Why is Boiler Servicing Important

1. Keeping Your Family Safe

We all like to think that we take good care of our families and ourselves, well this should extend to comfort and safety in the home.  Having a trained and Gas Safe qualified professional check the safe, complete and efficient operation of your boiler is one the ways you can provide for the ones you love. 

Between 2010 and 2020 over 100 people a year died of accidental carbon monoxide poisoning.  By having your boiler serviced every year and by ensuring you have a working carbon monoxide alarm in the same space as your gas boiler guarantees the safety of you and the people you love in this area.

Find your locally trained and Gas Safe Registered engineer.

2. Prolonging the Life of Your Boiler

The annual inspection of your boiler allows for the cleaning of certain components when required.  Cleaning these components can elongate the boilers life leading to fewer breakdowns and give greater levels of efficiency through clear airways and clean waterways.

Annual inspection also gives the opportunity for consumable parts such as gaskets and seals to be replaced before they wear away.  Perished seals can be a leading cause of breakdowns in certain boiler brands such as Worcester Bosch.

3. Spotting Problems in Advance

Did you know that 18% of UK households had their boiler break down at least once in the last year?

Having your boiler serviced every year can allow a trained engineer the opportunity to spot problems before they become a broken boiler. There are a number of things that can break on your boiler with different types of boiler having a different number of components inside. Problems that can lead to a breakdown can be things from internal leaks getting to the electrics or corroding metallic components to mechanical faults to individual elements coming towards the end of their life. Rectifying a noted problem before it leads to a breakdown will make the cost of the repair cheaper and will avoid the stress associated with your heating and/or hot water not working. 

Poor radiator water quality can also lead to a boiler breakdown.  Poor radiator water quality can also invalidate a boiler warranty.  Boiler manufacturers are increasingly undertaking ‘system health checks’ before proceeding with a warranty repair.  If they find the radiator water health to be below the required standards they may refuse to repair your boiler until that has been rectified by a local gas safe engineer.

So if the water coming out of your radiators if black or dirty when you bleed them you may be in need of a system cleanse or power flush to avoid a boiler breakdown or a boiler warranty issue.  If you live in Brighton and Hove or the surrounding areas and feel you may need a power flush or system cleanse get in touch today.

4. Saving Money on Your Energy Bills

We all care about the cost of our energy bills. Even more so post Covid whilst being in the middle of a number of global crisis which are all contributing to a rising cost of living crisis.

Having your boiler serviced annually can allow the Gas Safe engineer the opportunity to ensure that your boiler is burning the correct amount of gas and burning that gas correctly. It will also give the engineer the opportunity to set your heating flow temperature and hot water tap temperature.

We all care about the cost of our energy bills. Even more so post Covid whilst being in the middle of a number of global crisis which are all contributing to a rising cost of living crisis.

Condensing boilers won’t condense if the heating flow temperature is set too high!  Condensing boilers are advertised as being around 90% efficient.  Leaving your central heating flow temperature at maximum, or anything above 60degrees can lead to them being closer to only 75% efficient wasting a lot of gas in the process.  For quick video help on what reducing your boiler flow temperature means and how to do it take a look at this short video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_HQ5jxW1OcM&t=113s.

At City Warmth we do everything we can on a boiler service to reduce the cost of your heating and hot water bills.  Checking, and reducing if necessary, the heating flow temperature alongside bleeding and checking the operation of all radiators comes as standard as part of a City Warmth Boiler Service whether an interim boiler service or a full strip down boiler service.

5. Better Return on Investment

Having a new boiler installed can cost between £2000 and £5000 dependent upon the make, model, location and other associated works such as power flushing or radiator replacement. That is no small amount of money!  But a well maintained combi boiler should have a life span of between 10 and 20 years!

Having the boiler checked and serviced every year by someone who is; well trained and has experience in servicing the specific make and model of boiler you own is a great way of ensuring the boiler will last a long time.

A boiler which cost £2500 to install but only lasts 10 years has cost you £250 a year! Whereas a boiler which cost £2500 to install but lasted 20 years, only cost you £125 a year which is half! The longer a boiler lasts the less it will have cost you to install.

6. Manufacturer Warranty and Legal Compliance

If your boiler is less than 10-years old it is highly likely that is it still within a manufacturer warranty period.  Being under warranty means that the boiler manufacturer will cover the costs associated with any boiler breakdowns during this period by sending out one of their own team to undertake the repair.  They will cover all the costs. That’s nice to hear isn’t it. 

The manufacturer will only do this if you have had your boiler serviced every year. This service can be undertake by any trained, qualified and Gas Safe registered engineer in your area. The service does not need to be done by the manufacturer.  Remember, if you don’t get your boiler serviced annually you will invalidate the warranty.

If you are a landlord, having the boiler checked every year is a legal responsibility!  A landlord gas safety check is not the same as a boiler service but it is advised that you get your boiler serviced at the same time for a number of reasons. 

1. Stress. Your tenant reporting a broken boiler can be just as stressful for a landlord as if they lived in the property themselves. As a responsible landlord you want to ensure your tenant has access to heating and hot water when they need it.  
2. Boiler lifetime. A well maintained boiler, through annual boiler servicing, will last longer ensuring a better return on investment on that asset. Replacing a boiler can be expensive and you want the boiler to last as long as possible before needing to be replaced again.
3. Repairs outside of warranty. There is a strong chance that the cost of repairing your boiler will be higher if it hasn’t been serviced every year. Having your boiler serviced every year allows for the replacement of certain parts which are designed to protect other parts. Getting these parts replaced as and when required will initially lead to fewer breakdowns and will ensure the cost of repair is less when the boiler does break down.

Having your boiler serviced every year by someone who understands boiler servicing and low temperature heating systems can save you money by protecting against unnecessary repair costs and by ensuring your heating bill is as low as possible.