If ever there is a good time for new boiler installation work, it is in the spring or summer. There are obvious practical reasons for this; firstly, with the weather warming up (even if it remains wet), you will be able to cope without a boiler and hot water for a few hours while it is installed.
Add to that the fact that engineers will be less busy in summer than in the colder months of the year when they will be answering emergency call-outs, increasing their availability, and it is not hard to see why the timing makes sense.
However, your decision on when to get a new boiler is secondary to whether it is needed. There are some obvious reasons why it could be, ranging from the age – you should replace them at least once every 15 years – through to any clear signs of poor performance.
AVOID SUMMERTIME COMPLACENCY
Sometimes, however, it can be tempting to relax and neglect the need to change the boiler in the coming months. After all, it will be warmer and you can forget about the cold weather for a while. It may even stop raining soon and enable you to get outdoors more.
Another reason some may mistakenly relax and not do anything about an underperforming boiler that is coming to the end of its useful life is an easing of the cost-of-living crisis, not least the energy aspect.
While general inflation is now much lower than a year ago and expected to drop further, actual energy prices have fallen, thanks to lower wholesale prices feeding through as the markets have adjusted to the need to find alternative sources of gas to Russia and are well-stocked with reserves.
THE PRICE CAP IS NOT THE WHOLE STORY
This has been reflected in the Energy Price Cap set by regulator Ofgem, which has determined that the typical household using gas and electricity and paying by direct debit will pay the equivalent of £1,690 a year up to the end of June. This is £238 lower than the cap set for the first three months of this year.
This might tempt some to breathe a sigh of relief and feel like the bad times are over on the energy front. But this would be a hostage to fortune, both in terms of the global energy situation – who knows what shocks might be around the corner or coming up in the next few years? – and in terms of declining boiler performance.
The gas element of the bill averages at £853.30 (not including standing charges), which amounts to roughly half the dual fuel figure Ofgem uses for the cap. But could it not be lower? If you use the opportunity offered by the coming warm months to switch over your boiler to a new one, this could be reduced significantly. Otherwise, expect to pay more.
Indeed, the simple fact that a boiler is older may be making it more expensive, even if it is working at the optimum performance level.
WHY MODERN MEANS CHEAPER
Speaking to Ideal Home magazine, founder of smart homes installation firm Boxt, Andy Kerr said boiler technology has “drastically advanced” over the past 15 years, making the most modern versions much more efficient and saving consumers money.
He added: “What was once a white, industrial-looking box stuck on the wall can now look like something out of an Apple store. Not only visually but mechanically they’ve improved.”
Those words were delivered in late 2022, since when the technology will only have moved in one direction. As questions over gas supplies and cost pressures have intensified, the motivation to produce ever more efficient boilers can only grow.
TIME TO ACT
The sheer fact that older boilers are invariably less efficient is a consideration that should remove any semblance of a reason for complacency.
Of course, you should always be on the look-out for signs of a boiler failing, whether it is leaks, or drips, pressure that is lower or higher than it should be, excess noise (such as whistling, bubbling, or humming), or a simple failure to provide hot water or heating. But even if none of these apply, the sheer fact an old boiler costs more is ample reason to change.
We may be a long way past time for New Year resolutions, but perhaps now the clocks have gone forward you could make a British Summer Time resolution: One that declares you will replace your old, expensive boiler with one that is newer, looks better, but, most importantly of all, will perform better and save you money – whatever happens to the Energy Price Cap.