Boiler Installation Liverpool: 2023 Guide to Replacing Your Boiler

Are you researching boiler installation in Liverpool? Every ten years or so, there comes a moment when your boiler gives up the ghost and you are faced with the ominous task of replacing it.

This guide is meant to walk you through the boiler replacement process in Liverpool. Here, you’ll learn which new boiler will suit your home best, and how to install it without spending an arm and a leg.

How to Quickly Install a New Boiler in Liverpool

If you need urgent boiler replacement in Liverpool, your best bet is to turn to an online boiler installation service. This is a rather new business model on the boiler installation market, but it’s already shaken up the status quo by offering quick, affordable boiler installations.

Heatable are a good online installer to start with. They have a nation-wide network of Gas Safe certified heating engineers covers Liverpool and its surrounding areas, and you should be able to schedule a boiler installation without much delay.

To get an immediate, fixed-price boiler quote from Heatable, you can fill out this 90-second, anonymous questionnaire (simple toggle navigation), and answer questions about your property and heating system. When you’re done, you’ll get prices for a range of boiler models, along with various financing options.

You’ll be surprised to learn that Heatable offers highly competitive prices for boiler installation in Liverpool — even on top brands, like Worcester Bosch and Viessmann. This is partly because the company operates almost entirely online, and thus has a tiny overhead compared to brick-and-mortar businesses. What’s more, they have excellent wholesale deals with many boiler manufacturers, so they’re able to pass the savings on to the consumer.

You can read our full review of Heatable’s service.

National Companies and Local Liverpool Gas Safe Registered Engineers

Apart from online installers like Heatable, you should also explore nation-wide companies and small, local boiler trades in Liverpool.

Most places will suggest you get three quotes but this is really the bare minimum. The more quotes you get, the more you’ll be able to feel what the true market costs of boiler installation are. And, it goes without saying that getting multiple boiler quotes raises your chances of finding an attractive deal.

National Installation Companies

National installation companies, such as British Gas, are well-known corporations that, among other things, provide central heating services across the UK. You will see them advertised on the TV and in newspapers, and many people assume that they are the best choice for boiler installations.

But while going with a large corporation will typically guarantee quality workmanship and great customer service, you should also know that these companies are expensive. All that marketing material isn’t cheap, and neither are the brick-and-mortar offices that are scattered throughout the nation. Unfortunately, the massive overhead trickles down to you, the consumer, who ends up paying a premium to get a boiler installed.

Now, here’s the great thing about national companies: they often have fantastic deals on boiler installation prices, especially for new customers. So it always pays to ring these guys up and get a boiler quote.

Liverpool-based Gas Safe Heating Engineers

There are multiple independent Gas Safe heating engineers that operate in Liverpool and across Merseyside. These companies typically undercut a national installer by several hundred pounds.

But beware. While some independent installers are excellent, others will offer a much poorer service. It is therefore vital to check their background before going ahead with the work. If you can find 3 or 4 former customers who had a positive experience, you’re probably fine.

What Boiler Should You Install?

After you choose an installer, they’ll visit your home and survey it to establish the new boiler type and size. Often, they’ll suggest their preferred model, which may not be the best or most cost-effective option available.

The best way around this is to know what type of boiler you want before inviting an installer around. But all properties are different and there are plenty of other factors like budget, fuel-type, and size you need to consider too. Below, we’ll walk you through the considerations that will help you narrow down your range of acceptable boiler models.

Boiler Fuel Type

What fuel do you want your boiler to run on? There are various different options available:

Gas
LPG
Oil
Electricity
Renewable energy sources

With Liverpool being a big city and Merseyside a largely urban area, the majority of people have a mains gas connection to their homes.

Natural gas is the most affordable type of fuel and gas boiler installation tends to be the cheapest.

What’s more, you’ll find the most model options among gas boilers.

Type of Boiler and Central Heating System Setup

Next, you’ll have to choose what type of gas boiler you want for your property. These are the most common boiler types:

Combination (Combi) Boiler

Most smaller homes, flats, and apartments will need a combi boiler, which generates heat and hot water on demand. However, note that combi boilers are unable to handle excessive demand for hot water, such as 2 showers running at the same time.

Regular Boiler

If you live in an older or larger property, a regular boiler with a water tank in the roof might be your preferred option. You’ll get plenty of hot water at a high enough pressure to operate multiple taps and showers at once, but this central heating setup requires lots of space.

System Boiler

Like a regular boiler, a system boiler can provide high hot water flow rates, enough for several taps running simultaneously. However, system boilers don’t require water storage tanks up in the loft; all they need is mains water and a hot water cylinder.

Short on Space? Consider Installing a Compact Boiler

Compact boilers are quite small, designed specifically to fit into kitchen cupboards. Despite their tiny size, their heating output isn’t necessarily lower than that of standard-sized models. If you have a smaller home and want to fit your boiler somewhere out of sight, a compact boiler may be worth considering.

Boiler Sizing (kW)

First things first — “boiler size” refers to the boiler’s heating output and not the physical dimensions of the appliance. The heating output is typically measured in kilowatts (kW).

Getting your boiler size right is essential.

If you have a boiler that’s too small, it won’t have sufficient power to heat your radiators and provide enough hot water when you need it.

If you choose a boiler that’s too big, you’ll waste fuel and drive your heating bills up unnecessarily.

Boiler Size Table

To give you a broad idea of what size boiler you will need, we’ve compiled the table below. It’s based on a gas combi boiler and a household with average demand for heating and hot water.

Property Type	Radiators	Bathrooms	Boiler Size
Apartments, 1 & 2 bed houses	10 or fewer	1	24kW-27kW
Medium size 2-4 bed homes	10-15	2	28kW-34kW
Larger Properties	15-20	2+	35kW-42kW

We should emphasise that the sizes above are only an estimate, and choosing the right-sized boiler for your property can be tricky. If you want to be absolutely certain, the best advice is to call out a Gas Safe heating engineer to come and survey your property. Just be aware that you might have to pay for their time.

If you don’t fancy paying for a Gas Safe heating engineer to come out and tell you what sized boiler you need, another option is to use an online boiler size calculator like this one from Heatable. Their online form will ask you all the key questions about the size of your home, number of radiators, number of bathrooms, water usage, and so on. It’ll then recommend boilers that are the right size for your property, along with a fixed-price quote for every model, including expert installation.

Liverpool Boiler Replacement: How much does it cost?

The cost of boiler replacements is difficult to estimate because there are so many different variables involved.

However, assuming you want to install a 24kW combi gas boiler from Worcester Bosch into an average-sized Liverpool home, we’d estimate that you’ll pay roughly £2,500, including the boiler itself and the cost of installation. That’s if you use a local Gas Safe installer; national companies will likely charge you more.

You can also see how much a boiler installation would cost through Heatable by filling in this form.

If you find that the quotes you’re getting are a bit high, consider a finance deal to spread the payments. Alternatively, there are some cheaper boilers available. However, the cheaper the unit, the higher the chance of a boiler breakdown, and the more you’ll spend on boiler repair bills as time goes by.

Moving Your Boiler’s Location

If you need to install your new boiler in a new location, you’ll likely pay more for the boiler installation. How much more will depend on where you need to move it and the amount of work involved.

On average, we’d expect that changing the location of a boiler will add anywhere between £350 and £750 to your overall installation bill. To get a better idea of the added costs, you can click here to see how much of a premium Heatable would charge for this work.

What Extras Do You Need?

If you want to avoid boiler repairs and emergency plumber call outs, and prolong your unit’s service life, you’ll need to invest in some extras on top of the boiler itself. Some installers will throw these items in for free, whilst others will charge you more. This is one of the reasons you should always get an itemised quote and study it carefully.

Below are the extras that are worth considering:

Magnetic Filter to Keep Sludge Out of Your Central Heating System

A Magnetic Filter collects heating sludge, which comprises metallic debris that accumulates and clogs your central heating system. The magnetic filter is typically cleaned out during annual boiler servicing.

Scale Filter to Prevent Limescale Buildup

If you live in a hard water area like Liverpool, a limescale filter is a sensible investment. Limescale build-ups can damage boiler components, so a filter is vital if you want your appliance to last long. Like a magnetic filter, a scale filter gets cleaned during boiler service.

Hot / Power Flush, so You Connect a New Boiler to a Clean Heating System

Before you install a new boiler, your Gas Safe engineer may recommend getting a hot or a power flush to clean out debris and sludge from the central heating system. This is well worth doing, but be cautious. Power flushing an older heating system can damage joints and pipes.

Summary

If you live in Liverpool and Merseyside and need a new boiler, we hope that this guide has answered most of your questions. If there’s anything we missed, or if you’d like to share your own experience with boiler installation in Liverpool, please leave our readers and us a comment below.