How Much Does a New Boiler Cost in Edinburgh?

It is the first question almost everybody asks, and it deserves a straight answer rather than a form to fill in. The straight answer is that the price is decided by the property and by the boiler, and almost none of it is decided by the postcode. What follows is what a quote is actually made of, so you can read one properly and compare two of them fairly.

What a boiler installation price covers

A quote for a new boiler should cover the appliance, the flue, the connections, the commissioning and taking the old unit away, as one price with one party responsible for it. The simplest version of the job is a straightforward replacement — the boiler going back roughly where the old one was, an existing flue route that still works, and a gas supply that can carry the new appliance without alteration. Everything below is what moves it away from that.

The four things that move the price

The first is the boiler itself. Output, hot water performance and manufacturer all move the appliance cost, and the range between the cheapest sensible unit and a top-of-the-range one is significant. The second is whether the type of system is changing. A like-for-like swap is one job; converting a gravity-fed flat to a combi and stripping out the cylinder, the header tank and the pipework that fed them is another.

The third is the flue. If the boiler moves, the flue moves, and in an Edinburgh tenement the legal terminal position on the rear elevation can dictate a longer run than anyone expected. The fourth is the gas supply. Older properties frequently have a supply pipe that was sized for a much smaller appliance, and if it will not carry the new one it has to be uprated before anything else happens.

The costs people forget

Two things routinely get left out of cheap quotes. One is cleaning the existing system. Hanging a brand new heat exchanger on a set of radiators full of magnetite is the fastest way to shorten its life, so a flush and a magnetic filter belong in the price rather than being sold as an optional extra later. The other is disposal — the old boiler, and on a conversion the cylinder and the tank, have to leave the building, which in a fourth-floor flat is a real piece of work.

Why the price is not on the website

Because the honest range is wide, and a number that ignores your flue route, your gas supply and your hot water demand is not a quote, it is a lead-generation tactic. We come out, look at the property, work out what the household actually needs and put it in writing. The visit and the quote cost nothing and you are under no obligation. Guarantee cover on the appliance is the manufacturer’s own and varies from boiler to boiler, so ask what the one you are being quoted for carries. If you want to see what the work involves, our boiler installation page sets it out step by step.