Annual boiler servicing
Why have your boiler serviced ?
As with all heating appliances, your boiler should be serviced on a regular basis to ensure that it is operating efficiently and safely. Regular servicing of your boiler is important as it ensures that the boiler is working to the specifications designed by the boiler manufacturer. This will help prolong the life of the boiler as well as reduce the risk of faults and expensive repairs in the long term. Just like cars, boilers can operate for many years without servicing but generally with fuel consumption penalties, undermined reliability and even safety implications.
Who should I get to service my boiler ?
The service should be carried out by a qualified and experienced service technician/service engineer.
What should I expect when a service engineer arrives ?
When carried out by a competent technician, a boiler service should entail little disruption to your routine. A typical service should take around an hour and leave you with a safe and efficiently operating appliance.
Repair costs
You could be making a big mistake if you do decide not to have your boiler serviced. Having your boiler serviced on a regular basis can help avoid expensive boiler repair costs in the future. If you have ever had a major fault with a boiler, you can appreciate that repairs can be expensive and inconvenient, particularly if the fault occurs when the weather outside is cold! Boilers are subject to gradual wear and tear, that left unchecked will eventually cause major damage, which could mean a new boiler is the only solution.
Maintenance of manufacturer’s warranty
If you have purchased a boiler in the last couple of years, you may be assuming that your boiler is covered under the manufacturer’s warranty. While this is the case when you buy a boiler, many manufacturers state that the warranty is only valid if you have your boiler serviced by a professional boiler engineer.
If you don’t have your boiler serviced, a lot of the manufacturers won’t honour the warranty. So you’re running the risk of your boiler not being as efficient as it should be and you’re losing the value of your warranty. So if you want the full value of the warranty you have already paid for, you must make sure that your boiler is serviced annually by a boiler engineer who is Gas Safe registered.
Keeping energy bills low
Having your boiler serviced can also save you money in energy costs, as after a service, your boiler will be working to full capacity, meaning it is more energy efficient. During a boiler service, your boiler will be calibrated, checked for leaks and soot build-ups. The result is that your boiler will be at full capacity, so you will have reduced energy bills.
As your boiler is more efficient after a service, it means that it is also more environmentally friendly as less energy is wasted. If you are selling your home, an energy efficient boiler can be seen as a selling point. It might not impact directly on the value of your property but it could help you to sell your property more quickly. Because of the difference between individual installations, it is difficult to predict what saving servicing will bring for a particular house.
The following chart is conservative and gives the increase in fuel costs each year that the boiler is not serviced.
For example, servicing a kerosene boiler, which has not been serviced for 3 years, will bring about an immediate fuel reduction of some 5%.
Health and safety
Detecting boiler faults too late could be fatal because even modern boilers can develop carbon monoxide leaks. Known as the silent killer, carbon monoxide is odourless and so is difficult to detect but can cause serious illness and lead to death. In its early stages, it causes headaches and flu like symptoms and with continued exposure it can cause death.
The National Health Service recommends that you have your boiler, central heating system and gas appliances checked annually by a professional boiler engineer. As part of the service the engineer will make sure your boiler does not have carbon monoxide leaks and is safe. If you are a landlord, you have a legal obligation to provide these checks to ensure the safety of your tenants.
