A Homeowner's Guide To Boiler Maintenance

Understanding your boiler and what it needs is an easy way to save money on big repairs and wasted energy. By maintaining your boiler - upgrading technology, servicing it annually, and knowing what to look out for - you can be sure that your boiler is operating efficiently and safely, meaning you could save yourself a fortune on boiler servicing and repairs in Bristol.

1. Upgrading your boiler can increase energy efficiency in your home.

As technology progresses, boilers are becoming ever-more energy efficient. By upgrading your boiler every few years, you can save money on electricity bills and reduce your impact on the environment. If buying a new boiler is not on your docket, consider converting your current boiler to a modern system. Whether you decide to replace your old boiler or convert it to a high-efficiency system, your initial investment will pay for itself with pounds you’ll save throughout the year in lower energy bills.

Condensing boilers, which capture some of the heat released during the process of burning fuels (gas or oil) to generate heat, have an efficiency rating of about 89%, compared to that of old gas boilers, which range from 55% to 65% in efficiency. Even newer non-condensing boilers have an efficiency rating of around 78%, making an upgrade well worth considering.

2. Servicing your boiler each year helps to prevent gas leaks.

Part of boiler maintenance involves regularly hiring a Gas Safe Registered engineer to service your boiler and keep everything in check. While you want to be checking in on your boiler yourself, there may be a minor leak or problem that you don’t see.In the worst case, this could lead to a gas leak: Carbon monoxide is colourless and odourless, so it’s not difficult to miss.

A professional will inspect your boiler to ensure that all controls are functioning properly, keeping an eye out for any corrosion or leaks. She’ll remove the casing to get a closer look at the main components of your boiler, check for accurate gas pressure, test for faulty fume emissions, and make sure that the seals are in place for optimal efficiency and safe from leaks.

Getting your boiler serviced is also a great way to learn more about your boiler, if you pay some attention while it’s being examined. By seeing what the professional is looking for, you gain first-hand experience of where you can look for leaks and corrosion throughout the year. This brings us to our final point.

3. Keeping an eye on your boiler throughout the year is the best way to maintain it.

Understanding your boiler and knowing what signs to look for can prevent major leaks and damages. This doesn’t have to be a time-consuming or painful regimen, either. With a little research and a few continual steps, you can easily maintain your boiler in between annual servicing.

The first step to keeping an eye on your boiler is to get to know your type of boiler and how it functions. While you don’t need to know the ins-and-outs of it, as you probably won’t be the one taking it apart, understanding its design and how it generates heat will help you be able to detect leaks and know when your boiler isn’t functioning properly. Common types of boilers include:

• In a fire-tube boiler, water partially fills a boiler barrel, leaving a small bit of space for steam. Heat is generated inside a furnace, which is always surrounded by water. Hot gases travel from one end of the fire-tube through to create a heating surface - or through two or more parallel tubes to further increase the heating surface.

• In water-tube boilers, tubes filled with water are arranged inside of a furnace surrounding a heat source.

• Fire-tube and water-tube boiler combinations use both technologies in different arrangements to generate heat.

• As we mentioned before, modern condensing boilers expand upon these concepts to increase efficiency.

Once you know how your boiler functions, you can look for cracks, leaks and corrosion every so often. During warmer months, remember to turn on your boiler for 10-15 minutes every once in awhile to keep it from sitting dormant for too long. This keeps all the parts moving correctly to prevent potential breakdown.

With a little knowledge and attention, your boiler can run efficiently and safely year after year.

See our plumbers in Thornbury for a local list of trusted traders.