Have you ever wondered: How often should central heating be serviced? We look at why you should service your boiler and how often you need to check that your heating is working correctly.
HOW OFTEN SHOULD MY BOILER BE SERVICED?
Hot water and a central heating system are core commodities to any household in the UK. They are such a staple of living that for some, it is hard to consider going without them. And what forms the beating heart of this heating system? Of course, it’s your boiler. And as the beating heart providing warmth to hearth and home, nobody wants their boiler to break down, least of all during the cold winter months.
This means that if you want a healthy boiler, you will want to get your boiler serviced. But how frequently is the question, should you get your boiler serviced every month? No, servicing is a relatively expensive procedure, but it doesn’t need to be done too often. Most of the time, you should get your boiler serviced annually to ensure they are in good condition.
Perhaps if you have an older boiler and don’t want to get a new one, then maybe consider a slightly more frequent service schedule, but regardless, once a year should do the trick.
WHY SERVICE YOUR BOILER?
SAFETY
Safety should be your number one priority for most things, just as a rule of thumb, but this is doubly the case for a boiler because most boilers work with flammable gas to heat the water. And if a potential fire hazard wasn’t enough for you, then the carbon monoxide produced from burning these gas’s should be enough cause for concern.
So for the sake of your house, yourself, and any family or pets that you have, please make sure to get your boiler checked by a Gas Safe engineer once a year for peace of mind at least.
IDENTIFICATION OF POTENTIAL FAULTS
A boiler service isn’t called a boiler repair for a reason. While a Gas Safe engineer will endeavour to repair any faults, they find during a central heating service, that’s not all they will do.
Even if nothing is obviously wrong with the boiler and it’s running fine, the engineer will examine the machine for potential faults that may cause issues down the line. These faults may not warrant any immediate attention or repair.
However, it is still important to be aware of them so that the next time you get it serviced, both you and the engineer will be able to more easily determine the condition of the boiler and what repairs may be required. And remember, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, so it’s better to know about these things sooner rather than later.
EFFICIENCY
One of the more convenient and noticeable benefits of having your boiler serviced annually is the increase in efficiency in your central heating before and after.
Often a boiler will have a bunch of minor problems and won’t be properly optimized for whatever reason, which will cause it to perform inefficiently. this will show itself in the hot water from the taps being lukewarm sometimes, and it taking a long time for your radiators to start heating up. With regular servicing for your boiler, you should notice a general improvement in your central heating system.
An efficient running boiler also doesn’t have to work as hard to produce better effects with means it is also more energy-efficient, which saves on bills and will help the boiler last longer.
MANUFACTURER WARRANTY
Last but certainly not least, you should make sure your boiler is serviced because your warranty most likely says you should. Typically a boiler warranty will last for a long while. Still, they will stipulate that the boiler must receive proper servicing by a Gas Safe registered engineer; otherwise, the warranty will be null and void.
Obviously, with how expensive a boiler is and how much of a nightmare it is to go without one, it is a good idea not to void the warranty if they break down fully.
WHO SHOULD SERVICE A BOILER?
The only definitive answer that applies to all boilers for this question is not you. Under no circumstances should you attempt to service or fiddle around with your boiler at home unless you are a boiler engineer specializing in one of these:
GAS BOILERS
If you own a gas boiler like the majority of UK households, you will need an engineer who has the Gas Safe registered qualification to perform the service. These are the engineers who have trained and studied the necessary safety procedures and mechanisms for operating on a gas boiler.
OIL BOILERS
If you have an oil boiler, then you will need to hire an OFTEC registered engineer. OFTEC stands for the Oil Firing Technical Association and is the Gas Safe equivalent qualification for oil-based appliances. Regardless of what kind of boiler you have, the point is to make sure whoever is servicing your boiler knows what they are doing and fulfil the legal requirement to do the work so as not to void your boiler warranty.
WHAT DOES A BOILER SERVICE INVOLVE?
Your annual boiler service should consist of no less than 30 minutes of the engineer poking and prodding around. Initially, they will be looking for any obvious and easy to check faults such as the pilot light being out or if there are any leaks or signs that the exterior parts are corroded.
Then they will do a thorough inspection of the boiler’s guts. It’s important that these internals remain clean to prevent malfunction so they will be sure to cleanse the piping of any dirt or debris. After that, they will look at the flues that carry the gaseous by-products from the combustion process out and away from where they might cause harm.
Once they are sure the flues aren’t blocked up, they will confirm that the boiler is operating at the right gas pressure and should they see no issue, they will fire up the boiler for the final check.
With the boiler running, the engineer will be able to tell if it is operating as normal and if not, then they missed something in one of the other checks or there is a deeper problem.
Do note, however, that these steps are a checklist of things the engineer needs to go through, but the actual order can vary depending on the individual and other circumstances of the annual service.
BOILER SAFETY ISSUES TO BE AWARE OF
Allow me to reiterate this point. It is important, after all. Boiler safety is not something to overlook especially when it comes to carbon monoxide poisoning. In case you don’t know, carbon monoxide is known as the silent killer of toxic gasses due to the fact that it has no smell or taste and a leak of this gas is likely to make no sound either.
In England and Wales, roughly 60 people die every year from carbon monoxide poisoning. Boiler malfunction based carbon monoxide leaks is a leading cause of these deaths.
This is why even if you aren’t legally required to do so, it is important you arrange for an annual boiler service so you can sleep easy, knowing that the heart of your home is running safely and efficiently.
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