Boilers and Saving - Know the basics

Boilers aren't the most exciting home appliance; you're hardly likely to be gagging with anticipation at the prospect of kitting your pad out with the latest combi boiler. Nonetheless whilst they might not stir much excitement in anyone other than particularly dedicated gas engineers, the humble boiler is undeniably one of the most important pieces of kit in your home - and getting the right one can be a real money saver.

Having a decent, fully functioning boiler in your home is obviously vital in ensuring that you have a ready and plentiful supply of heating and hot water, get the wrong boiler and you'll find that you end up paying over the odds for an inefficient and unpredictable energy supply. Let's face it - nobody wants to be enduring the misery of a cold shower in the morning because their boiler's on the blink.

A boiler will typically be nearing the end of its life after about 15 years. At this point, even if you haven't noticed too many problems with it, getting a CORGI registered engineer to take a look is probably sensible. In fact relatively regular inspections are probably a good idea throughout the life of your boiler.

In the event that your boiler does need changing then it's certainly worth considering a new generation high efficiency model. These may be a little more expensive but you should end up making significant savings on you heating bill (as much as £240 a year).

The type of boiler that's right for you will depend to some degree on your home; if you've got a traditional gravity heating system then you'll want a conventional boiler which will heat up a store of water in advance of your needing it. Otherwise a condensing boiler is more efficient, extracting heat from water vapor to ensure that less energy is wasted. Finally, a combination boiler is the perfect solution for small houses or flats. These heat water instantaneously rather than storing hot water, making them a compact and convenient option.

It's important that you don't try to install a boiler yourself, leave that to a professional CORGI registered engineer, but there are a few things you can do to ensure that your boiler remains in optimal working order: fire up your central heating every once in a while (even during the summer) to help prevent it jamming when called into action, make sure that the vents are never covered, failing to keep them clear could mean your boiler is unsafe and inefficient, If your radiators seem cold at the top they probably need bleeding, again this is crucial to ensuring that your central heating is as efficient as it can be.

If you choose to get a new boiler, then British Gas can provide boiler installation, as well as offering you boiler insurance cover through the year.