Installation cost for boiler

F

fandango1

Registered User
Messages
167
Hi,

Have purchased a wood pellet boiler and am currently trying to get it installed. Builder will run all necessary pipes to correct location but is not on SEI list so we'll lose the grant if he does the install.

Has anyone got one of these installed and if so, how much was the installation cost? We've got one quote and it seems to be way over the top bearing in mind that, in my opinion anyway, most of the messy work will already be done.

Would love to hear about any experiences/quotes people have had.

Thanks
 

Hi Fandango1,

SEI installers list is just a list of people - including schoolteachers - who registered. The only criteria needed, up to some months ago, was a tax clearance cert. Just about anyone could register - and so many did just that - every cowboy in the west it would seem. It just made a joke of the SEI system.

IMHO it should cost no more to install a wood pellet boiler than an oil or any other sort of boiler. The basic process and commissioning is not so diffeerent. The commissioning requirement of SEI are not very demanding. There are some stipulations though, like flue type and height that SEI will insist on being right, before grant payment.

Have a look at: http://wood-pellet-ireland.blogspot.com/ some of the information is a bit dated now but there is still lots of useful hints and pointers regarding safety, pricing etc.

Word out there is that the general scale of installation/ commissioning charges are anything from €300 to an outrageous €1000 plus materials.

Personally, I think I will hold on another while before moving on wood pellet heating.

Good luck!!!
 
colmanmc said:
Do you mind me asking why?
Click to expand...

Whoever you bought the boiler off should have supplied a proper plumbing and wiring diagram. They should also have given you the name of a commisioner in your area.

Your installer does not need to be SEI certified, your commissioner does.

Contact your supplier and insist on him sorting this out for you.
 
Hi Colemanmc.

In answer to your question, I quote the following from that link I gave above. I would accept all of these reasons and just add that I have spent on insulation, attic and double glasing with Pilkington K glass, and on having a tune up done on my oil boiler to make it a bit more efficient. For the moment this gives me better return for outlay.

Only thing changed from the list below is that there are other woodpellet manufacturers coming on line which will ease the fuel supply situation and maybe also stabilise the prices too. I would also accept that general knowledge about pellet boilers is increasing, but the crazy prices have not changed.

Hope that help.



1. Most wood pellet boilers do not have sufficient back-burn protection. Water quench is a fail-safe and simple method but is not fitted to most units. This could well be the cause of much trouble and litigation in the future.
2. Wood burning stoves and boilers produce creosote which can build up in the chimney and if ignited will burn fiercely causing much damage and great danger. The use of special dual walled high temperature stainless flues are required and these are very expensive, easily up to €1000. This is another possible time-bomb for the future.
3. Wood pellet supply in Ireland is far from stable. Disaster was barely averted this winter.
4. Wood pellet prices are far from stable. Prices not are close to oil prices, as oil has reduced and wood pellets have substantially increased in price.
5. Wood pellet quality varies a great deal. There is a great deal of sawdust in some pellets.
6. Storing wood pellets is a big problem, and costly, trying to keep them sufficiently dry.
7. Wood pellet stoves and boilers are overpriced in Ireland. There is a completely uncontrolled situation where major profiteering is taking place by some dealers. Most prices are well above those in Germany etc.
8. Some installers are way over priced. One quoted me €1000 for a boiler in an existing boiler house with flue and plumbing connection already there.
9. There is in-sufficient expertise among installers and service people in Ireland.
10. Spare part and warranty mechanisms are not fully established in Ireland.
11. There are some poor designs of boiler on the market, apart from the safety issues mentioned above. The good has not yet been separated from the bad in Ireland. Time only will tell.
12. Buying a wood pellet boiler now is simply subsidising the costs of future development. In a few years there will be standardised units from Danfoss and similar, and the whole thing will cost a half or less of the current crazy prices.
 
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