The Cost of High Efficiency, Condensing Boiler
What is Involved in Buying a New Boiler and What will be the Price?
Sep 27, 2009
Anyone installing a boiler must be qualified and registered as per the local regulations, in the U.K. they must be on the Gas Safe Register.
Installing this gas appliance is not a suitable task for the home handy-man. In addition to being potentially dangerous, it could invalidate the manufacturers warranty and it would be a criminal offence to do so, in some parts of the world.
Replacement Boiler for Existing Heating System
A certain procedure must take place when a new boiler is installed or an existing boiler is moved to a new location in the same property. The procedure is laid out in law (Building Regulations, U.K.), it is standard good practice and it means that your heating system should work at its best.
- The whole system must be flushed, cleaned and a corrosion inhibitor must be added;
- Any exposed heating or hot water pipes must be insulated;
- The boiler must be commissioned, i.e. set up to work as per its manual;
- The Installer must explain how to use the system to the client;
- The Installer must notify the Gas Safe Register.
Other factors that a gas engineer will include:
- testing the gas system for leaks before any work begins;
- how and where the condensate water will be drained;
- what difference is required for the flue of a condensing boiler.
The procedure for fitting a second hand boiler is similar.
Cost of a New Boiler for Gas Central Heating System
New domestic boilers are available in the price range £500 to £2,000. It will depend on the details of the heating system and size of the house to determine what kind of boiler would be suitable.
In addition to the cost of the boiler and labour to fit it (with the procedure detailed above) there are a whole host of additional expenses which might be required, these should all be included in the quotation price supplied by the professional installer. It would usually take one or two days to replace a boiler.
Gas Engineer's Estimate of Price
The heating system must be upgraded to comply with regulations if it does not already do so. The engineer who will install the new boiler needs to see the existing heating system to advise on what upgrading will be necessary. In addition the installer needs to see the house in order to recommend the most suitable boiler for the job. A quote over the phone is not practical.
The upgrade may require new size of pipework or relocating the boiler to a more suitable position. It may involve replacing gravity hot water with a fully pumped system. At the very least the U.K. legislation requires that a specific set of controls are in place for the resident to control the heating and hot water. These include timers for heating and hot water and thermostatic radiator valves.
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