Reply With QuoteIf you're buying a new boiler I would recommend that you get one that also operates with hydrogen. It'll cost about 100 pound extra, but it will future-proof your boiler if we go down the hydrogen route.
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Anyone got one ?, the nutters who generally call into radio shows aren't giving them glowing reviews, my current boiler and working O.K, is 9 years old but I'm thinking about getting a traditional condensing boiler before Boris does a swift I'm outlawing new sales from next week stunt.
If you're buying a new boiler I would recommend that you get one that also operates with hydrogen. It'll cost about 100 pound extra, but it will future-proof your boiler if we go down the hydrogen route.
A plumber was telling me that larger radiators will need to be fitted as Heat Pumps heat water to a lower temperature than gas boilers. Also if you do not have a hot water tank that will need to be installed as well.Originally Posted by Heathblue
I was told the piping would need replacing as well, I understand it’s going to be necessary to make these changes, but it’s not going to be cheap
All pipes? Loads of people have them in the walls, no one is going to want visible piping going all around their rooms are they?
I think a more efficient and cheaper install will have to appear before the masses get involved.
Just stick with your traditional gas and wait for the grants to flood in, in 10 years time as they did with electric cars
The issues with heat pumps:
Can't control the temperature of your house as easily as with gas heating
Yes, radiators will need replacing with much larger ones and you may want underfloor pipework put in, too
The ambient temperature of a building will be low....I've heard 17c quoted but will depend on the size of the house. Therefore insulation/triple glazing is very much needed along with back up heating source(s)
They still consume some electricity to pump the water round
Air source heat pumps can look unsightly on buildings
The announcement of government grants was largely an ill thought through sound bite ahead of Cop 26. Not that I've come across them but, reading elsewhere, far bigger grants were available but withdrawn and replaced with smaller ones.
Not heard of gas boilers that can be adapted for hydrogen in future. Our boiler is 6/7 years old so won't need replacing for a few years but worth looking into now as a sensible way forward.
Around 4 years ago I worked for a firm based in Chelmsford who manufactures them. Lots of vids. on youtube showing how they worked etc., They work all right, just like a fridge in reverse, bu it terms of heating your home so do candles.
If you want the same temperatures that you get from gas CH, you'll need radiators the length of your living room wall, underfloor heating to back up when it gets cold outside, and separate means to heat water. They're also not cheap to run, can be very noisy at times. Basically they're crap if you want to keep your home warm.
Have a gas fitter in the house this morning, he's advised that this is the way to go at the moment, if we want to keep the traditional boiler arrangement
Existing boilers will work fine with a 20% Hydrogen to natural gas mix - they've already completed the research on this.Have a gas fitter in the house this morning, he's advised that this is the way to go at the moment, if we want to keep the traditional boiler arrangement
We are many years away from Hydrogen production to be at a scale (economically) to pump a 80/20 mix into the gas network.
I would suggest that today's more expensive boilers designed specifically for hydrogen will be out if date well before hey are really needed.
hear pumps are pretty common in Sweden, where I believe it can get pretty cold.
they have been properly insulating their buildings though for quite some time which helps a lot.
Just aswell we all live in such a warm sunny country
Are they better than the normal deaf aid though
One of my teams football coach inspects them to make sure they are fitted right and all working before the installing company gets the " green grant " from the government
when my boiler Died last year he gave me the details of all the green grants I could get, the costs were a lot higher than a normal boiler, but with the grants it was still a few K more expensive, but the off-set with cheaper running costs over the next years and the fact we would be greener ( I joked Gretta would be happy ) made it a decent change and one we were happy with
then the installer came in ( with my mate to make sure I wasn't being over sold / corners cut ) , new pipe work and bigger rad's, then the installer said " oh the heat will not be as good as the old system, because of your insulation " My walls have cavity wall insulation but its old and to upto todays standard, the floor is concrete with no / very little insulation , it really didn't make sense at the time as you really dont want to be cold in your own home, so I went with a like for like replacement of the boiler
At the moment the only people who have heat pumps are those with strong eco principles. In the mainstream world I don't think they'll ever replace gas/oil, unless there's a massive change in their technology.
I agree with most of the statements in the previous posts. Where I would disagree is that the newer machines like the Vaillant Arotherm are whisper quiet (I know because I went to see one which was installed near me) and the HT version has a higher heat output than the norm. However having said that, if you need the higher temperature continuously then the sCOP (seasonal coefficient of performance) will drop dramatically, meaning it will become increasingly expensive to run. I don't have UFH so I would need some larger radiators and as I have microbore pipework (10mm) possibly would need to increase pipework to 15mm as well. I already have a hot water cylinder (with solar thermal coil) but the would-be installer said I would have to change this as it is “not compatible” with the Vallaint ASHP (which I dispute!).
Up until this summer we had a biomass boiler (fuelled with wood pellets) which was installed in 2014. We are not on the gas grid. Prior to that we had a 10 year old conventional oil fired combi but we took advantage of the RHI scheme thinking we ought to go “green”. It turned out to be the worst decision we have ever made. Both the installer (local firm) and the manufacturer (in Denmark) went bust in the interim meaning that the guarantee was worthless and spares are practically impossible to obtain. Despite the hype about self-cleaning etc the boiler required regular monthly servicing which fortunately I could do myself.
We looked into ASHP as we have a very well insulated house (loft, cavity wall and IWI in some rooms) but the cost was prohibitive at nearly £13K. Even with the recently announced grant of £6K we would still have to find £7K!
Regrettably I have now installed a new oil boiler which I know is a backward step in terms of climate change. It cost a fraction of the price of the ASHP and I did this now because as a previous poster has said, Boris could announce at any time that installation of like-for-like replacement of gas or oil boilers is to be banned at short notice.
Having been a guinea pig once with a wood pellet boiler I do not intend to be one again with ASHP. I intend to wait until the technology improves, when there will be plenty of established suppliers/installers, the price tumbles as they did with solar PV and even more generous grants will be available as the government will be desperate to comply with COP 26 commitments.
As for the immediate future I can foresee the emergence of snake-oil salesmen as we did when double glazing came first along with the promises of dramatic reductions in the cost of home heating!
If the planet is warming up do we need heating ?
It's only heating up by 1.5 degrees if the COP26 come to an agreement.
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