I am planning a new central heating for my house which is a 3-bed semi. There is currently only myself living here, but I may want to rent the place out to a family at some stage. I need to decide between a combi (sealed) system vs a conventional system with expansion tank.
Sited in my loft, is a Fortic cylinder with integral expansion tank. It appears to have an internal coil (not in use), as there are two unused pipe connections on it. I'm currently using the Fortic cylinder as an immersion heater to heat my tap water.
I gather I'd consume less gas if I choose a combi, rather than a conventional boiler. However, my experience of combis is that they are expensive to maintain. I always envied people with older systems that seem to require virtually no maintenance. Even slight leaks can be ignored in a not-sealed conventional system, I gather.
Has anyone got any views on the overall cost (money + trouble) of installing and running a sealed combi system vs. a conventional system?
Thanks for any advice...
Al