfortunately do no seem to last.

So while my boiler continues to be safely operable and maintainable, I'll keep paying £250 each year because of its relative inefficiency. I'll reassess if gas prices go up massively once more,.but not if they stay at the current levels or lower.

I'm still thinking about a gas fired (rather than electrically driven) heat pump. This article suggests consumption 38% lower than a condensing boiler, saving me at current prices circa £380. It would be a big investment but might be the way to go.

When your answer is a heat pump powered by gas | Construction UK Magazine (constructionmaguk.co.uk)