Upgrading An Oil Boiler – When is the Best Time?
Friday, May 30th, 2014
Running a household that is energy efficient while keeping the cost of your fuel bills as well as utilities down as low as possible can be a tricky balancing act. A key area where you can improve upon both of these is in relation to your home’s central heating system. Your oil boiler is considered the lynchpin of your central heating system and should be looked after accordingly. Taking care of the oil boiler is the key to having a home heating system which keeps fuel bills down to an acceptable level while maintaining economically and environmentally responsible levels of energy efficiency.
In a great many cases, all you have to do in order to get the optimum performance out of your oil boiler is make sure that you avail of an annual oil boiler service as well as the odd minor repair service when necessity demands it. While this will be enough maintenance for most oil boilers, in the cases where your oil boiler is quite old or has been ignored to the point of severe deterioration more drastic action may be required. In some cases an oil boiler has simply outlived its usefulness and a full oil boiler upgrade service is the only economically sound option that you can carry out in order to get your home’s central heating system back up working at its best possible levels of energy efficiency.
When is an Oil Boiler Needed?
As carrying out a complete oil boiler upgrade is a comparatively more costly and time-consuming process than standard oil boiler maintenance, it is a good idea to make sure that you are not getting one frivolously. Since no two households’ central heating systems are exactly the same, we cannot simply state outright whether or not you need an oil boiler upgrade as opposed to merely carrying out some simpler, shorter term oil boiler maintenance.
However, there are several specific circumstances where you can be pretty sure that you need one. Read on to see what they are.
How Fuel Efficient Should an Oil Boiler be?
As with pretty much every aspect of a home, every household’s oil boiler is unique; whether it is down to model/design or a question of condition and maintenance, all oil boilers convert fuel into usable heating energy at different levels of efficiency. This difference can range anywhere from being minuscule and unnoticeable to a drastic difference in fuel consumption.
Generally speaking, any oil boiler which has a fuel to energy conversion rate of more than 80% is referred to as being a high efficiency condensing oil boiler. This means that the vast majority of fuel burned by the oil boiler will be converted directly into usable heating energy. Some particularly high-efficiency oil boilers, such as those made by Worcester Bosch, can convert over 90% of the oil they burn, making them some of the best oil boilers on the market.
So long as your oil boiler is converting upward of 80% of its burned fuel into usable heating energy for your home you have little to worry about and will not need to consider upgrading it for quite some time as it is still running at a fairly efficient rate and not wasting much fuel and money (in terms of heating bills). However, it is strongly recommended that oil boilers which are 10-15 years old be considered for replacement as their efficiency rating will have almost certainly dropped significantly through general wear and tear (even if they have been serviced regularly and taken care of properly). In addition, as home central heating technology is constantly improving, the oil boilers of today work far better than those of a decade ago. Even a (relatively) poorly maintained high-efficiency oil condensing boiler will burn fuel more efficiently than a well-kept oil boiler that is more than a decade old.
As a rule of thumb, it is the general consensus that any gas boiler which is graded as being in excess of 80% fuel efficient is referred to as being a high-efficiency boiler. The higher the percentage o fuel which is directly converted into usable heating energy, the higher the gas boiler’s rating. For example, the Worcester Bosch high-efficiency gas condensing boilers which are stocked and installed by DeWAR Plumbers convert over 90% of their fuel into heating energy. To this end, they are considered A-rated boilers.
If you are not what exactly your oil boiler’s fuel efficiency rating is, you can find out this information here so long as you know what its make and model are.
How to tell if your Oil Boiler is Running at Full Efficiency:
Just because your oil boiler is a high-efficiency model from a reputable brand that does not necessarily mean that it will continue to run at this high level of performance forever. Even the very best oil boilers on the market will need to be looked after in order for them to maintain their fuel efficiency rating. Much like any machine or electrical appliance that you will encounter, oil boilers can and almost inevitably will deteriorate in terms of efficiency over time due to natural wear and tear.
However, there are several ways to maintain your oil boiler’s high levels of fuel converting efficiency. The main one is having the oil boiler serviced by a professional engineer on a regular basis (once a year should do the trick) in order to check on the boiler and ensure that everything is running smoothly in relation to the fuel burning process. Such services also identify any potential problems that an oil boiler may be starting to show signs of, allowing them to be quickly and efficiently ‘nipped in the bud’ with as little expense to you as possible.
Even though a gas boiler is a satisfactory make and model which burns fuel at an efficiency rating upward of 80% out of the factory, that does not mean that the prospect of you potentially needing a gas boiler upgrade service is completely out of the question. Like all machines and household appliances, gas boilers can and will deteriorate over time. This will happen very gradually if you take care of your gas boiler with regular servicing and appropriate levels of maintenance. However, if the correct measures are not taken to ensure that your gas boiler is being properly taken care of, its fuel efficiency levels can plummet dramatically in a relatively short space of time.
When having your oil boiler serviced, be sure to keep in mind that it is highly recommended that any engineer that you have carried out the service is a fully accredited OFTEC (Oil Firing Technical Association) member. While this is not a legal requirement in the Republic of Ireland, it is still preferable as this additional qualification is a sign of a knowledgeable and experienced oil engineer.
DeWAR Plumbers are OFTEC accredited oil engineers.
How often is your Oil Boiler Breaking Down?
In this day and age, having an oil boiler which breaks down sometimes, let alone often is unacceptable. Boiler breakdown is a sign of serious problems located within a central heating system which should be addressed in a swift and efficient manner. In addition to improving upon fuel burning efficiency, having your oil boiler serviced regularly will help you identify the potential for boiler breakdown before it happens and saving you the trouble of your oil boiler failing at an inopportune time.
Frequently repairing an old oil boiler can be a very costly and time-consuming process, especially if replacement parts are becoming rare and tricky/expensive to order in. In such scenarios, you should weigh up how much it is costing to carry out repair works relatively frequently in relation to simply biting the bullet and getting an oil boiler upgrade carried out. In the long run, the oil boiler upgrade service will most likely be the more sustainable and economically viable option.
Are Heating Controls worth getting for Oil Boilers?
To put it mildly, heating controls are a fantastic upgrade for any home central heating system’s oil boiler. They give the homeowner greatly improved management of your central heating, by means of timers and an advanced regulatory thermostat, allowing you to finely tune the system to suit your own specific daily needs. When used properly, heating controls can save anywhere up to one fifth of the total cost of a household’s central heating bills – a substantial saving.
While some people see upgrading their heating controls as an alternative to getting a full oil boiler upgrade service, in truth the two work best when combined. Having both done will give your home the very best in terms of home fuel efficiency, repaying great dividends in terms of your annual home heating bills.
Are there any Grants Available When Upgrading Gas Boiler?
You can contact the SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) in order to find out if you are entitled to monetary relief when upgrading either your oil boiler or your central heating system’s controls. Every year they help people save thousands of Euros off the price of such upgrades by means of their BEH (Better Energy Homes) scheme. All money paid out is subject to an individual home’s specific circumstances. Click here to find out more about the SEAI, BEH and their associated monetary relief initiatives.
To make an inquiry about an oil boiler upgrade feel free to call DeWAR Plumbers on our phone number 01 514 3300 or send us an email so we can determine a price for you.
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