We all have secrets. Whether man, beast or machine, we like to keep things to ourselves and this can be dangerous.
Let’s use your boiler as an example. The average “life” expectancy of a boiler is around fifteen years. But that shouldn’t mean that you ignore it for fourteen and a half years because, even with constantly improving safety standards things can, and do, go wrong. Quite often these things are not obvious to us;
So, what are the signs that indicate that your boiler may be keeping secrets from you?
1. A yellow pilot flame
A yellow flame is a sign of carbon monoxide and you should turn the boiler off and call your gas plumbing and heating engineer immediately. Carbon monoxide is a killer and is extremely hard to detect because it’s odourless and cannot be seen. A further indicator would be that you experience dizziness and/or nausea. However, we always recommend that you install a carbon monoxide detector, and this is something that we are happy to help with.
2. Your house is generally much colder
Excluding seasonal variation, if your house doesn’t feel as warm as it usually does, this is a sign that your boiler or heating system isn’t in the best working order. Your boiler may be taking much longer to warm up or your radiators may not be heating up at all – all of which will impact on the warmth of your home. You need to contact your plumbing and heating maintenance engineer.
3. Energy bills are increasing
Relatively few of us are able to say what we pay for our home energy every month and so it’s a great idea to get into the habit of sending frequent readings to your supplier. If you find that they are write to you to say that your direct debit needs to be increased you may find that this is not solely due to tariff increases. An inefficient boiler costs more to run than one in good working order.
Today’s boilers have an efficiency rating. A rating of A being more than 90% efficient and G being less than 70% efficient. If your bills are going up, it might perhaps be time to change. You’ll save on maintenance fees and fuel bills plus you’ll be toasty and warm when you want to be.
4. Your boiler needs increased maintenance
If your gas plumbing and heating engineer knows where the tea and coffee is, you’re inviting them around too frequently! This can only mean that you are having to call them in for increased maintenance work – which means it’s time to weigh up whether it would be more cost efficient to have a new boiler installation.
5. Too many creaks and groans
It may sound funny, but if your boiler sounds like it’s having to crank itself up, or if it starts to make noises that it didn’t previously, something is wrong. This means that the boiler is less efficient and potentially dangerous. It’s time to call your plumbing and heating engineer.
If you have any concerns or queries about your boiler contact us today on Swansea 07795 681275 or click here to get in touch. Whether your boiler needs a touch of reactive maintenance, or if a replacement boiler installation is required our SDW Plumbing and Heating team in Swansea will find out. No boiler secrets are safe from us!
Boiler maintenance, new boiler installation, Swansea, south Wales, gas plumbing
and heating, gas installation Swansea