How to look after your heating system during the summer
As the weather improves and we start looking forward to balmy evenings in the garden and summer holidays, the winter cold and our central heating couldn't be further from our thoughts. Baxi has some tips to make sure your boiler will be ready for action when our all too brief summer gives way to shorter days and chilly evenings.
The Gas Safe Register (the Official Gas Safety body in the UK from 1 April 2009) and the Energy Saving Trust, among others, strongly advise having your gas fired boiler serviced annually (or in accordance with the manufacturer's instructions) to keep it working efficiently and safely. An annual service may also be a condition of the appliance's warranty.
Regular servicing should ensure your boiler is in good working order. Your engineer will check for any internal wear and tear, and clean or replace any parts that need it. Then they will carry out a number of tests including a combustion test to ensure that the boiler is using the optimum fuel/air ratio to burn. This will mean that the boiler is getting the most heat out of the fuel it burns, saving energy and keeping your fuel bills as low as possible.
Depending on the type of service you have, the engineer may also check the rest of your heating system, and advise you on the correct settings for your heating and hot water, including thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) if you have them.
Once the service has been completed your engineer will either fill in the service record in your appliance's instruction manual or give you a certificate to show the work has been carried out.
Baxi has some advice for you to get the best out of your heating system:
1. First make sure that you are using your heating controls correctly. Review your boiler thermostat, cylinder thermostat, time programmer and thermostatic radiator valve settings and re-set them to match your needs more closely in terms of timing and comfort. As the weather heats up, make sure you change your boiler settings to match the temperature.
2. Make sure you are not blocking radiators with furniture or curtains.
3. Use the summer to fit reflective insulation panel boards on the wall behind the radiators, especially if it's an outside wall. Rigid reflective radiator panels are an ideal solution if you don't want to take your radiators off the walls.
4. Getting your boiler serviced once a year will make sure it continues to work as efficiently, safely and reliably as possible. Typically, this will cost around £120 and the summer is an ideal time to get this sorted. If you have a Baxi boiler, you can contact heateam, the service division of Baxi Group, and save money on your service.
If your boiler is over 10 years old, you may like to consider changing it for a new, energy efficient, condensing model. Older boilers may convert as little as 60 per cent (in some cases, even less) of the gas they use into useful heat. This means you are literally burning money, not to mention the greenhouse gases given off. Installing a new boiler and a full set of heating controls could save you between £190 and £230 and 1.7 tonnes of CO 2 a year.
All Baxi boilers are SEDBUK Band A rated, which means they are at least 90 per cent efficient, and they are all Energy Saving Trust recommended products.
Remember: you wouldn't expect your car to keep running year after year, reliably and safely, without its regular service. It's the same for your boiler. Keep your boiler working safely, efficiently and cost effectively by arranging an annual service.
For Baxi Group boilers, visit the heateam website heateam.co.uk to arrange a service or repair visit using the online form. You can even confirm your annual service date. It is now simple to register the warranty of new appliances quickly and easily online. This means that, in the unlikely event that it breaks down, heateam can quickly recognise your appliance and provide you with its best service. And, for added peace of mind, you can also get a quote for an extended warranty for older Baxi Group products.
The new website also has product help sections on boilers, cylinders and fires including comprehensive Frequently Asked Questions. How to video guides show to perform simple maintenance procedures such as resetting or repressurising the boiler and replenishing the air gap in a Megaflo cylinder.