CH or DG - priority?

[Mogweed.]

Need to replace central heating system and finish off double glazing but we can't afford to do both, so which should be the priority?

Most of the house was DG'd about 10 years ago except for (for various reasons) 3 windows. These have got - at best - about 4 years life left in them, but they are draughty and when the wind blows in a certain direction, the curtains move quite considerably.

We also have a 10-year old Baxi Bermuda 552 back boiler (rest of the pipework and rads that make up the CH system are 33 years old - original install when the house was built) that is kettling badly - so much so that we have to turn up the telly volume to get over it.

We only have one header tank up in the loft and have what I believe is called a "primatic system" (draining down CH system also takes domestic hot water) so we can't add any sludge remover or corrosion inhibitor.

Current (and most likely future) gas prices are making it more economically viable to replace the boiler now before it finally dies. Putting a new boiler on to 33-year old stuff that's full of sludge and whatever doesn't seem to be a good idea though and, given that modern rads seem to be more efficient, I'm thinking we'll go for a whole new system. An added bonus means that, as the new boiler will be in a different room, we could block up the 8-inch diameter air vent that the wind literally howls through into our living room and round our feet - bloody Vladivostok, I'm telling you.

So, what's the priority - CH or DG?

Cheers,

Mogweed.

[Dave Plowman (News)]

Don't think there's any difference in actual efficiency between one rad over another. A low water content one will heat up more quickly - but also cool more quickly. They might be more efficient space wise, though. But if the old ones are still sound they can be cleaned, and inhibitor will prevent further corrosion.

I'd do the CH. The draughty windows could be improved for pennies as a temporary measure.

[Mogweed.]

Hmm, good point Dave, thanks.

Mogweed

[David Hansen]

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 14:35:12 +0100 someone who may be "Mogweed." wrote this:-

Have you insulated the house, the loft and walls in particular? Either will keep the heat in better than double glazing.

Draughtproofing strips are readily available and so is secondary glazing. These can reduce draughts a lot for a few years.

Having insulated the walls and loft I would look at a new boiler and converting the heating system to a more modern form. This would probably be replacing the cylinder, providing a separate header tank for the heating system and installing modern controls. Whether I would replace the existing pipework and radiators would depend on their condition.

[Ian Stirling]

With a condensing boiler, larger, or radiators with lower return temperatures may slightly increase the efficiency of the boiler.

[sponix]

Personally, I'd do the CH now and bodge the windows with tape/draught excluer etc.

If the heating fails completely you'll get cold! If the windows fail add more sticky tape!

sponix

[owdman]

DG is waste of money - about the least cost effective way of reducing fuel bills, don't bother. Draught proofing the opposite - can be very cheap and very effective.

cheers

Jacob

[Mogweed.]

Thanks to everyone who replied. As it's a resounding victory for the heating, that's what we'll be doing :o)

Mogweed. PS Yes, we have got loft and cavity wall insulation done for those who were asking - had both done a couple of months ago.

[David Hansen]

On 26 Mar 2006 10:20:10 -0800 someone who may be [e-mail] wrote this:-

It is if bought to save energy. However, it has other advantages.

[Andy Hall]

[Ed Sirett]

CH and thus get rid of the hole in the wall. See the Boiler Choice FAQ.

[Ian Stirling]

Less chill from the window.

Less - maybe no - condensation.

[zymurgy]

Yep. House (re)saleability.

I had steel Crittal windows in when I moved in. Very glad to see the back of those ...

So will my future house purchasers.

Cheers,

Paul.

[Dave Liquorice]

Less - maybe no - draughts.

Less noise from outside.

I find the OPs request a hard one to call. And those that have mentioned doing the CH over seriously drafty windows I feel have never lived in a place where the medium to heavy weight curtains literally do move in the wind. When it's windy here, the curtains move and if it's below 5C outside the 38kW boiler struggles to keep the place warm... It can be below 5C or even 0C without the wind and there is no problem. How cold & windy the previous week has been is *very* noticable in the amount of oil we burn. Something like 1/3 more when it is cold & windy.

Chucking out a 10 year old boiler that probably just needs good descale in the back garden to give it another 10 years life over the huge energy saving that could be acheived by doing the windows... The vent for the boiler is a problem but I suspect that could be addressed by baffles to stop any direct path from the outside world.

[Ian Stirling]

Then again - you can fix that fairly trivially. Worst case, tape up the windows. Slightly less bad - masking tape over one half, bead of silicone on the other face, close, leave a couple of days.

[Andy Hall]

Curious. I don't have DG but don't notice chill from the windows and there's never any condensation.

[Andy Hall]

In comparison with those, I can understand.

I'm just not that enthusiastic about plastic windows with thick frames.

If I did go for DG, I'd want to use hardwood frames.

[Mogweed.]

In my original post I said that the existing windows had maybe four years of life left in them. This is because the original wooden frames are getting past it. The rest of the house was DG'd 10 years ago and we've just repainted the outside of the house that isn't plastic and it's obvious that this'll be the last time I can do these windows. It needs doing not to save money but just because they need replacing.

Mogweed.

[Mogweed.]

included the installation of a brand new central heating system and we chose an Alpha CD32C boiler. We're so impressed with how efficient and quiet this boiler is, and the speed with which the new system reaches the required temp - this is what made us seriously consider replacing our own system now, even though the old boiler is still working.

Mogweed

[David Hansen]

On Sun, 26 Mar 2006 22:01:36 +0000 (GMT) someone who may be "Dave Liquorice" wrote this:-

You may feel this, but it would just be a feeling. What people suggested was ways of making the windows more wind resistant cheaply and doing the heating.

Nobody seemed to suggest doing nothing about the windows.