Stop thinking about central heating boiler maintenance
Stop thinking about central heating boiler maintenance
Although you don’t have to worry about heating in the warmer months, everybody needs hot water for washing up, showers and so on, which is why you never want to be caught out with a broken central heating boiler. It is strange though that the gas boiler is never considered to be an important piece of equipment until it stops working. Suddenly it becomes a very important and rather expensive piece of essential equipment.
If you rent your home, you won’t have to worry about having some money aside for the central heating boiler repairs; your landlord will cover it. However things are different if you own the house, you then need to keep aside some money for getting the heating boiler fixed in case it breaks down, unless you take out a central heating maintenance and repair plan.
It is advisable to buy a new model rather than getting your ten year old heating boiler repaired, this will cut down the fuel costs too in future years. You can select a new heating boiler type based on the size of your house, the number of family members and the current central heating system type. The most common type is the combi heating boiler, it is perfect for small homes and for people who want hot water quickly. In a combi central heating system water is drawn through the mains and heated immediately eliminating the need of storage tanks. Hot water is instant and on demand; but if someone runs a hot tap while you’re having a nice hot shower, be prepared to jump out quickly!.
The other option is to have a sealed system heating boiler which uses a storage tank, which allows bigger families to use different water outlets at the same time without affecting the water pressure or temperature. Such a sealed system is convenient to install and also saves on space. However, because of the storage tank, hot water isn’t instant and can run out if used too quickly.
The most space is taken , two water tanks in the attic and a storage cylinder in the upstairs airing cupboard, by a open vent boiler normally found in older houses. An open vent gas boiler provides plenty of hot water that can be used simultaneously, just like a sealed central heating boiler, but again here too heating takes time and the pressure is not as good as with a combi gas boiler.
Lastly, what’s known as a back central heating boiler gives simultaneous access to hot water from several outlets with sustained pressure; but it may need a large area for installation. Usually back boilers are kept in chimney breasts, but it is generally considered unwise to switch to a back central heating boiler if you don’t already have one due to the higher installation costs. It would save you a lot of money on installation of a new gas boiler if a back heating boiler is already installed in your house when you moved in, as it is cheaper to replace an old back heating boiler rather than install a completely new heating system.
Any malfunctioning gas boiler system requires expensive overhauling and repair. You can get some peace of mind if you take central heating insurance because if any thing goes wrong with your heating system your costs will be covered by the insurance supplier or utility company. Buy a good central heating system maintenance policy which not only covers the labour, repair costs and also provides annual inspections with no call out charge.