Find a Heating Engineer you can trust in East Midlands.

A boiler is simply the most important part of a central heating system as it generates the heat that warms up the home or property. Basically, the appliance or small furnace makes use of gas, LPG or oil in order to fuel its operation. However in the UK, most boilers are usually fuelled by natural gas which is supplied automatically from the national gas grid. And depending on how it operates, there are various types of boilers.

Typically, a gas central heating boiler will have multiple pipes entering from underneath. While one pipe supplies the boiler with gas from the mains gas supply, another pipe allows cold water to enter the boiler to be heated, the last pipe then enables hot water to exit the boiler so it can be distributed around the home.

✓ There are fuel jets and heat exchangers inside the boiler. When the heating is turned on, a valve is opened to allow the mains supply gas to enter a sealed combustion chamber in the boiler. There are multiple little valves which permit the entry of the gas before being ignited by an electric ignition switch. These jets heat a metal component in the boiler known as a heat exchanger which works to transfer the heat to the cold water pipe and heat up the water.

✓ Once the water has been heated to the target temperature, it’s then pumped through a circuit of pipe which runs around your home by an electric pump.

✓ The heated water enter each radiator, is then transmitted via a closed loop and radiates heat into each room.

✓ Once done travelling through all radiators, the water then returns to the boiler at which it must have been cooled. Therefore, the boiler will have to reheat following the same process before circulating. The water can only be drained by a professional Gas Safe engineer

The simple answer to this question is yes. The Google Nest thermostats are built in such way that makes it compatible with most 24V systems including the older systems. The device is functional with all common types of fuel such as electricity,natural gas as well as oil. However, before purchase it is vital to determine if your thermostat is also compatible. What’s more? The Nest thermostats is also designed to be usable even without the existence of a C wire (common wire) in your home, although a new C wire installation may be required.

Furthermore, Nest Learning Thermostat is compatible with multiple central heating system such as combi boiler systems, air source and ground source heat pumps (heating only) as well as heat only boiler. Now let’s take a look at the Nest thermostat compatibility!

• The majority of the 24 V systems ( including older systems) are compatible with Google Nest thermostat. They can be incorporated with each and every common types of fuel such as oil, natural gas as well as electricity.

• Prior to the installation of Google Nest thermostat, you can make use of the Google Home or Nest app for proper guidance and to notify you if your system is compatible. It will also give you a bespoke thermostat wiring guide.

• To check the compatibility of your system, you can also check with the Google’s online compatibility checker before purchase.

Are Electric Radiators Expensive To Run?

Just like many home additions, the running costs of electric radiators varies largely on a number of factors. Great number of electric radiators typically comes with an in built thermostat which is designed to turn itself off automatically when not in use in order to save energy.

However the energy provider’s set electricity charge tariff will also have a great influence on an electric radiator’s running cost. Let’s take a look at the running costs of an electric radiator!

A 600 Watt electric radiator ( on a standard electricity tariff) will usually have a running cost ranging between 4 to 6 pence each hour. However you should also take note that this scenario might change in situations whereby the electric radiator is not calling for heat the full 60 minutes of each hour. And this is more likely to be the situation as the thermostat is programmed in such a way that enables it to turn itself off immediately there’s an achievement of your required room temperature level - usually within 10 minutes from the time it was switched on. As a result of this, the running cost per hour of electric radiators will be greatly reduced to just about 1 to 2 pence.

It’s also important to note that enhancing the insulation of your home can go a long way to add to the heat retention value of each room. Consequently, the duration at which the electric radiator calls more heating will be significantly reduced, which in turn, implies a lower electricity bill.

Another key factor that can play a huge role in saving on your heating bills is the programming as well as usage of your electric radiators. Every radiator comes with an independent digital thermostat with a number of 24/7 programming options to help achieve maximum efficiency. When the radiator is properly set according to your lifestyle, you can save as much as 50 percent on your heating bills.

Yes. Modern condensing oil boilers are ‘A’ rated and therefore as efficient as comparable gas boilers. They come with the same controls as gas central heating systems, so you can still use a thermostat to control your heating efficiently. Also, oil is more efficient as a fuel source than gas, so you will get more energy per unit of oil. Oil prices can fluctuate, however, so ensure that you find a good supplier.

How Much Is A Boiler Service?

A broken boiler can be a huge pain and even more so if it occurs during the winter months. A cold house and cold shower is not a situation to be handled with levity especially when there are older people or more vulnerable members in the house. To ensure your boiler keeps functioning the way it should for a lengthy period of time, it’s crucial to ensure that you have your boiler serviced on a yearly basis. But while the summer or warmer months happen to be the most cost effective time to have the boiler servicing done, doing it during the depths of winter can go a long way to ensure that you and your loved ones get through the cold without any unwanted occurrence or boiler issues.

Generally, to have your boiler serviced will cost anything within the range of £80 to about £120, but at times, this can even be more depending on a plethora of factors. The servicing cost will be based on the particular company you choose, the type of boiler you possess, as well as your location in the UK. For instance, if you happen to live in London where demands are higher than the other regions, then you’ll most likely have to pay more money to have your boiler serviced than other homeowners facing similar issues but staying in the other lower demand regions.

Asides from hiring a professional to service your boiler on an annual basis, you should also try to help maintain its efficiency and health in between those services. This will not be a substitute to the regular servicing or even make the servicing a lot simpler, but will surely help keep it at a maximum efficiency while also keeping the cost of your heating bills down.

Your LPG storage tank will need to go outside your property, possibly underground if you have limited space. There are planning rules that restrict where you can put your tank, especially if your property is listed or on designated land. Take a look at our planning permission article to find out more.

If you’re looking to acquire smart thermostats in your home, but wondering about its money saving qualities, then this is for you! Not only do smart thermostats add new impressive features to your home, but it can also save you both energy and money. According to many reports using a programmable thermostat can save you between the range of £130 to £150 on an annual basis. Now think about using a smart thermostat that makes it a lot more easier for you.

Wondering how smart thermostat save money? Simply set your smart thermostat one or two degrees lower or higher than the usual number. Once done, you’re likely to notice 1% to 3% reduction in your energy bills. And if you want even more, you simply increase the percentage to about 10 degrees to 15 degrees to cover the period you spend at work and watch as you save up to 10 percent of your energy bills.

Generally, a smart thermostats will save you money in two major ways. These includes:

• They Do All The Thinking For You

The smart thermostat watches your behaviour and study the time you’re at home and when you’re not as well as your preferred temperature at particular times in a day, and that’s why they are termed as “smart. they’ll automatically adjust the settings to ensure you get home to a perfect temperature.

• They Keep Tabs On Your Usage

You can always count on a two way communicating smart thermostat to watch your usage while also collecting the data and sharing it with you. It informs you of your energy usage rate as well as the estimated amount. Once you’ve been notified, you can manual adjustment or leave it to the thermostat to help manage your energy.

Do British Gas Service Oil Boilers?

Are you interested in finding out whether or not the British Gas service oil boilers? Well, you’ll find the answer in this article! The British Gas engineers are able to repair several types of boilers such as home based combi, conventional as well as system boilers. Unfortunately, they do not fix oil boilers, electric boilers or solid fuel boilers, but if you possess a gas boiler that’s more than 70kW which is mostly present in commercial premises or large buildings you can give them a call.

For a yearly boiler service British Gas engineers will provide the following solutions to ensure central heating and boiler are both in proper working condition and also absolutely safe.

• Inspection of your boiler for possible leaks and corrosion.

• Detach your boiler casing to ascertain the proper functioning of it’s main components.

• Clean up all parts as necessary

• Attach the casing back to the system and make sure its well sealed

• Inspect the level of the gas pressure to ensure that it’s at the right level.

• Perform a flue check to determine that the are no toxic gas emissions like carbon monoxide being discharged by your heating system.

Upon completion of the annual boiler service, the British Gas qualified engineers will then drop a checklist with you which is going to include all the relevant information you may want to know about your boiler system.

In some cases, British Gas engineers may be able to complete the entire boiler service in one visit. However, it all depends on the problem that’s discovered (if any). They may not possess the required part to fix the problem with them, so they’ll have to order it from the British Gas national distribution centre. Most times, this part will get to them the next day so they can finish their tasks as soon as possible.