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How to make your boiler last longer?

Gas Engineers in East London and Essex
Gas Engineers in East London and Essex

How to make your boiler last longer?

Turning on the boilers helps you with heating and hot water, when required, especially during the winter months. But when its the time to pay a hefty amount for a new boiler purchase, nobody really likes it.

However, as it's for any other appliances, boilers also don't last forever. The average life expectancy of a boiler can be around 15-20 years. At times, that can also go down to even 8 to 9 years.

It all depends on the kind of usage and maintenance it had received throughout its life. And what after that? It's that huge expense and hassle, waiting for you to get the new one installed.

You can be one of the lucky ones if your boiler survives effectively for a long. However, if you want to increase the life span of your boiler, here are certain tips that need to be followed. which have been shared below:

1. Service Your Boiler Every Year:

To know whether your boiler is all fine or not, you need to get it inspected by a qualified and certified gas engineer. Minor issues can occur anytime, and they can lead to a major one if left unchecked for a long. Servicing your boiler by a gas-safe registered engineer at least once a year can help you find out any such defects in your boiler, small or big. And once those issues are clarified,it can prevent future breakdowns. Even to get the benefits of your boiler warranty, you should get your boiler serviced by a gas-safe registered engineer. So annual boiler servicing is always recommended to maintain your boiler in good health and thereby increases its life expectancy.

2. Do not Idle Your Boiler in Summertime:

Though not for long, summertime in the UK lasts for four to five months. And that's the time you don't need heating. Now if you are giving your boilers a break, you are also reducing your fuel bills. But at the same time, this long-term dormancy can bring a lot of problems where the metals in the boiler can seize with also dirt and dust accumulating on its parts, thereby affecting its efficiency and longevity. So it's wise to get your boiler working at least for a few minutes every month during the summer. Doing this will make your boiler parts move smoothly, and you don't have to face a hard time while turning it on in autumn.

3. Insulate the Pipes:

To get your boilers to work effectively with no early breakdowns, insulating the pipes is one of the crucial steps. But it's not that complicated,where you need to call a professional. All you have to do is to purchase the lagging from a DIY store and get your pipes insulated by following any video tutorial. And this negligible expense will give you a return in many ways. As it will prevent any sudden boiler failures,it will also help you get reasonable heating bills and also increase the average life expectancy of your boiler.

4. Install a Magnetic Filter to your Boiler:

Sludge buildup in the boiler system is one of its biggest issues, causing cold radiators, strange boiler noises, and even boiler leakages. With time, as water flows through the boiler, rust from the inside pipes forms this sludge. Now if it gets ignored for a long, it can even lead to premature boiler breakdown. So as a very good precautionary measure, you can better install a magnetic filter on the returning pipework of your heating system. It will stop the sludge deposits from entering the boiler, making it more functional and also increasing its life span.

5. Add an Inhibitor to your heating system:

Water in your boiler system has got dissolved impurities in it. And, for sure, its' something that can harm your appliance, reducing its efficiency and longevity in long term. Adding an inhibitor to your boiler can be a wonderful idea to reduce the corrosion and limescale formation in the system. This chemical solution once added to your heating system will prevent the metal components in it to react with water and produce unwanted deposits, thereby making your boiler work efficiently for a long. Now, as it's for installing a filter. this is also something, you need the help of a heating engineer to do for you.

6. Bleed your Radiators:

For any reason or other, air can get inside your heating system. Mostly, if not excelled out, this air will find its way up into the radiators. And that will make your radiators cold at the top and hot at the bottom.Bleeding your radiators can get your boilers to work more effectively and prevent any such bigger issues for it in the coming future. It is a simple task which you can very well do by yourself.You just need to get a radiator key, then turn the bleed point of the radiator and wait till water spills out from it.

7. Power Flush your Central heating:

In a scenario, where you are using a heating system, that is inefficiently operating because of sludge, power flushing works the best. Mostly, its' best suggested for old boilers working in hard water areas for a long. And moreover, if you haven't taken the necessary measures to keep your heating system sludge-free, this is the right option for you. In this process, the power flushing machine gets attached to the system, where it flushes out the stubborn sludge in it, with the help of its high-pressure water and its strong cleansing agent. This way,you get your heating system thoroughly cleaned, and make it survive good for a long.

8. Keep the Surrounding Clean:

As for fire,it requires air to burn, it's the same as what works for your boiler. Now, keeping too many things around will not let the boiler get enough air to burn, give less efficient service and be more prone to breakdowns.

Applying these tips will hopefully help you enjoy an effectively working boiler for a long. But don't try to carry on with your boiler too long, if your system needs frequent repairs.Even if you find your boiler making strange noises,or having leakages everywhere,that can be a sign that you need to change your boiler. An experienced gas-safe registered engineer can be the best one to guide you, whether you will go for boiler repair or a new boiler installation. However, if you are looking for such assistance,please feel free to give us a call and hire a certified gas engineer in Essex.

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Reasons for Having High Heating Bills & Ways To Reduce it

Reasons for Having High Heating Bills & Ways To Reduce it

When it's cold, your heating needs to work hard. And for that you burn more fuel.

That makes quite a good reason why you start seeing high figures on your heating bill when it comes to the end of the year.But do take care whether your bills are not going just way too dear and also if your home is getting that amount of warmth or not.

In case, if that's the scenario with you, just check if you have any one or more of the issues mentioned below:

Unmaintained Boiler:

If you have your boiler poorly maintained, that can also be one of the reasons why your heating bills are going high. Boiler servicing by gas safe registered engineer, at least in an interval of 1 year, is necessary to check whether all the boiler parts are working well. Otherwise, those issues can give the boilers a tough time heating up, eventually increasing your fuel cost

Old Boiler:

Even if you have your boiler well maintained and checked by a certified and experienced gas engineer, that does not mean that your boiler is working with the maximum energy efficiency. Modern technology boilers are far more efficient than old boilers. So getting a new boiler can help you reduce your heating bill expenses, and also turn out to be more eco-friendly.

Gas escaping out:

If its' for the leakage or for any other reason, gas can move out of the system. This gas is usually the unused fuel that moves out in the air. Eventually, that adds up to your heating cost but brings you no benefit. Such leakages turn out to be quite fatal and more if it occurs in an enclosed area with less oxygen supply.

Inaccurate Readings in the Thermostat:

As for any other appliance in your home, your thermostat can also go wrong. And when it's your thermostat that goes wrong, it can definitely affect your heating bills and also your comfort. Your boiler will work as per the thermostat reading. And if it shows low temperature reading, even when it's not, it can make your boilers work more, increasing your heating bills even higher.

Unwanted Mineral deposits in the system:

Water is used in boilers as the medium of heat transmission, and the air is used as such in furnaces. Though water is taken to be a good conductor of heat,it has the drawback of carrying several minerals and dirt with it. These unwanted materials form a layer on the various internal surfaces of the boiler.At times,it also forms thick, stubborn deposits on its various parts, making the job of your heating system go more difficult and eat more energy.

Contaminated Fuel Oil:

If there's water in your fuel, the fuel will first make the attempt to burn the water in it. Therefore, a major portion of that fuel will be consumed for burning that water . This can be taken as an unnecessary waste of energy, which will increase your fuel bills.

Ineffective Insulation:

Even if you heat up your house, that heat might get escaped out of your house due to improper insulation. An old or poorly insulated house can have cracked doors and windows. damaged walls, letting the air move in and out. This makes the warm air move out and the cold air get in. And this cold room temperature compels the heating system to work more, also making your heating bill soar up much higher.

Not Enough Space for the Boiler to Breathe:

If you have big furniture like coaches, beds, shelves, etc. placed in front of your boiler, that will inevitably block the flow of air to and from your heating appliance. That way, the boiler will have a hard time in functioning, thereby increasing your expenses on the heating bill.

As fuel cost is rising high day by day, any such wastage of fuel should not be ignored at all. Just taking some precautionary measures beforehand can help you get good savings on your fuel bills and can also make your winter warm and comfortable.So first check on these three things:

1. Living Habits:

Winter is the time, you need to take out your woolen clothes and blankets for use. Now if you want to be in your summer dresses at your home during this time, you need your heating to work more. So if it is cold, it's wiser to make the best use of your winter clothing and other such stuff,where you also set the thermostat normally at a temperature,so that you can get your boiler to work just moderately. Another thing you can do to get your house is to do more cooking at home,rather than dinning out.The heat from the oven can also warm your house to some extent.

2. Home Insulation:

If you want your home properly warm in winter, that really matters how well insulated your place is. While you pay your high heating bills, you need to take care that heat is also retained in your home for your comfort. If that warm air is sipping out of your house and the cold air is taking its place, it's just a waste of energy. A wet or poorly insulated house with damaged walls, windows, and attic can be the reason. Better get your home properly insulated before the winter knocks in.To prevent heat loss from your wi'ndows,you can better put a thin clear plastic film against the window frames.A layer of caulk or weather stripping around the windows also does good for your home insulation. But at the same time,don't let your home miss out the daytime heat of the sun.Its the warmth you can get from the nature with no cost.

3. Your Heating Appliance:

Last but not the least, your heating appliance can be the real season for which your home is loosing out its precious heat. As your boiler grows older, its energy efficiency also decreases with time. So,getting your boiler upgraded to a high efficiency modern boiler can be a best solution for reducing your power cost

But first,you need to check the condition of your boiler.Irrespective of what age your boiler is,if you find signs of corrosion in it,that needs to be fixed.In worst scenario,you might need to go for a total boiler replacement.

Anyways, if you are facing such issues of high fuel bills now,hire a registered gas engineer in Essex to inspect your heating system and get it ready for these winter months.