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The Hive thermostat stand is relatively easy to install, however if you lack the necessary training or experience, this is a task you might want to leave to a professional to guarantee the best result while also saving you money and time. This guide will give you a good insight into the Hive thermostat installation process.

The installation of a Hive thermostat does require it to be connected to your home boiler. For this reason we always recommend you get a professional to install it. However once install the Hive Smart Thermostat is very easy to operate and move the controller around your home. To get started, you can follow these steps:

• Press the lever at the lower side of the thermostat and pull away from the front to detach the back plate of your device.

• Once done, simply hang the thermostat on the stand back plate and ensure it holds firmly in place

When it comes to Hive thermostat installation, you might also want to consider the positioning of the device in such a way to heat your home even more efficiently as its designed to be very sensitive to temperature. To identify the best spot for your Hive thermostat, let’s take a look at some of the dos and don’ts.

A Few Dos:

• Do maintain the position of your Hive Thermostat to keep a stable connection with the receive and Hive Hub.

• Do ensure that the position chosen is the centre of your home or a frequently used room.

• Do place the thermostat about 1 to 1.5 metres from floor.

• Do ensure that your thermostat is in a close proximity with the hub and receiver for a better functionality.

A Few Don’ts:

• Don’t place your Hive thermostat stand close to radiators, direct sunlight or other heat sources,

• Don’t position your device near or at places that can expoerience a sudden change in temperature such as the front or back door.

• Don’t leave your thermostat too close to curtains or ornaments.

How Much Does It Cost To Service An Oil Boiler?

With several homes in the UK using gas central heating, about 6 percent of households in the United Kingdom makes use of oil for their heating needs. If you’re one of those homeowners with an oil boiler, then you should know that servicing your oil boiler is a compulsory activity which should be done regularly in order to ensure the safety of your home, boost the efficiency of the boiler while also help you save money as it ensures you do not incur the potentially expensive repairs or even having to purchase a replacement boiler. If you service your oil boiler every year, you can be rest assured that you’ll continue to derive maximum benefits from your prized heating system for a long period of time. So exactly how much will you have to pay to service your oil boiler?

The service cost of an oil boiler is influenced by a wide range of factors which includes the location. However, the average cost of servicing an oil boiler in the UK is between £65 to £90, but depending on the location as well as other influencing factors, this price might be higher or lower.

Due to the higher cost of living and high demands at places such as London and the south east of the UK, you can discover that the cost of servicing your oil boiler can jump to as high as £160 to £190. In other regions, you can also find the oil boiler service cost to be as low as £50 to £60. What’s more? In the same locations, you can also discover varying prices which depends on the available services. Furthermore, in areas where there’s a lower competition from several engineers, the prices may also be higher.

If your property is not connected to a gas main, oil boilers are a great alternative to gas boilers and more efficient than LPG alternatives. They can also be paired well with renewable sources. However, if your property is connected to the gas mains, there is generally no reason to switch to an oil boiler, as you will need to have oil delivered to an extra storage tank.

Does Home Insurance Cover Boiler Repairs?

When winter comes, your boiler is most likely to be one of the most used appliances in your home. It keeps operating for several hours to ensure your house remains warm and conducive and then during those cold evenings, it supplies the much needed hot water to guarantee a restive night. But with so much usage and many moving parts, you’d naturally expect your boiler to breakdown at some point especially if it’s 7 years old or above. So what’s the next line of action when it happens, leaving your radiators off and water cold? With the likely high boiler repair cost, it’s only logical to consider whether your boiler repairs is covered by your home insurance.

In almost all situations, the standard home insurance will not provide coverage for the cost of repairing or replacing a broken boiler. Being fully aware that boiler breakdowns are mostly caused by a lack or not so regular maintenance practices or servicing, most home insurance providers will exclude it from this from their offerings. In fact, a home insurance is more likely to provide coverage for the damage that has happened as a result of a broken appliance. For instance, the damage caused as a result of gas, oil or water leaking from a boiler are more likely to be paid for by the home insurance providers, but they’ll not pay for the repair or replacement of the broken boiler itself.

If you need our home insurance to cover your boiler repair, then you might just be able to get an extra insurance cover from your provider that includes a broken boiler repair. You can consult them to determine if this is possible as well as the cost to be paid per month. This will normally cost about £5 to £10 per month, but it gives you a peace of mind knowing you’re covered if your boiler happens to breakdown.

How Does Electric Central Heating Work?

An electric central heating works to provide a number of benefits for you. These benefits include the following:

lSpace Heating

• The storage heaters work during the night to store electricity which would be used to heat up the heat retaining bricks. This, in turn, will release this energy throughout the day to warm up the room.

• There are also electric radiators which works to deliver on-demand heat and as a result, economy tariffs are totally avoided. It will generate heat by itself rather than storing it and with the controls, you can easily determine the amount of heat to be released when you require it.

• There is the wet electric system options as well which comes with water filled radiators. This operates in a similar way to normal radiators, however, it makes use of electricity to heat up the water.

lWater Heating

• An electric boiler operates in a very similar manner to other boiler types, just that it makes use of electricity as its fuel. Here, the water is warmed by a heating element and the water is later moved to several radiator throughout the house by a pump. These electric boiler types earns you tariff savings as you’ll be able to heat water at night.

• Heat pumps geothermal or air source, redistributes heat instead of creating it. Heat pumps are powered by electricity and it works by absorbing heat either from the air or ground which it then channels it through a pump. This can then be incorporated in heating either water or a room.

• A dedicated immersion heater is another water heating option. Here, the heating element is positioned inside a hot water cylinder. In a similar fashion to a kettle, the element heats the nearby water. Immersion heater can act either as a backup or your main heating element.

How Often Should You Service An Oil Boiler?

If you have an oil boiler, you probably know the importance of having it serviced to ensure its proper functioning, prolong its useful life as well as ensuring the safety of your home. However, the question that most frequently arises is how often would one need to service the prized hating system? If you’re also looking for the answer to this same question, then you’ve come to the right place. To make sure your oil boiler is running smoothly, safely and efficiently, it should be serviced as often as once in a year. You certainly do want to know the numerous disadvantages of failing to service your boiler. Not only will neglecting your oil boiler service result in possible faults as well as higher energy bill caused by its inefficiency, but can also lead to your warranty ending early.

Therefore, you should ensure your oil boiler is serviced by a qualified heating engineer on an annual basis to make sure it’s running just as it should. This will give you peace of mind knowing you wouldn’t be spending huge bucks on possible repairs and in some cases, replacements.

As a landlord in the UK, it’s a legal requirement to make sure that your oil boiler and flue system is services on a yearly basis in your rental property.

Unlike a gas and oil boiler, an electric boiler do not require the same level of maintenance or servicing. However, it’ll be a nice move to ensure that it’s also checked once in a while.

Overall, it’s important to note that failure to service your oil boiler on a yearly basis can give rise to multiple risks. These includes a rise in energy bills, carbon monoxide leak, fault that can cause boiler breakdown as well as an expensive repair or replacement bill.

Can I Repair My Own Gas Boiler?

If you’re more of an handy person, then you’d probably want to fix everything you can around the house while saving yourself some money that would have been spent on hiring a professional instead. This is a very cost effective but at the same time you must know that some tasks are usually more difficult than others, and a good example of those complex tasks is boiler repair. Not only can this be very tough, but they can also potentially be one of the most dangerous home appliances you can acquire. So with that in mind, what can be done to ensure your gas boiler is taken care of and in the event whereby it starts to malfunction, what can be done to remedy the situation?

With regular maintenance and repair of your gas boiler, you’d have absolutely nothing to worry about. However one of the fear several DIYers have is the fact that they might just end up incurring more expenses on services they didn’t really need in the first place. But when it comes to gas boilers, it’s necessary to be certified to work with them as it’s very dangerous to tackle it all by yourself. Despite this, there are still some minor issues that you wouldn’t need to hire a technician to resolve. In some cases, all that would be needed is simply to reset the boiler. To identify where the reset button is, simply go through your boiler’s manual for more information. Most times, all you’ll have to do is press down the reset button for a couple of seconds. If the boiler isn’t fully restored to its normal proper functioning state after two resets, then you may need to call in a professional for help.

You should have your boiler serviced every year. This ensures that your central heating system is running safely and efficiently, but it’s often also a requirement to keep your boiler’s warranty valid. To avoid disruption to your heating, the best time of year to service your boiler is the summer. You’ll often find that boiler companies will charge less because they have less work.