Get ready to be cold and poor in 2025

[_V_]

But are tenement flats running modern boilers? I thought normally these places had a boiler room and you paid a set fee - in fact I thought often you paid a set fee for all utilities but perhaps that varies from place to place. Not much experience in tenement living!

Flats seem to have either:

1. All electric heating and cooking and hot water, no gas supply there.
2. Separate small gas combi-boilers

I've never seen one with a shared boiler room and I've bought and sold a lot of flats over the years.

[DealorNoDeal]

Flats seem to have either:

1. All electric heating and cooking and hot water, no gas supply there.
2. Separate small gas combi-boilers

I've never seen one with a shared boiler room and I've bought and sold a lot of flats over the years.

Heat pumps currently can't do combi. They can't heat the water quickly/hot enough to supply hot water.

There are hybrid heat pump/gas boilers available but they seem just as dumb to me as hybrid cars.

I haven't seen anyone do this but one solution would be to use a heat pump to pre-heat the water (35-40°C) and then use an electric immersion element to bring it up to 55°C to supply the radiators and hot water tank. It wouldn't be as cheap to run as a heat pump on its own but it would be a lot cheaper than electric heating. And, it would have the major benefit of not requiring all the radiators, in an existing system, to be replaced with bigger ones.

[d000hg]

Flats seem to have either:

1. All electric heating and cooking and hot water, no gas supply there.
2. Separate small gas combi-boilers

I've never seen one with a shared boiler room and I've bought and sold a lot of flats over the years.

In houses, or big blocks? I've owned the former but not the latter (and little interest)

[vetran]

Flats seem to have either:

1. All electric heating and cooking and hot water, no gas supply there.
2. Separate small gas combi-boilers

I've never seen one with a shared boiler room and I've bought and sold a lot of flats over the years.

Communal heating in Blocks is a big thing. Many are in state / quango ownership but as metering is now available it is becoming more common because the costs work out. Also a mix of technologies is achievable. Solar and/or geothermal hot water can provide a base supply topped up with a boiler. PV panels can power it - suddenly its totally green. That is not really possible at a flat level. Landlords will not need an annual gas certificate for each flat which is currently a nightmare (its a legal minefield) you would be surprised at how many tenants refuse a gas safety check.


Also I predict shared boilers will be allowed the equivalent of catalytic converters to make them green.

Bedsits, halls of residences and shared houses are easy examples.

Its going to be more common as offices convert to flats. No boiler taking up room in a bijou studio flat. No annual certification cost in all 100 flats that is £20,000 cost saving there, no legal risk.

It is going to be even more popular if heating goes electric because tenants like to bypass the electric meter, only the very stupid bypass the gas meter.

Oh and there is no way the grid will accommodate everyone going electric for heating its already struggling with electric cars.

Hydrogen produced from excess wind/wave electricity generation and biofuels are the best answer.

[DoctorStrangelove]

Well there's a thing: HT heat pumps:

https://www.theheatinghub.co.uk/arti...ting%20systems.

65 deg C or 80 deg C to the radiators.

[d000hg]

Well there's a thing: HT heat pumps:

https://www.theheatinghub.co.uk/arti...ting%20systems.

65 deg C or 80 deg C to the radiators.

That's pretty cool.

[vetran]

That's pretty HOT.

FTFY

[DealorNoDeal]

Well there's a thing: HT heat pumps:

https://www.theheatinghub.co.uk/arti...ting%20systems.

65 deg C or 80 deg C to the radiators.

I didn't come across these a year or so ago, when I was looking into this, so I assume they're quite new. The technology is obviously evolving quickly.

They'll probably cost at least twice as much to run as gas or oil, and I bet they're expensive to install.

I think I'll stick with oil until the cost comes down.

[tazdevil]

I didn't come across these a year or so ago, when I was looking into this, so I assume they're quite new. The technology is obviously evolving quickly.

They'll probably cost at least twice as much to run as gas or oil, and I bet they're expensive to install.

I think I'll stick with oil until the cost comes down.

Agree because the things use electricity and any shortfall is met by electricity and electricity is expensive and will be more so when the cost rises to pay for a huge improvement in infrastructure to meet the needs of everything relying on electricity

Had a look and a HT heat pump for a largish home has a base cost of ~£6K excluding VAT but then add all the bits and pieces over and above, the cost of decommissioning the old system and converting the plumbing and so forth and labour and you'll end up with a pretty figure

[d000hg]

But then, don't you think the price of gas and oil might rise to persuade people to leave it?