Help! There is a problem with the oil-fuelled boiler in the house that we are due to complete the purchase of tomorrow. In a nutshell, not to be used - dangerous! Can anyone give an idea of costs that might be involved in repairs or worst case scenario replacing the boiler? It was inspected yesterday and the devis has so far not been received.
I know (next to) nothing about oil boilers, but I believe there is a scheme to exchange old, polluting oil boilers for either pellet boilers or air source heat pumps, for the mighty cost of ā¬1
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You are no longer allowed to install a new oil boiler. However you can get an old boiler repaired and continue to use it until it can no longer be repaired.
There are various other choices such a wood pellet stoves, heat pumps, gas boilers which are acceptable.
There are grants available if you are permanently resident in France but they are different for different levels of household incomeā¦ This page gives some information Guide : remplacement de votre chaudiĆØre fioul | ENGIE.
and also has a link to their MaPrimeRĆ©novā page where you can calculate the likely grant. There may be additional regional or other grants as well.
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It would be most helpful if you could say WHY the boiler is considered dangerous ?
Lack of ventilation ? Improper electrical connection ? Fumes escaping from the exhaust flue ? The fix could be anything from 50 to 5000 Euro depending upon the nature of the exact problem.
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Aim highā¦.ā¬15,000 discount and let them argue you down?
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Weird it should come out the day before your buy finalisesā¦Iād defo try to do what Jane suggests. Talk quickly to the notaire?
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Donāt know at the moment. May find out more at the Notaireās tomorrow 
So we did not receive the devis for the boiler before the signing but have reached a resolution. The Notaire is holding back an agreed amount until the quote to repair the boiler is received or it is clear that a new system is required.
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A sensible solution
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We got a quote to replace our oil burner for a new pellet boiler. An eye watering 27k, and then you can apply for a grant (based on your household income so you need to have at least filed one French tax return) but it will then still cost you 12k+ at least
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Blimey!! 
You can no longer install new fuel oil fired boiler systems, so if it can be repaired, that would be the way to go. If it just the burner, for example, that might cost a few hundred Euros, but if, say, the refractive cladding has disintegrated, or the control unit/electrics are shot, that might be more costly.
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Our PAC replacement for the condensation fuel oil boiler we had fitted only 7 years ago is set to cost us about 18K, and thatās without having to change any of the radiators or the inside plumbing. Aside from the ever increasing cost of fuel oil, none of the local fuel delivery companies wanted to deliver to us anymore because theyāve all moved to trucks that are so big they get āscratchedā coming up the farm track to the house, so we didnāt really have any choice. Tax credits are really only available to those on low incomes, but there is a small form of energy credit for which we are eligible to dry our eyes with.
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I think the above statement needs clarifying. It is true that new boilers that only run on 100% fioul are no longer permitted. However, an F30 compatible boiler can be installed, as when run on fuel oil that has 30% ethanol mixed into it the boiler is within the maximum limit for emissions of greenhouse gases. It is not oil fired boilers that were banned per se, but rather any boiler that is over a certain emissions limit.
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But for how much longer will they be allowed? That is a large pile of money to consider investing into a technology everyone knows is on its way out.
Whatever heating system is chosen there is invariably a considerable installation cost. I wouldnāt say that liquid fuel boilers are a thing of the past, but that it is rather a case of the nature of the fuel changing in order to reduce emissions.
F30 (30% ethanol + 70% fossil fuel) is about to be commercialised to the public, and the intention is that F50 will be available by 2030, and F100 by 2040. A modern boiler which is F30 compliant should also run on F50 with only minor adjustment, and by the time we get to F100 in 2040 any further modifications should be no more than changing the burner unit.
Many people are able to change to alternative forms of heating, but there are those who because of where they are situated, or because of the specific features of their home, are unable to do so.
For example; I cannot have solar panels on the roof because my home is within 500 metres of an ancient monument (church). I cannot have any aerothermie equipment because there is no land on which to stand it, and I canāt bolt it onto the exterior walls because of the proximity of the church. A hopper for a wood pellet boiler is impractical as the only place to put it is in a damp cellar, and as my neighbour has discovered, this leads to fairly regular blocking of the pellet feed.
There is no piped gas supply in this little village, and of course it is against a myriad of rules to have an LPG tank inside the building. Any sort of gas is a No No anyway on the grounds that it is fossil fuel.
So what alternative am I left with ?
- Being cold in winter. Unacceptable.
- Using wood in the form of logs. Too heavy and difficult to manipulate with my advancing years.
- Paying a substantial bill for electric heating. I need to recalculate that on the basis of the revised prices for both electricity and fioul oil, but I accept that it may be a viable option.
- Adapting my existing perfectly well functioning boiler to operate on F30 and subsequently F50. (Something I can do myself for a cost of around 600 Euro with the aid of a couple of spanners.) I can then use the existing fuel tank for the ethanol content fuel, as both F30 and F50 are fully miscible with 100% fossil fuel oil.
By the time we get to F100 in 2040 I shall probably be either dead, or so doolally that I wonāt care if Iām cold, so Iām not going to concern myself with that scenario at this time.
So overall, I would say that for some people, in some situations, there is indeed value in investing in a new, modern, and fully automated, liquid fuel boiler system that will still be usable for many years into the future.
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Yes, thanks for pointing that out, but I always have to ask myself for how long will that be the case ? Until the next more ecologically illuminated minister for the environment comes into post ?
They, Governments of the world should all drop the bans on fitting green tech on the close by an ancient monument. Especially a church as they seized power and murdered non believers.
The needs of the people in a world under considerable strain far out way an asthetic aim, they can keep the old monuments clear of modern tech.
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I should think that a Finance Minister who can come up with an alternative way of raising all the tax money that comes from selling oil derived products may be of more relevance to the question at hand.
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When one tries to roughly estimate the total number of churches in France (45,000 Catholic parish churches alone), and then considers the fact that 95% of them have large south facing roofs, I reckon that fitting them all with solar panels would produce a large amount of electricity. Additionally, most churches have far more seats than congregants, so there is plenty of space to install some storage batteries at the back of the knave.
Iām not a churchgoer, but I reckon that The Almighty would approve. After all, I think it is often said that āGod helps those that help themselvesā (in a non larcenous way of course).
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