Central Heating Installation
Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire & Cambridgeshire
Full central heating installations across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire. New systems, full replacements, and putting heating into properties that have never had it. Designed to the current Building Regulations rather than fitted to fill the same space as the old one. Call 01462 506 374 or request a survey.
Fully stocked vansOur vans carry the common parts, so most jobs are finished on the first visit.
12 month guaranteeEvery job carries a 12 month guarantee on our own labour. No quibble.
462 Google reviewsRated Excellent by the people we have already worked for.
24/7, 365 days a yearGas Safe registered, 956889. A person answers the phone, not a machine.
This is not a boiler swap, and the difference matters
Replacing a boiler is one appliance. A central heating installation is the boiler, the pipework, the radiators, the controls and the water in it, designed as one system to a calculated heat loss for your actual property.
It matters because of a rule most homeowners have never heard of and a lot of installers still work around.
The 55°C rule
Approved Document L requires that when a wet heating system is newly installed or fully replaced in an existing building, all parts of it, including pipework and radiators, must be sized to allow the system to operate at a maximum flow temperature of 55°C or lower.
That is a serious constraint and it is the single biggest thing separating a designed installation from a like for like swap. Older systems were designed around 70 to 80°C flow. A radiator emits considerably less heat at 55°C than at 75°C, so meeting the rule means larger radiators in most rooms, and often larger pipework to carry the higher flow rate needed to deliver the same output at a lower temperature.
Fitting a new system with the old radiators still on the wall is quicker, cheaper and does not comply. It also produces a house that never quite gets warm at the flow temperature the boiler was set up for, so somebody turns the flow temperature up, the boiler stops condensing, and the efficiency printed on the box never arrives.
The upside, and it is a real one: a system sized for 55°C is a system a heat pump can run on later without being torn out. If there is any chance of that in the next fifteen years, this is the moment it costs nothing extra to allow for.
What a proper installation includes
A heat loss calculation, room by room
Not a rule of thumb, not a radiator count. Each room’s fabric, glazing, exposure and volume, giving a required output in watts. That number sizes the radiator and the sum of them sizes the boiler. Oversizing a boiler is the most common fault in British domestic heating and it causes short cycling, which wastes gas and wears the appliance.
The right system layout
Combi where there is one bathroom, adequate mains pressure and flow, and no requirement for simultaneous hot water at two outlets. System boiler with an unvented cylinder where there are two or more bathrooms, because a combi cannot serve two showers at once regardless of what its output figure says. Regular boiler where an existing gravity fed layout genuinely suits the property.
On anything with a cylinder we will normally specify S-plan, two separate two port motorised valves, one for heating and one for hot water, rather than the older Y-plan with a single three port mid position valve. S-plan is easier to fault find, more reliable, and it expands cleanly if you later want zoning. Y-plan valves are the source of a large share of the “heating comes on when I only asked for hot water” calls we attend.
Controls that satisfy the regulations
Time and temperature control, a boiler interlock, and thermostatic radiator valves on every radiator except the one in the room where the room thermostat is. That exception is not optional and it is not a preference. The room thermostat is the boiler interlock, and a TRV throttling the radiator in that room stops the thermostat sensing a representative temperature, so the boiler runs on while the rest of the house overheats.
If you are replacing a combi in England, Boiler Plus additionally requires one of four measures: flue gas heat recovery, weather compensation, load compensation, or a smart control with automation and optimisation. System and regular boilers are exempt from that additional requirement.
Water treatment, which is what your warranty depends on
This is the part that gets skipped and it is the part that costs people their guarantee.
BS 7593 is the code of practice for preparing, commissioning and maintaining domestic heating systems, and Approved Document L has referenced it directly since June 2022. It requires the system to be cleaned and flushed, dosed with the correct quantity of inhibitor, fitted with a permanently installed in line filter, and for inhibitor levels to be checked through the system’s life with the filter serviced at each annual boiler service.
Manufacturers build BS 7593 compliance into their warranty conditions. Not complying can invalidate the guarantee, which means a five figure system with no cover. We complete the Benchmark record and register the warranty ourselves rather than leaving it with you.
BS 7593 also says that where water hardness is 200 ppm or above, a scale reducer should be fitted. Across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire almost every supply zone is well above that. Hitchin is published at 368 mg/l, Stevenage at 320, and Sawston at 318. So in our patch scale protection on a new system is a standards requirement, not an upsell, and we will price it in rather than offering it as an extra.
Microbore, and when it has to go
A lot of housing across our area was pipped in microbore, 8mm, 10mm or 12mm, rather than 15mm and 22mm. It was quick to install and it works, until it silts up.
The honest position, and the Energy Saving Trust takes the same one: blanket replacement is wrong, and so is blanket retention. It comes down to calculation. Flow velocity should sit between 0.5 and 1.5 metres per second, with around 0.9 to 1.0 as best practice. Lower flow temperatures need higher flow rates to deliver the same output, so a 55°C system asks more of narrow pipe than a 75°C system did. The longer the microbore run, the more likely it needs replacing.
We measure and calculate rather than guessing. Sometimes a short final run to a radiator is fine and the rest is not. Anyone who tells you on the doorstep that all your microbore must come out has not measured anything.
What it is like to live through
A full system installation in a typical three bedroom house is a three to five day job, depending on how much pipework is being replaced and whether floors have to come up.
First fix is the disruptive part: floorboards up, pipe runs installed, radiator positions set. Second fix is radiators on, boiler and controls in, system filled, cleaned, dosed and commissioned. You will be without heating and usually without hot water for part of it, and we will tell you exactly which days rather than leaving you to find out.
Carpets come up in the rooms being worked in. We lift and relay, but a carpet that was fitted tight and is now fifteen years old does not always go back perfectly, and it is better you hear that before we start than after.
What it costs
A full system is quoted after a survey, never over the phone, because the number depends on radiator count, pipework condition, cylinder requirements and access, and any figure given without seeing the property is a guess that will change.
A straightforward boiler swap, which is the different and simpler job, starts from £2,850 including installation, flush, warranty registration and VAT. Finance is available on larger work.
What you get in writing before we start: the heat loss calculation, the radiator schedule, the system layout, the controls specification and the price. If a quote you have been given contains none of those, it is a price for fitting a boiler, not for installing a heating system.
Book a survey
Call 01462 506 374 or send us the property details. Gas Safe registered, number 956889. Across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
Frequently asked questions
How long does a full central heating installation take?
A full system in an average three bedroom house is normally three to five days, depending on whether floors have to come up and how much of the existing pipework is reusable. A boiler swap on an existing system is a one day job.
Do I need a combi, a system boiler or a regular boiler?
It depends on hot water demand rather than the size of the house. One bathroom and a decent mains flow suits a combi. Two bathrooms, an en suite or a poor mains supply usually points to a system boiler and an unvented cylinder. Fitting a combi to a house that needs a cylinder is the most common mistake we get called out to fix.
What warranty do I get?
Up to twelve years from the manufacturer depending on the model, and on the system being installed and serviced correctly. We register it for you rather than leaving you a form. On top of that we give a twelve month guarantee on our own labour.
Will I need a magnetic filter and inhibitor?
Yes on any new installation. It is a warranty condition with most manufacturers, it is what BS 7593 expects, and in a hard water area it is what keeps the system clean enough to reach the efficiency you paid for.
Can I keep my existing radiators?
Sometimes. If they are sound, correctly sized for the room and the system is being cleaned properly, there is no reason to bin them. If they are undersized, internally corroded or the system is going to a lower flow temperature, replacing them is money well spent and we will say so.
Is finance available?
Yes, so the cost can be spread monthly rather than paid in one go. We will go through what that looks like alongside the fixed price, not instead of it.
Areas we cover
We install central heating systems throughout Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire.
- Hitchin
- Stevenage
- Letchworth
- Baldock
- Royston
- Biggleswade
- Sandy
- St Neots
- Bedford
- Luton
- Dunstable
- Harpenden
- St Albans
- Welwyn Garden City
- Hertford
- Ware
- Hemel Hempstead
- Hatfield
- Potters Bar
- Cambridge
- Shefford
- Stotfold
- Arlesey
- Knebworth
- Flitwick
- Ampthill
We work across Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire from our base in Stevenage. If your village is not listed, ring 01462 506374 and we will tell you honestly whether we reach you.
Related: boiler installation, central heating repairs, underfloor heating, power flushing and smart thermostats.
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Vantage Plumbing and Heating covers Hertfordshire, Bedfordshire and the surrounding areas. Call and talk to an engineer, or send us the details and we will come back to you with a price.
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