The central heating boiler is the beating heart of any home. And as winter approaches – and if you haven’t already – now is a good time to make sure yours is maintained and ready for the cold weather.
As energy prices have started shooting through (as October 2022), it has become more important than ever that your boiler continues to work as efficiently – and, therefore, as economically – as possible.
Certainly, boiler breakdowns are incidents you want to avoid. Any breakdown is likely to happen when you need the heating the most and turns into something of an emergency. And emergency callouts to get it fixed are then going to be all the more expensive.
Maintenance
The best way of keeping your boiler working at peak efficiency and avoiding those unexpected breakdowns, of course, is to ensure that it is regularly serviced.
Whether it is the home you live in as the owner-occupier or one that you let to tenants, timely maintenance helps to prevent those troublesome and costly callouts when boiler engineers are likely to be at their busiest. It may typically even be a condition of your buildings insurance policy to ensure that your boiler is regularly serviced.
If you are a landlord, it is more than just prudence, but a matter of law. You have a general obligation to ensure that the accommodation you let is fit for habitation – and that means a warm environment in winter and, hot water on tap.
More specifically, you are required to have any gas-fired boiler installation – together with any other gas appliance – inspected and checked by a Gas Safe-registered engineer at least once a year.
Even if you live in your home, a condition of your home insurance policy is that everything is regularly serviced and maintained – so an annual boiler service makes sense.
What to do if your boiler breaks down
A regular domestic boiler should be serviced once a year, says the Boiler Guide in a posting on the 6th of July 2022. A properly serviced boiler will help you save energy – and, therefore, lots of money on those escalating fuel bills – as well as keep your home warm during the cold winter months, explained an article by Ideal Home on the 4th of January 2022.
Whether you are a homeowner looking to manage your energy bills or a landlord keen to comply with the law on maintaining any gas appliances, you’ll want to avoid boiler malfunctions and breakdowns.
But what should you do if and when the worst happens?
- whether you are a homeowner or landlord safety first is paramount;
- if there is a smell of gas, the normal colour of the flame changes, or there are sooty marks around the boiler, turn it off straight away and call the emergency gas line on 0800 111 999 (open 24 hours a day, whatever energy supplier you use);
- if the pilot flame keeps going out, once again don’t try to re-light the boiler, but call out a Gas Safe engineer;
- nevertheless, if you are confident that everything is otherwise safe, British Gas suggests a number of fixes that you might try yourself before calling out the professionals;
- these include resetting the pressure gauge on your boiler, checking that the condensate pipe (on the outside of your home) hasn’t frozen up, resetting the thermostat or boiler temperature gauges, relighting the pilot light (provided it is not constantly going out – in which case, call the gas engineer), or resetting your boiler if it has “locked out”.
It is important to stress, however, that you should only try these suggested remedies if you are confident in what you are doing and are absolutely certain that the boiler and its gas supply remain safe. Otherwise, shut everything down, make that call to the emergency gas line, and await the arrival of a trained and certified engineer.
