Combi boiler for 2/3 bathrooms, 5 bed house

[Bawbles]

We’ve just extended and added bedrooms and a downstairs shower room to an old Victorian detached house

The current (combi) boiler is in the family bathroom, is eight years old and been having issues for a couple of years but always fixable/ relatively low cost

When the plumber came yesterday he mentioned that as we will now have three bathrooms (inc ensuite) plus five beds he would recommend a higher spec when we do replace it

DH is keen to replace it as it’s been having regular minor issues and he wants to relocate it into the downstairs coat closet with the underfloor heating manifold and get all the works done while we are already renovating so he can bury pipes in walls etc

Would anyone recommend a combi for 5 bed/3 bath house?

Currently the ensuite has shower that runs off central heating but we are moving the ensuite so when we replace the fittings could put an electric shower in there

Why do you want a combi?

I wouldn’t spec a combi for a 5 bed/3 bath. Don’t forget your baby will too be a teenager, plus you may have guests. Then there’s the resale value. A family of 5+ need the capacity.

I’d check your mains pressure, then seriously considered a pressurised system - which is essentially a pressurised cylinder that stores hot water plus a system boiler. Great for power showers & using several outlets eg running a hot top plus a shower/bath. Get rid of your electric showers & have mixers fitted.

Like what sunisshining12?

I’ve always assumed that combis are preferable as the hot water never runs out (growing up my dad used to bang on the bathroom door ‘don’t use all the hot water’!)

sunisshining could you give me an example of such a system please?

We don’t have any electric showers presently

An immersion heater takes about 90 minutes to heat enough water for a bath, but a boiler is very much more powerful and quicker. Energy from electricity costs about four times as much as energy from gas.

If buying modern unvented cylinders, people usually buy quite big ones so that they will contain more than enough hot water for a bath plus people running sinks. A larger house might have 250 litres capacity. A bath takes about 100 litres (mixed hot and cold)

Nominally, a modern boiler can heat a modern cylinder from cold in about 20 minutes (which includes the time you are wallowing, drying your hair, brushing your teeth etc.) though as boilers are programmed for efficiency and economy, not to run at maximum power unless needed, I find mine takes about half an hour. They are so well insulated that they will easily stay hot for 48 hours if not used up, and the cost of wasted heat is negligible.