Spring is the perfect time to take stock of your home and its maintenance, and one of the biggest aspects of this is ensuring that your boiler is fit for purpose.
If it is not, then a new boiler can be installed with little to no disruption, as you are not reliant on your central heating or hot water supplies.
A boiler engineer on the Gas Safe Register will check your boiler, safely remove the old, broken boiler and replace it with something newer and more efficient, saving you money in the long run.
Because boilers are so common and come in so many different types, there have naturally been many myths and ideas about them that are not entirely true, and can sometimes colour people’s perceptions about what a boiler is and is not capable of.
To help with this, here are some of the most common myths we have seen about boilers and the truth behind the misconceptions.
Are Boiler Installations Slow And Difficult?
In most cases, installing a boiler is remarkably simple and routine for a qualified Gas Safe engineer.
Boilers are remarkably complex pieces of equipment, and you should never open one up yourself or try to install one if you do not have the certification to do so.
However, engineers have the benefit of relatively standardised systems and components, so swapping one boiler for another is a process that can potentially take just a few hours in many cases.
As long as the area around the boiler is clear, there should be few delays in fixing it.
Do Boilers Need To Be Shut Off In The Summer?
This is a debate that has been covered at length and will always be talked about in the build-up to summer, but the truth is that most people will waste more energy and cause more harm to their boiler by turning it off rather than leaving it on a low setting.
There are exceptions; if you have a conventional boiler with a hot water cylinder and a separate circuit for your shower, you can sometimes switch the boiler off and rely on the water cylinder for your hot water needs.
However, for most combi boilers, turning off your boiler will do more harm than good.
Are Boilers Noisy?
A well-running, efficient boiler is no louder than any other appliance in your kitchen, and you will typically notice a low hum at most whilst the hot water tap is turned on.
They should not make any loud groaning, wailing, banging, kettling or other unsettling noises, and this is often an early warning sign of a faulty component.
Are Boilers Hard To Maintain Once Installed?
Ultimately, you should (and in many cases must) keep your boiler serviced and maintained every year, but doing so is actually not as hard as it may initially appear.
An annual boiler service is when a Gas Safe engineer checks your boiler, ensures everything is working as normal and makes any small repairs and fixes that are necessary to keep your boiler in tip-top condition for another year.
Other than that, it is rare that you have to even think about your boiler outside of thermostat settings.
