Boiler in garage or in bedroom cupboard

Jan 28, 2015 33 Replies

I am getting central heating in a house that at present does not have a boiler and radiators.



I want the boiler in the attached garage but the fitters have suggested putting it in the vacated airing cupboard in a bedroom that contains the HWC.



Presumably because it makes it easier for him.



Would you have the boiler in your bedroom?



No!

Is this a system or combi?

A system boiler needs 3 pipes, a combi considerably more and hence more work.

A combi ought to be sited close to where hot water is required or there's a lot of cold water drawn off first.

Find a fitter who understands that he needs to do what the customer asks. Or fit it yourself and get a gas safe fitter to make the final gas connection and commission the boiler. The installation manuals for Worcester-Bosch are very good, online and easy to follow.

Yes, mine is so far from the taps I've had to install local electric water heaters.

As for having the boiler in the bedroom, not bloody likely! Hissing and clicking and whooomphing at all hours, risk of gas leaks or carbon monoxide making you wake up dead.

Bill

I'd really rather not, because of the noise.

Do you have a loft? (and as far from the main bedroom as possible)

Owain

Do you have a loft? (and as far from the main bedroom as possible)

Yes, above the bedroom

Yes if I *had to* - BUT it depends on how sensitive you are to noise.

The pump and flue fan running in the small hours may be an annoyance to light sleepers.

I'd go with the garage option personally if the choice exists.

Of course. It always was thus.

No. There are none which are silent.

Of course you may have to decide which taps are more used - bathroom or kitchen - with a combi. I'd probably opt for the kitchen. Kids may have a different view. ;-)

Even the quiet ones would probably annoy some people in a bedroom. In an attached garage the small amount of heat from the boiler might be useful if the space is being used for storage/utility/workshop purposes. As you have no CH at present , I suggest working out possible radiator positions and pipe runs yourself before getting quotes. You can optimise runs for disruption and place rads where they will fit in with present and future furniture and provide good uniform heating in a room - sometimes 2 smaller rads are better than 1 big one.

There is a danger that installers will optimise for lowest quote and easiest install.

I would suggest, by the nature of cold air entering the boiler that the boiler housing will stay cool.

There might well be more heat loss from the hot pipes to and from the boiler. More so if exposed in a garage, these pipes should be lagged.

Don't do it. Our last two boilers have been in the loft and it's been a pain. Out of sight and out of mind which means that when small problems do occur they don't get noticed until they're big problems. Also, if you have the pump up there the sound with come through the rafters.

Garage sounds like the best bet.

Tim

In contrast to most posters, I have a system boiler in the bedroom, effectively in a built-in wardrobe (with suitable clearance for ventilation etc). The CH timer keeps it off at night, it does not seem to run often at night for the DHW, does not run for long, and is not

*too* noisy. It is not an ideal solution but for practical reasons this is the best place for it, especially with DHW in mind. The location means the boiler and all the control electrics is reasonably accessible for service (compared to a loft, for example).

That means you'd get the hissing and clicking and whooomphing and carbon monoxide poisoning and also get drownded in boiling water while you were asleep.

Bill

I share my bedroom with an old boiler.

Bill

Previous house I had in an upstairs hallway cupboard, but I still heard it firing up and running (wasnt a combi) 20 years later I replaced with a combi in the garage, easy to access and no noise. Slight disadvantage was time lag re hot water but not a big issue. Personally I would go with garage.

With a modern boiler it's really quite hard to get poisoned unless the flue is badly positioned near a window.

Poisoning really wouldn't be one of my major worries.

Tim

Yes, it's the taps you want small amounts of hot water more often which should be near the boiler - kitchen sink would be key for many people. Bath and shower, even though they use more hot water, aren't going to matter so much if you have to run off cold first.

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