Should It Stay, Or Should It Go?
When somebody decides to replace the boiler or is looking at their high gas bill, they can’t often quantify the saving.
The Problem
Unfortunately, this is not a black and white answer. A heating system is made up of components. The amount of heat that the property itself loses is a primary consideration. Replacing the windows will save as much money as replacing anything else concerning the heating. Insulating a loft will also help prevent a lot of heat loss because heat rises, and it’s better to trap it inside the living space.
With heat loss out of the equation, we have five remaining things to think about. Modern radiators, programmable thermostatic heating controls, thermostatic radiator valves, a high-efficiency boiler and clean heating water circulating around through the radiators and boiler.
Nitty Gritty; Money
I have covered the none boiler items in other blogs so please check those out. To make this easier, I did a few representative calculations.
The average heating bill per year is £1,200. If we use this figure as the lowest cost, we can see the difference between that bill and less efficient boilers.
If the boiler is a non-condensing boiler, the maximum it can run at is 80% efficiency. That means that the average bill would be £1,350. £150 per year on a boiler that will not last forever and will not be under guarantee.
Condensing vs Non-Condensing Boilers
Often non-condensing boilers are not running at maximum efficiency, and so the saving will be greater. A lot of older boilers, floor standing boilers and back boilers, can be down around 40% efficient. If we are favourable and assume they are 45% efficient. The average bill would be £1,800 per year or another £600. That could be a few new radiators, a lovely weekend away, money in the bank, off the credit card, or that new TV you’ve promised yourself.
Bottom Line
The easiest way to reduce the gas bill is to replace the boiler. Just make sure the radiators are efficient, internally clean and are heating rooms that aren’t losing a lot of heat or money.
