What should I do to protect against a gas boiler maintenance

What should I do to protect against a gas boiler maintenance

The central heating system in your home is generally ignored in the summertime when warmth is plentiful, but if it does suddenly stop working, you may be stuck with measly kettle fulls of hot water and chilly cold showers everyday. Boilers are one of those things in life that we rarely think think of, until they stop working that is. And as soon as it stops working, everyone realises how essential it is and how expensive repairs can be.

If you live in a rented house, your landlord will take care of all the finances related to central heating system servicing. Should anything go wrong when you are the homeowner the situation is different so you might think of putting a little aside to cover this risk.

It is advisable to buy a new model rather than getting your ten year old central heating system repaired, this will cut down the fuel costs too in future years. The type of gas boiler that you should buy would depend upon your existing boiler type, the size of your family and the amount of space in your home. For smaller homes with fewer people a combi gas boiler tends to be the most common choice, especially if you want instant hot water at mains pressure. A combi boiler warms up the water as it flows through, removing the need to store the water in a hot water tank. Hot water can be created any time and very quickly, but be careful as they have a limited capacity so the hot shower you are taking might suddenly become cold if several other hot taps are turned on at the same time.

Another type of heating boiler is the sealed system gas boiler which has a hot water storage tank and is usually used for large families, as it allows several showers and hot water taps to work at the same time. The system heating boiler needs not much space and it is quick and easy to install. The drawback with this heating boiler is that you cannot get hot water instantly as there is a storage tank which gets empty from time to time if a lot of hot water is used quickly.

Older models of boilers are generally of open vent type – requiring a couple of loft mounted water tanks as well as a storage section installed in an airing cupboard. This boiler too doesn’t give hot water instantly like the sealed system though once again it allows several taps and shower to work at the same time, water pressure is also not to good here.

A back gas boiler takes a lot of space but it allows multiple outlets of hot water without loss of water pressure. Usually back boilers are kept in chimney breasts, but it is generally considered unwise to switch to a back boiler if you don’t already have one due to the higher installation costs. However repairing an existing back central heating boiler or replacing it with a new back central heating boiler can result in better efficiency and reduced long term costs.

It is expensive to get the any of these types of boiler repaired. So it is important to get a central heating insurance so that your costs are covered even if something goes wrong with your system. Take out a gas boiler breakdown policy that covers annual boiler inspections as well as call-outs and repairs and you could save yourself an extra amount per year.