Replacing gas boilers

[Princess Alison]

What are your views on the need to replace gas boilers and the alternatives available right now?

With a non air tight Victorian house, I can't see the air source pump being particularly effective. The ground source is expensive and would require land or a very deep bore hole. Again I'm not sure that will work here.

Does anyone have these already and have any thoughts? Or are there other technologies that could be considered?

I find it annoying that new builds aren't installing such items as standard, but I suppose it all comes off the bottom line!

[parisdisneyfan]

I agree. We looked into ashp for this house, not Victorian but not airtight, suspended floors, big air bricks and were told it would cost more and wouldn’t be as effective as trad rads. In the end we didn’t investigate further as the 46 year old oil one packed in at the beginning of December so we just replaced with a modern one.

Next door are putting 2 Ashp in their listed building renovation. Presumably they have researched further and found the answer!

I am also very surprised that they aren’t being fitted as standard in most “estate” type new builds although we found that “one off” new builds they were. I also think people have an impression that all electric heating is expensive so would be put off if major house builders stopped using gas.

It is something that needs a lot more put into it, as do electric car infrastructure, petrol/diesel new cars can only be sold for the next 8 years and at the moment, no way are we ready for that😓

[windsor_hills]

I think a lot of properties are going to need a fabric first approach (I.e. insulating well with floor, wall and loft insulation) otherwise a switch to a heat pump (ground or air) is going to be very expensive to run without other net zero measures such as solar PV. Houses are also going to need proper ventilation if they are going to be super insulated, otherwise the problems we see now around mould and condensation will get much worse. It’s going to be one big bill to get to net zero carbon. Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying it shouldn’t be done, I’m just saying affordability it going to be a big issue.

[tfmay]

Currently gas is still the cheapest to install and run, how long for , who knows with talks of gas levies.

ASHP in solid brick buildings that aren’t insulated will not heat it efficiently enough and cost a huge amount trying to, plus radiators have to be larger to accommodate lower ambient running temps and need space outside for the unit - these do make noise too. In some areas councils will ask you to get planning permission for them and to produce a noise report, it’s not always straight forward believe me, I work at a LA on a Grant project covering these and our own council was putting up hurdles in a conservation area the housing association wanted to put them in….(out of view at back of properties).

A fabric first approach mentioned earlier is the way to do things, if you can either put external or internal wall insulation on the Victorian property, the roof to at least 270mm and fully double glazed then yes it can be very efficient way to heat…..

At the minute there isn’t many other options to gas or oil, storage heaters can work but still expensive to run and early tests on hydrogen has thrown out a few issues but investment in heating technology is needed, not just grants for ASHP as that will not be suitable for all property types

Also consider ASHP will use electricity so think about combining with solar panels to offset the cost….

[YorkshireT]

I would like to go with heat pump. Particularly as the government are reportedly giving £5k toward it. But I fear the heat pump simply will not be warm enough on current technology. They’ve been making heat pumps for 40 years though so will they get much better in the short term? Also concerned about noise, with effectively a reverse condenser like on an aircon unit running next to the house.

[Princess Alison]

I think it will be expensive to get our windows air tight - they are all sash and most are original frames and glass!

We need some tech improvements!

[Mr Tom Morrow]

All pie in the sky. Not being negative but they wont work on retro fitting for most houses.

I can see the future - miss selling lawyers having a field day.

[tiggertastic]

A builder we know had one retro fitted to his house then had it removed as it was costing a ridiculous amount in electricity to keep it working. Retro fitting is very difficult to get right it seems.

They advised mom not to have one fitted in her new build as unless well fitted they are not that effective. Mom's house is very warm as all top notch insulation.

It seems to me new build estates don't jum through the same eco hoops as a independent new build.

[parisdisneyfan]

Originally Posted by YorkshireT

I would like to go with heat pump. Particularly as the government are reportedly giving £5k toward it. But I fear the heat pump simply will not be warm enough on current technology. They’ve been making heat pumps for 40 years though so will they get much better in the short term? Also concerned about noise, with effectively a reverse condenser like on an aircon unit running next to the house.

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We are concerned about where our neighbour is going to site his 2! Presently it looks like they are going to use a concrete base beside our front window(their side of the fence). We could hear a previous neighbours air con in our last property and it was more than twice the distance away. This could be a big problem, sight and noise for people in terraces or other close knit houses.

Btw our loft is well over 270mm insulation and we have cavity insulation retro fitted but how do we sort out the foot big airspace
Under the suspended floors? The bit in the kitchen conversion just fitted insulation the depths of the joists and then used big floor panels. Would we have to do that over the whole downstairs?

[Princess Alison]

Originally Posted by tiggertastic

A builder we know had one retro fitted to his house then had it removed as it was costing a ridiculous amount in electricity to keep it working. Retro fitting is very difficult to get right it seems.

They advised mom not to have one fitted in her new build as unless well fitted they are not that effective. Mom's house is very warm as all top notch insulation.

It seems to me new build estates don't jum through the same eco hoops as a independent new build.

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They both abide by the same (lax) building regulations. I think the independents are more often aiming at a market who want these features and therefore are prepared to install more sustainable features. Volume builders just want cheap easy housing and will do literally the bare minimum - but nevertheless are meeting building regs requirements.

Why on Earth the government aren't amending building regs now - at the very time so much house building is happening - is just bizarre. It would be the easiest time to install these features.

Retrofitting, as mentioned above, is a minefield