Insuring against central heating maintenance
Insuring against central heating maintenance
Heating your home isn’t that much of a problem in the summertime, but unless you’re in the strange habit of only taking cold showers and boiling the kettle every time you wash up, you could be left high and dry if your heating boiler breaks down. Boilers are one of those things in life that we rarely think think of, until they stop working that is. Suddenly it becomes a very important and rather expensive piece of essential equipment.
You don’t need to save money for repairing your gas boiler if you stay in a rented home, that will be done by your landlord, check that they have landlords central heating boiler cover. But if you live in your own house, it will be wise to have a special savings pot or central heating insurance in case something goes wrong with your central heating boiler.
If your central heating boiler is over ten years old, it might be worth investing in a new model; this can cut your fuel costs down considerably, especially if you get a high-efficiency model. Your choice of a gas boiler should be determined by the capacity required (based on family needs), the space available for the heating boiler and the existing heating system. If you have a small home with few people and do not want to wait for hot water then a combi boiler is your best option. This central heating boiler heats up the water through the mains as used and therefore a storage tank is not required. With a combi hot water is available instantly but if some one runs hot tap while you are having a hot shower be ready to jump out quickly as it turns cold.
Another type of central heating system is the sealed system gas boiler which has a hot water storage tank and is usually used for large families, as it allows several showers and hot water taps to work at the same time. Such a sealed system is convenient to install and also saves on space. However, because of the storage tank, hot water isn’t instant and can run out if used too quickly.
Many older houses have an open vent heating boiler installed, and it is the bulkiest of all; two tanks in the attic and a storage cylinder in the ventilated closet. This central heating boiler too doesn’t give hot water instantly like the sealed system though once again it allows several taps and shower to work at the same time, water pressure is also not to good here.
The fifth type is a back central heating boiler which is bulkier, but can deliver hot water to several outlets under good pressure. The space inside a chimney breast is often used to accommodate a back central heating boiler; but installing a new back central heating boiler system to replace another type of heating boiler is not cost effective. However, if you do already have a back gas boiler system installed in your home and it needs replacing, rather than getting a completely new system, it would be more sensible to get a new back boiler installed.
Whichever central heating system your home has, it can be costly to repair. That is why it is important to get heating insurance so you can be confident that any costs will be taken care of if something breaks down, costs which cover labour and spare parts for your heating boiler. Buy a good central heating boiler maintenance policy which not only covers the labour, repair costs and also provides annual inspections with no call out charge.