It Starts With a Proper Look at Your Home
Before I recommend a boiler, I want to understand what you've already got and what you actually need. The number of people in the house, bathrooms, hot-water use, available space, future renovations and the existing gas supply can all change the right answer.
How Do You Use Hot Water?
A busy home with several bathrooms can have very different requirements from a similar-sized house occupied by one or two people.
What Are Your Plans?
A loft conversion, extension or boiler relocation may mean tanks need removing or the whole system arrangement needs reconsidering.
Can the Existing Installation Support It?
Modern boilers can have different requirements from older appliances. Gas supply, pipework, controls and the condition of the heating system all need checking.
Combi or Stored Hot Water?
There isn't one answer for every home. A combination boiler can be a brilliant solution where it's suitable: compact, no separate hot-water cylinder and continuous hot water. But it isn't automatically the best choice for a property with heavy simultaneous hot-water demand.
Combination Boiler
Heating and hot water are wrapped into one appliance, freeing up space and removing the need for a separate hot-water cylinder. Particularly attractive when removing loft tanks or during renovations.
System / Heat-Only Boiler
Stored hot water can make more sense where the household needs stronger hot-water availability across several outlets. Existing heat-only systems can also be replaced without automatically converting the whole property.
A large kW number on a combi is often driven by the hot-water performance you want. The heating side of a typical home may require considerably less output, so the boiler needs to be selected and set up for the actual application.
Before recommending a combination boiler, I’ll check the incoming water pressure and flow rate. There’s no point fitting a boiler capable of delivering more hot water than the incoming mains can actually supply.
What I Include in a Proper Boiler Installation
System Cleaning
The heating system is flushed as part of the installation, then left protected with inhibitor.
Magnetic Filter
Every boiler I install now gets a magnetic filter to help protect the new appliance and heating system from circulating debris.
Controls Updated
Where the existing controls aren't suitable, they're updated. There's little point fitting a modern boiler if the system can't be controlled properly.
Combi Protection
On combination-boiler installations I generally fit a mini shock arrestor and scale reducer where appropriate to the installation.
Set Up & Commissioned
The new boiler and controls are set up and checked as part of the completed installation rather than simply fitting the appliance and walking away.
Up to 12-Year Manufacturer Warranty
Warranty length depends on the boiler and model selected, with manufacturer warranties available up to 12 years on qualifying appliances.
Thinking About Converting to a Combi?
Conversions are popular because they can free up a surprising amount of space. If you're renovating, extending or converting the loft, it can be the ideal time to remove old tanks and cylinders, relocate the boiler and rethink the system properly.
More Space, Fewer Separate Components
Where a combi is suitable, the boiler contains more of the working components within one appliance. That can simplify the system and remove the need for separate stored-hot-water equipment.
But Only Where It Suits the Home
I won't recommend a combi simply because it's popular. If your household's hot-water requirements are better served by stored hot water, I'll explain why and recommend accordingly.
Photos Are Useful — But I Prefer to Survey the Job
If it's easier, you're welcome to send me photos of the existing boiler, cylinder, tanks or pipework on WhatsApp. They're useful for an initial conversation.
For a proper recommendation and accurate quotation, though, I normally want to visit the property. A boiler installation affects more than the appliance on the wall, and I want to see the system before telling you what I think you should spend your money on.
Thinking About a New Boiler?
Call Steve and we'll talk through what you've got and what you're trying to achieve. Or send a few photos on WhatsApp first if that's easier.