10° Overcast
Hi: 10° Lo:2° 7 day
Hi: 10° Lo:2° 7 day
People only tend to think about their boilers in Winter when they use their central heating. They are often forgotten through the summer even though they are providing your hot water and only really noticed when things go wrong. With ever increasing gas bills you should be taking your heating and hot water costs more seriously in order to reduce your bills and minimise the effect of future price rises.
A gas boiler is expensive, they are expensive to run and even more expensive when they go wrong. In order to be able to save money you need both reliability and efficiency.
You should be looking for a system that is solidly built and that has a good warranty attached. You don't want to have to be paying expensive call out fees, especially in the winter months when call out charges are generally higher due to gas engineers being busier.
You may also be considering some type of emergency breakdown cover as well. If you do go down that route then you need to ensure that your policy properly covers you. Be aware of the policy limitations and hidden excess charges that may end up costing you’re a small fortune should you have to call someone out.
Modern condensing boilers are not only more reliable these days but are more efficient. Boiler efficiency is now 90+ percent where as older boilers can be as low as 55 percent efficient. Switching to an energy efficient model equates to an annual saving of about £300 based on current gas prices.
Efficiency doesn't just start and end at your boiler. Your heating system including your radiators can also have a dramatic effect on heating costs. According to Fernox a radiator power flush can reduce gas bills by as much as 15% and improve warming speeds by a third.
A new gas boiler is a major household expense and can be an ongoing expense with unexpected breakdowns, yearly servicing costs, call out fees and repair costs. The average cost to fix a broken boiler in winter is £320 according to uSwitch.
Yorkshire based Everlasting Boilers offers an alternative to unexpected costs by installing a grade 'A' boiler with no up front cost and includes all breakdown, callout and servicing costs in a single monthly payment with no hidden extras. They estimate that their existing customers are already saving around £900 a year each.
The autumn of 2012 saw prices increases from the big 6 energy companies of up to 10.8% which increased the average bill by around £70. The average gas bill stands at around £775 a year and is predicted to increase considerably so any action you take now is going to pay dividends for years to come.
Replacing your old system with an 'A' rated condensing boiler and flushing your system should save you hundreds of pounds every year off your gas bill. Getting a reliable boiler and keeping it serviced regularly will also reduce the risk of unexpected breakdowns which can lead to expensive repair bills.
