A boiler replacement is something many people will put off as long as they can, only acting when it is showing signs of breaking down. But that may not be a wise approach, especially if it is old and showing signs of performing less efficiently than it used to.

However, the spring is a very good time to make the change and, this year, there are extra reasons for doing so.

The main reasons for replacing a boiler are:

• Your boiler is getting older and less efficient, which means it costs more money to run
•  It is suffering more malfunctions as it ages, making it more likely you could need emergency repairs if it is still there next winter
•  Finding spare parts for older boilers is hard and costly
•  Newer boilers will use more modern technology that is more energy-efficient than your old boiler was, even in its prime

Gas boilers tend to last for 10-15 years and electric boilers from 15-25 years, but once they get to the lower end of these ages, it makes sense to watch carefully for signs of decline.

Why Is Spring A Good Time To Get A New Boiler?

The spring is a good time for replacements because now the weather is getting warmer, you won’t be standing around shivering for hours in a cold home while the old boiler is removed and the new one is installed. 

This is in stark contrast to the emergencies we deal with in winter when a boiler breaks down and cold households are desperate for an engineer to appear and fix the problem as soon as possible.

Of course, with a pristine new boiler, you won’t have this problem next winter, or for several years afterwards.

These points apply in any year, but right now there is a particularly good reason to get a new boiler, as energy prices are set to rise due to the ongoing conflict in Iran.

Why Will The Next Energy Price Cap Be Much Higher?

At the moment, the Energy Price Cap will protect consumers against higher global energy prices, with the cap that came into effect on April 1st continuing until the end of June and reflecting previous falls in energy costs, as it was down 6.6 per cent on the previous cap.

However, once June is over, the next cap will come in and, even if the current conflict has been resolved by then, the backlogs created and the impact of higher wholesale oil and gas prices will still feed through into higher retail costs, making the next price cap far higher.

As well as higher energy bills, knock-on impacts on products like fertilisers, which in turn will feed into food bills, will make the typical household £480 a year worse off, according to research by the Resolution Foundation.

A new boiler won’t remove all of that extra cost, but by being much more efficient and needing less energy to heat your water, it will cost less than it otherwise would and do something to keep your bills down in the face of the upward pressure from world events.

To some, this may seem all too familiar after the energy shock that followed the Russian invasion of Ukraine in 2022.

However, while it may sometimes seem that Britons are helpless in the face of such events in a turbulent world, you can take proactive steps to minimise energy waste and keep costs down, especially with a more efficient boiler.