Figures from landlord-insurer Direct Line for Business reveals boiler breakdowns are up 163% than the monthly average, and during last winter, break down claims had a 27% increase than the previous year.
Make sure you don’t get caught in the cold this winter, here a few handy tips for choosing, maintaining and repairing your boiler should the worst happen:
Save your money and cut your bills by replacing your old boiler. You could save up to an estimated £652 each year by swapping the old with the new!
Most importantly, ensure you choose a reliable boiler. According to a recent boiler-reliability survey by Which? “almost two thirds of the most reliable boiler brands are still fault-free after six and a half years.” However, it was discovered more than half of the unreliable brands developed a fault during the same timeframe.
It is highly recommended to get a yearly boiler service. This usually costs around £70, compared with the average cost of boiler repair at £120. Treat your boiler like a car – when parts wear out, it can lead to a breakdown, leaving you with a hefty bill for an emergency call-out. On top of this, not servicing your boiler can result in invalidating its warranty.
A handful of companies offer annual contracts which include a service for a yearly rate of £200. You might be better off arranging a service yourself and saving money to put towards future repairs.
If you find your boiler is acting up, you must first consult your manual that came with the boiler, which should contain some troubleshooting tips. If you’ve misplaced the booklet, you can download a PDF file from the manufacturers website, all you’ll need to do is input the exact model of your boiler.
Also, it might be best to ensure the condensation pipe isn’t frozen. This vents condensate water from the boiler and can freeze in low temperatures. Use warm, not boiling water, to melt the ice held in the pipe, then lag it to prevent future freezing.
Don’t attempt any repairs yourself, doing so could be dangerous and could invalidate your warranty. To fix your boiler, book an appointment with one of our heating engineers call 0161 746 8000
]]>Formerly, under ECO, thousands of low-income households across the UK have benefitted from free replacement boilers and insulation from officially accredited installers such as DK Hughes.
The scheme intends to do away with outdated electric storage heaters, fuel and oil based boilers in favour of more energy and cost efficient electric storage heaters and boilers and has seen some success.
Recently we wrote about changes made to the Energy Companies Obligation that would directly affect our customers. Changes to the benefits eligibility has widened the scope so that more people are eligible for the scheme.
As any homeowner, landlord or installer will tell you, not every home is lucky enough to be a clean cut case of improving insulation, installing electric storage heaters or boilers to have their heating situation improved.
Some houses, especially those built pre-1920 have solid walls that cannot be insulated with cavity wall insulation. There are other methods of External Wall insulation but these are very expensive to install. These are only viable if the customer is prepared to pay a large contribution. This is why it is paramount to have the most energy efficient heating system, as where the walls are not insulated, the savings on your heating bills will be greater. We install Electric Storage Heaters and Boilers in properties with both solid and cavity walls.
Properties that favour electric over gas heating for whatever reason, have been overlooked in the Energy Companies Obligation scheme which has missed a large cross-section of people it was dedicated to helping.
So here’s the good news: If you fall into the category of households that relies on Electric Storage Heating Systems over gas central heating, you are now covered and included in the scheme.
Like any other household eligible for financial help with electric storage heaters, boiler replacement and insulation, (and in need of the service) you can apply here for your government grant towards replacing outdated systems with newer Electric Storage Systems.
Not sure if you need to do this in your property? If you’re thinking about it, there’s every chance that you do. Outdated Electric Storage Heating Systems are bulky, unsightly and costly to run. Moving to a newer system can reduce your bills by up 30%, include better heating controls and are more energy efficient: storing energy at night for use in the day when household energy demands are much higher.
The advice DK Hughes is giving its customers thinking about getting a replacement is to APPLY We are accredited industry professionals who have been working alongside the ECO and Help to Heat schemes since they began in 2013, and we can tell you for certain over a phone call what you will pay and what you won’t have to.
Tell us about your situation today, obligation free, and we can do the rest: making changes to your house that can improve efficiency and warmth, increase property value and could well be massively discounted by the UK government under the ECO scheme.
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