New boiler installation in Bristol

Combi boilers heat water on demand from the mains, with no cylinder or loft tank. They suit flats and homes with one bathroom. Hot water flow is limited by your mains flow and the boiler size, so two showers at once can struggle.

System boilers heat a hot water cylinder, usually unvented, fed from the mains. They suit homes with two or more bathrooms where hot water is used in several places at once. You need space for the cylinder.

Regular boilers, also called heat only or conventional, work with a cylinder and tanks in the loft. They suit homes that already have that setup and older systems that may not cope with mains pressure.

| Boiler | Best for | Needs | |---|---|---| | Combi | Flats, one bathroom homes | Good mains flow | | System | Two or more bathrooms | Cylinder space | | Regular | Existing tank and cylinder setups | Loft tanks and cylinder space |

Clifton and Redland flats are mostly combi territory, though flue routes need care in listed buildings and conservation areas. Bristol has 33 conservation areas, and a new flue on a front wall may need consent. Victorian terraces in Bishopston and Bedminster often switch from a regular boiler to a combi to free up the airing cupboard and loft.

Bigger family homes in Henleaze and Westbury on Trym often do better with a system boiler and unvented cylinder, as long as the incoming main has enough flow. Old lead supply pipes can limit flow, so we test it before recommending a combi or unvented cylinder. Homes in Bradley Stoke, built from 1987, are often replacing an original or second boiler, and the airing cupboard layout usually decides the choice.

Any work on a gas boiler must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Ask to see their ID card and check it on the Gas Safe Register. The installer notifies the job, and you should receive a Building Regulations compliance certificate.

In hard water areas, guidance in the Domestic Building Services Compliance Guide says the hot water side of combi boilers and water heaters should be protected from scale where hardness is above 200 ppm. Bristol Water's supply is moderately hard to very hard, so a scale reducer is a sensible part of any Bristol installation, along with a system filter and a clean of the old pipework.

Answer a few questions in the quote form about your home, the number of bathrooms and your current boiler. We then look at the job in person, because flue routes, gas pipe sizes and flow rates vary from house to house. You get a written quote that lists the boiler, any changes to pipes, the flue, a system clean, a filter, scale protection and the paperwork.

We do not publish standard prices, because a combi swap in a Bradley Stoke kitchen and a regular to combi conversion in a Clifton flat are very different jobs. If you want to compare quotes, check that each one includes the same things, especially the system clean and scale protection.