GCH boiler condemned replaced with A2A HP & POU DHW

[Adokforme]

Having assisted my wife and her sister as executors in the sale of FiL's 1977 two bed mid terrace bungalow at a price already agreed we sought to have the GCH boiler serviced in readiness for completion. On arrival the engineer promptly condemned it as being dangerous and beyond repair due to obsolescence. In fairness it was an old style unit and probably the original.
If financially viable I was keen to avoid simply replacing one gas boiler with another so having received quotes for a replacement we were left with three options. Utilise existing radiators and pipework at £3.6k with no guarantee on pipework, £4.6k complete with new pipework all guaranteed, or three, seek prices for electric alternatives and dispense with gas all together.
The latter involved an A2A hp for space heating, a 10kW shower, 10kW instant heater to feed kitchen and bathroom sinks and a 500/1.5kW towel radiator/fan heater. At a cost similar to that of the higher gas quotation and with the new owners being my sister and her husband all parties surprisingly agreed this was to be the preferred option.
A friendly installer completing A2A install, self doing all other mechanical fixing and plumbing and a registered qualified electrician to complete all wiring and sign off. Finance was duly shared between existing and prospective owners who have now been in residence five months and are delighted with the outcome.
After repeated requests Octopus eventually installed a Smart meter on 31st Oct, the first months consumption was 360.5 kWh's which seemed on the low side to me albeit that floor area is but 50 sq metres and mid terrace with north and south ends protected by neighbouring properties.
Dec's consumption was 465 kWh's so will be interesting to see how it compares with annual consumption previously.
Accordingly the previous final bill showed 1421 kWh's Electric and 11209 kWh's Gas.
I was surprised by the gas figure as this was not too different from that of our previous property, being four bed detached with an identical boiler and could only put it down to the pipework being mostly submerged in the concrete floor, presumably with no insulation beneath as with UFH!
So far, so good as what could have been a nightmare situation turned out to satisfy the assorted interests of both sellers and buyers alongside that of a minor contribution towards net zero.
Prior to completion I'd have settled for two out of the three!

[Stinsy]

I agree A2A and resistive DHW is the best choice for this property.

However, if you intend on selling it you'll put off most buyers...

[Moxi]

Maybe not in this case as the op noted the purchasers agreed with the planned installation and contributed. As the fuel mix changes I expect people’s inbuilt bias will change also, look at the way storage heaters have seen a bit of a revival.

Moxi

[Bugtownboy]

Additionally, there’ll be a number of years of (hopefully positive) real life running costs and, potentially, temperature logging for proof of comfort.

The added bonus of some cooling as summers get warmer

Buyers in the future will be aware that reliance on fossil fuels will be increasingly problematic.

I’d hope that a well designed, future proofed, home heating system would be a positive selling point.

[Joeboy]

An excellent tale indeed. When are the panels going on?

I hear those balcony solar units perform well?

[Adokforme]

An excellent tale indeed. When are the panels going on?

I hear those balcony solar units perform well?

Reckon you'll have ask Sis that one.
I think they've stretched themselves with all the other internal changes that took place. It would be an east/west array so not the best but still worth doing although there had been mention of a conservatory so who knows. I've just introduced them to Octopus Cosy which they seem keen to try out, I expect they'll let me know how it's going in the coming weeks so could possibly post an update.
I was just keen to show that a clean alternative to gas, both in capital and running terms was cost competitive. So having ditched gas the coming months will soon let us know.

[Stinsy]

An excellent tale indeed. When are the panels going on?

I hear those balcony solar units perform well?

Reckon you'll have ask Sis that one.
I think they've stretched themselves with all the other internal changes that took place. It would be an east/west array so not the best but still worth doing although there had been mention of a conservatory so who knows. I've just introduced them to Octopus Cosy which they seem keen to try out, I expect they'll let me know how it's going in the coming weeks so could possibly post an update.
I was just keen to show that a clean alternative to gas, both in capital and running terms was cost competitive. So having ditched gas the coming months will soon let us know.

10 years ago the idea that "solar panels must face south" was commonplace. Nowadays we know that East-West arrays are really great!

I wouldn't agree that they cannot afford solar. More that they cannot afford not to install solar. Particularly a bungalow where you can DIY most of it!

[Mart]

I agree A2A and resistive DHW is the best choice for this property.

However, if you intend on selling it you'll put off most buyers...

That's an interesting question, and whilst I personally disagree (with my green tinted glasses), it may be an issue for folk thinking about moving in the near future.

Personally, I suspect that in a few years as HP's (of all types) become a bit more common, and less new, that a prospective buyer would be open to a quick lesson on how simple it all is, and a comparison of bills.

Funnily enough, I think you raise that point with the E/W PV panels, where understanding (by those in the know) means that they are fine, possibly better*, but general awareness, especially by someone new to PV, will be less positive.

*Perhaps not better (not sure), due to the far worse winter gen, but my positivity about E/W installs has always been that the cost of going bigger, utilising two roofs, doesn't grow proportionately. So maybe instead of a 4kWp south facing install for £5k, you could get an 8kWp E/W for perhaps £8k, making up for any performance drop in terms of annual kWh generation/cost of install per kWp. [Made up numbers just for comparison.]


Edit - Sorry mate, I'm already overthinking this. Would 51% be put off (you said 'most'), possibly, so you might be right. But perhaps the 49% would have even greater interest, due to the low bills, and low carbon nature.

I'm actually picturing myself and my father advising a friend. He'd be saying that he's just not convinced about this new tech, and I'd be saying it's great, simple, and reduced bills. Perhaps it creates a 'Marmite' situation, where you may get folk that hate it, that's fine, but also create some that love it, and you only need one buyer, not a positive consensus?

[Stinsy]

I agree A2A and resistive DHW is the best choice for this property.

However, if you intend on selling it you'll put off most buyers...

That's an interesting question, and whilst I personally disagree (with my green tinted glasses), it may be an issue for folk thinking about moving in the near future.

Personally, I suspect that in a few years as HP's (of all types) become a bit more common, and less new, that a prospective buyer would be open to a quick lesson on how simple it all is, and a comparison of bills.

Funnily enough, I think you raise that point with the E/W PV panels, where understanding (by those in the know) means that they are fine, possibly better*, but general awareness, especially by someone new to PV, will be less positive.

*Perhaps not better (not sure), due to the far worse winter gen, but my positivity about E/W installs has always been that the cost of going bigger, utilising two roofs, doesn't grow proportionately. So maybe instead of a 4kWp south facing install for £5k, you could get an 8kWp E/W for perhaps £8k, making up for any performance drop in terms of annual kWh generation/cost of install per kWp. [Made up numbers just for comparison.]

E/W absolutely can be better than South!

Mainly because you typically get double the area. Eg a house might have a south-facing roof that can take 4kWp of panels, whereas the same house rotated 90° can take 8kWp of solar on both roofs. But additionally, because the generation is spread over a longer timeframe.

People buying houses like gas boilers and don't care about bills/insulation. They SHOULD care but they don't.

[Mart]

People buying houses like gas boilers and don't care about bills/insulation. They SHOULD care but they don't.

I wish I could disagree, but I can't. Hoping that in a few years the situation will improve, and maybe in 10-20yrs, the consensus will have shifted significantly ...... always the hopeless optimist.