How To Mitigate The Risk Of Costly Heating Failure

Annual Boiler Service

The old adage “a stitch in time, saves nine” is almost an understatement in the context of boiler maintenance. With boilers often in constant service and fulfilling critical heating functions within buildings – ranging from domestic residences to major airports – it makes sense to keep them running at peak performance. Unfortunately, all too often boiler maintenance remains unscheduled and overlooked until boiler failure becomes a reality and a lack of heating starts impacting on people and critical functions throughout the household or organisation.

In this article we explore why an annual boiler service is so critical, what we do when we carry out a service and the potential risks involved in neglecting these simple tasks.

1. Regulatory Compliance – Government regulations set out minimum service requirements for all commercial buildings in order to meet health and safety standards. These regulations also stipulate how long service records should be kept. Annual servicing of your heating plant and maintenance of accurate service records provides a level of insurance not only against heating failure but against costly litigation resulting from an appliance rendered dangerous through neglect.
2. Keeping your building safe – Having your boiler serviced helps to highlight any potential dangers and risks associated with your boiler and flue. When your boiler stops working efficiently, it’s possible for toxic carbon monoxide gases to be released. These gases are extremely dangerous and pose serious risks to anyone exposed to them, yet are ordinarily hard to detect.
3. Identify Problems Early – During a service, potential problems are identified early and can help to minimise further damage to the boiler and save costly future repairs.
4. Reduce your Fuel Bills – During an annual boiler service, your boiler parts are cleaned and the boiler efficiency is checked. A properly maintained boiler running at optimum efficiency ensures ongoing energy savings are maintained.
5. Keeping your Warranty Valid – Many boiler warranties are valid subject to having an annual service carried out. For many boiler manufacturers, failing to service your boiler using an appropriately certified heating engineer can invalidate your warranty altogether, leaving you liable for costly repair bills.
6. Cheaper than Replacing a Boiler – If your boiler is left faulty for long periods of time, much larger and more complicated issues can arise, perhaps even resulting in your boiler needing replacing. Recognising any problems early on can reduce the amount of permanent damage caused to your boiler and keep it running for longer.

During an annual boiler service our technician will go through a list of checks to ensure the safety and reliability of your boiler. This will include checking the safety of your boiler, its performance and replacing any worn or broken parts.

Tasks carried out include: