Where is the best place to install my new boiler?
Getting a new boiler installation and wondering where the best place is to locate it is a much easier task with WarmZilla. Our boiler installers will make the task of installing a new boiler a piece of cake.
If you’re replacing an inefficient old back boiler with an A-rated combi boiler, then you will need to decide where to have it installed, as back boilers are traditionally located behind a gas fire.
You may also be changing your system over to a combi boiler from a system boiler, and this will mean the tanks and cylinders from your system boiler will be removed, so you may have additional options of where to position your combi.
In this blog, we’ll look at how to install boilers, the pros and cons of the different places you can locate it, as well as the costs involved in moving your boiler. If you’re looking for the best installers, then you’ve come to the right place! WarmZilla is rated excellent on Trustpilot for boiler installation, and with our ‘Best Price Guarantee‘, we’re the cheapest too. Making WarmZilla the best place to buy a new boiler in the UK.
Traditionally, they are located closest to the areas where they are most required, the bathroom and the kitchen, to supply your hot water. However, with modern boilers becoming quieter and more efficient, you might be considering moving it out of the bathroom or kitchen to free up some more space.
It’s worth mentioning before we get into it that only a Gas Safe registered heating engineer may fit or relocate a boiler. Unless you are a qualified engineer, it is illegal to even take the cover off your boiler.
Can a boiler be fitted in the bathroom?
The answer to this is yes. In fact, it’s quite convenient to have your boiler located in the bathroom as it is probably the room with the highest hot water demand and the water will be heated quickly due to the proximity of it.
Locating it within the bathroom is quite convenient because the boiler can make use of the pipework already located in the bathroom. The condensate pipe that comes out of your boiler taking away the harmful chemicals created during the combustion process, can be connected to your bathroom waste pipe. Making it easy work for your Gas Safe installer is the number one priority!
If you should choose the bathroom as an installation room for it, you’ll need to box it off, not just to hide the ugly pipework coming out of it (with the exception of the Worcester Life & Style models) but in the boxed-off area you can keep towels and the warmth coming off the new boiler will keep them toasty warm for you. Who doesn’t love a toasty warm towel in winter?
There are some regulations to follow when fitting one in your bathroom. Due to the dangers of having electricity in this location, the boiler must be enclosed within a cupboard to ensure that it does not come into contact with water. Additionally, it cannot be reachable from the bath or shower, and the system’s electrical spur must be located outside of the bathroom or a distance away, satisfying the regulations.
If the boiler is fitted in a bathroom or shower room, it will need to adhere to the current Wiring Regulations and Building Regulations, which explain the different zones in the bathroom where it is safe to install it.
Your engineer will be aware of the technical details and will be able to advise you accordingly on what the best location for your new boiler is.
Can a boiler be fitted in the kitchen?
As with a bathroom, the kitchen is quite a convenient place to install a boiler as it’s close to a source of high hot water demand from your taps and appliances. Although most modern washing machines only require a cold water feed and not a hot water feed, so that’s one less appliance depending on your trusty new appliance.
As a functional space in your home, it won’t matter too much if you have it located in the kitchen with regard to noise levels. Modern boilers are so quiet that you probably won’t hear it over the chop chopping of your healthy vegetables or the buzz of your microwave as your microwave meal cooks, depending on what type of cook you are.
Modern ones are also designed to fit within kitchen cupboards and most models will have a compact variant, so there is an option for those that want to tuck their boiler away neatly behind a kitchen cupboard.
Depending on the size of your kitchen, you may not want to give up any space in your kitchen for it, saving it for your ‘special plates’ and cherry glasses that you dust off for Christmas dinner.
Can I have my boiler near a cooker?
You can have your boiler fitted near a cooker following certain restrictions. It requires a 50mm gap if you are fitting the boiler adjacent to a cooker.
If you are installing your boiler over a hob, you are required to have a 760mm gap. We would advise against installing it above your hob however, even if it complies with safety regs, it could still shorten the lifespan of your boiler from all the steam and condensation from the hob.
Always check the manufacturer’s guidelines for their installation specifications as each boiler could be different and certain installations could invalidate your guarantee.
Can a boiler be installed in the garage/outside?
You can indeed fit a boiler in the garage. It can free up valuable space inside the home, moving it out into the garage. There are however a couple of considerations if you’re thinking about moving your boiler into the garage.
Firstly is frost protection. Garages are typically a lot colder than rooms inside your home, and despite most modern boilers offering in-built frost protection, you may want to lag your pipes to ensure you don’t get a frozen condensate pipe.
Additionally, the further away it is from the appliances that need it, the more energy is wasted in making sure it gets there at the right temperature. You may need to wait a little longer for hot taps to run hot water, too if your bathroom is further away from your boiler.
You’ll need to think about the route your pipes will take from the garage into the house (or your installer will need to think about it), especially if your garage is detached. Nobody wants to see pipe runs messing up your cultivated aesthetic.
How much does it cost to move a boiler?
Moving your boiler can cost anywhere between £300-£800 depending on how far it’s being moved, what type it is and where it’s being moved to.
It’s not as simple as remounting it elsewhere. The pipework leading to the boiler needs to be rerouted and reconnected, which can mean pulling up floorboards, etc.
Costs could increase if additional parts are needed for the new location. For example, if you move it from a location where the flue terminates horizontally from the boiler through a kitchen wall, to an attic where the flue will need to be changed to a vertical flue, additional costs for parts will be incurred.
Generally speaking, the further you move it from its current location, the higher the cost. This is due to the labour of running the new pipework and the cost of the materials required.
It may become a more viable option if you’re thinking about moving an older boiler to consider buying a new one instead and get it installed in your preferred position.
If your new boiler location is in the same room or fairly close to the old location, then it should take between half a day to a day to move. If you’re moving it from the kitchen to the loft, then expect it to take a minimum of one day, but more likely, two days.
Gas boiler location regulations
As you would expect, there are a lot of legal regulations for the positioning of a boiler and it doesn’t make for the most exciting bedtime reading.
For the most part, it’s not information that you are required to know about as you will be advised by a Gas Safe engineer but if you’re thinking about a new location then here are some key facts to keep in mind.
- It should be installed inside a building and can be fitted to any suitable wall strong enough to take its weight when full of water.
- It’s flue must be able to pass to the outside, either through an outside wall or through the roof. The boiler installation manual gives the minimum legal distances the flue terminal must be from windows, air bricks, other buildings, etc, to comply with Building Regulations.
- As well as the flue, you must consider where to fit the condensate pipe that takes away the liquid that condenses as the gases cool inside the boiler. We recommended that this pipe discharges internally into the household drainage system. If the condensate pipe is fitted outside, it could freeze during cold weather and make it shut down.
- If you decide to fit your boiler in a garage or outhouse, we recommend you get additional frost protection fitted to protect the system pipework, even if the boiler has its own frost protection.
- When positioning it, you must allow sufficient clearances and access for servicing. Please check the installation instructions for details.
- It may be fitted inside a cupboard without having air vents. Modern boilers are room sealed and will run sufficiently cool without ventilation.
- If it’s fitted in a bathroom or shower room, please refer to the current Wiring Regulations and Building Regulations, which explain the different zones in the bathroom where it is safe to install it and where it is unsafe to do so (In GB this is the current I.E.E. Wiring Regulations and Building Regulations).
- In IE reference should be made to the current edition of I.S. 813 “Domestic Gas Installations” and the current ETCI rules) If your house is a timber-framed building, please refer to the current edition of Institute of Gas Engineers Publication IGE/UP/7 (Gas Installations in Timber Framed Housing)
- If your boiler runs on LPG (Liquid Petroleum Gas), you should not have it installed in a basement or other position below ground. This is because LPG does not rise, and will therefore not be dispersed should there be a gas leak. This information should be used for guidance only.
- Your Gas Safe registered installer will be able to survey your home and tell you the most convenient, safest, and legally compliant place for your boiler and discuss where the flue and condensate pipe should go.
Does a combi boiler need to be located on an external wall?
Your boiler can be fitted on any wall, internal or external, as long as the wall is strong enough to take its weight when full of water.
The boiler’s flue must be able to pass to the outside, either through an outside wall or through the roof. The boiler installation manual gives the minimum legal distances the flue terminal must be from windows, air bricks, other buildings etc, to comply with Building Regulations.
As well as the flue, you must consider where to fit the condensate pipe that takes away the liquid that condenses as the gases cool inside the boiler. We recommended that this pipe discharges internally into the household drainage system. If the condensate pipe is fitted outside, it could freeze during cold weather and cause the boiler to shut down.
Can I have my boiler installed in the loft?
You can have your boiler installed in the loft. There are some considerations to keep in mind when deciding if you want to relocate your boiler to the loft, however.
Firstly the loft must be boarded so that the boiler is accessible without needing circus skills. There must also be enough space around the boiler to be able to service it safely and a lighting source to be able to see it.
Having steps or a loft ladder is also a requirement so you can get to the boiler. Having a boiler in the loft is much less accessible than in any other part of the house and it can be a bit of a pain, especially if you have a tiny leak somewhere in the system which causes your boiler to lose pressure, meaning you have to repressurise it regularly.
Locating your boiler in the loft does tuck it away nicely, freeing up space elsewhere in your home. Any unwanted noise won’t matter if your boiler is in the loft.
Similar to having your boiler in your garage, you may need to lag the loft area and insulate your pipes as the loft can be a lot colder than the main part of your home.
If you’re thinking about getting a new boiler then we’ve written the perfect blog for you, the complete cost guide to getting a new boiler.
Whether you’re looking to upgrade a back boiler to a modern combi boiler, removing a system boiler or you just want to move your current boiler – get a boiler quote from WarmZilla.
Our online survey asks a few simple questions about your home – including whether you want to move your current boiler and recommends new boilers that suit your home and your heating requirements. At a price that can’t be beaten, that’s the WarmZilla ‘Best Price Guarantee’.
