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If you are thinking about a oil boiler upgrade or a gas boiler upgrade, is not the cheapest thing in the world that you can do but on the plus side though, upgrading your boiler is a sound long term investment because it will greatly reduce the cost of your central heating bills which means the upgrade easily pays for itself over time.

Of course, it is worth noting that carrying out a complete gas or oil boiler upgrade is quite a large undertaking. With that in mind, you should make sure that getting your boiler upgraded is the best choice for you.
The following factors should all be taken into consideration when looking to upgrade an oil or gas boiler:

Make Sure that Your Boiler Needs an Upgrade:

Whenever a problem is uncovered that is associated with a home heating system, the default assumption tends to be that something has gone wrong with the boiler itself and that it may need to be replaced. However, jumping to conclusions is rarely helpful and this situation is no different to any other. All other possibilities should be examined before carrying out a full boiler upgrade (see: Alternatives to Boiler Upgrades).

Of course, not everybody has a working knowledge of the ins and outs of a central heating system, so figuring out exactly what needs to be done can be quite difficult. That is why it is important to get advice from someone with experience in such matters. DeWAR Plumbers’ heating engineers are experts when it comes to figuring out what is the source of a central heating system’s ailments. Among the many potential problems that can plague a heating system are blocked pipes, water pressure and insufficient radiators. Your heating engineer will be able to determine if any of these are the source of your heating problems. Only when all of these possible problems have been ruled out should you decide on a gas or oil boiler upgrade.

Getting the Right Brand of Boiler:

Knowing which brand of gas or oil boiler to get installed can be difficult if you have no expertise in the subject. As is the case with pretty much any type of product, not all boiler manufacturers are of equally good quality. Purchasing a cheaply made boiler may save some money in the short term, but is unlikely to be as fuel efficient as a top of the line model from a well established brand as well and may also be more prone to boiler break downs.

When deciding on which brand of the boiler to have installed you should do as much research into the topic as you can before rushing into things. It will soon become which brands have good reputations and which ones should be avoided. There have been many independently conducted tests and experiments which highlight exactly which boilers are worth getting. Two brand names which show up time and time again as being among the very best are Vailant and Worcester Bosch. These two companies are renowned for producing top quality A-rated gas and oil boilers.

Finding the Right Place for Your Boiler:

At first thought, finding a suitable location for a new oil or gas boiler may seem as easy as finding anywhere there is space. However, it is not quite that simple. I most cases, locating your boiler closer to where your heat emits from (ie: your radiators) is recommended because when the boiler is situated near a source of heat it accumulates some of this heat. In practice, this means that the boiler is getting a ‘head start’ in terms of heat so will have to use less fuel and energy warming up when it is switched on.

Should you be limited in relation to boiler location options and have to install it in a colder location (such as in a garden shed), be sure to have all piping that is connected to it properly insulated. This will prevent heat from being lost in the time it takes to get from the boiler to the radiators via the pipes, meaning your central heating system will heat rooms up faster and waste less fuel, thereby keeping heating bills down.

Use Chemicals to Treat Your Central Heating System:

Not everyone is aware that a very important aspect of central heating maintenance is treating the boiler and its associated piping with specific chemicals which help the fuel burning process run more efficiently. This chemical treatment is particularly important in hard water areas such as Dublin. It is extremely important that only the correct chemicals are used and in the right amounts. If chemicals are used inappropriately, you may end up causing more harm than good to your central heating system.

Your central heating system’s chemicals should be topped up whenever the system has been drained or when your boiler’s yearly service is taking place. This ensures that the chemicals are being administered by a professional who knows what they are doing and will adhere to the boiler manufacturer’s specifications carefully, thereby not making any costly mistakes.

Only Hire Registered Boiler Installers:

It is illegal for anyone who is not a fully licensed member of the RGII (Registered Gas Installers of Ireland) to carry out any gas boiler works in Ireland due to there being inherent risks and dangers associated with such works.
There is a similar qualification for engineers working on oil boilers from OFTEC (the Oil Firing Technical Association). While it is not a legal requirement like the one for gas installers, it is strongly recommended that anyone working on an oil based central heating system be OFTEC registered.

All of DeWAR Plumbers’ engineers carry the relevant qualifications related to their specialties.

Ensure that Your Boiler Comes with a Warranty:

One thing that is overlooked by many when planning on a gas or oil boiler upgrade is after sales service. It is always worth reading the fine print in relation to warranties when purchasing a new boiler. Cheaper boilers (which also tend to be of poorer quality) may not have a lengthy manufacturer’s warranty in place. This is part of the reason why they are sold at cheaper prices – when they inevitably break down you are left with no form of redress, leaving you forced to pay for repairs or a replacement in fill – a false economy if ever there was one.

DeWAR Plumbers offer a full conditional seven-year guarantee with every high-efficiency gas or oil boiler that we supply and install, meaning that we will rectify any problems that occur in relation to the boiler within this period.

Contact DeWAR Plumbers to Organise a Boiler Upgrade

If you wish to go ahead with a gas or oil boiler upgrade you should call DeWAR Plumbers on our phone number 01 514 3300 or contact us via email to have one of our engineers come out to you and do a feasibility test.

Tips for Boiler Maintenance During the Summer

Boiler Maintenance – Last year, Ireland was lucky enough to have one of the best summers it has experienced in many a year. Early indications have hinted that this summer could be every bit as good, with sunshine expected to be the norm for months on end. When the weather is warm and sunny there is little need for gas boilers or oil boilers to be switched on in order to provide heating.

Boiler Maintenance Tips

However, that is not to say that you should ignore your gas or oil boiler maintenance entirely just because the weather is good. The summer is, arguably, the most important time partake in boiler maintenance. Irish weather can change quickly and dramatically, catching people off guard. When this happens, many people can get caught out, finding themselves in a position where their gas or oil boiler is not up to scratch after months of not being used.

By taking the following precautions and establishing a summer boiler maintenance schedule, you can ensure that your oil or gas boiler is in correct working order should the weather decide to turn foul on you all of a sudden.

Use Your Heating Controls

As your gas/oil boiler is used a lot less frequently (if at all) in the summer than it is in the winter, you should make sure that you adjust your heating controls to coincide with this fact. You should turn down your home heating system’s thermostat to a low level for the duration of the warm summer months as well limiting how often your heating controls allow your heating to be turned on. This frugal approach to your heating system during the summer will allow you to save a lot of fuel and money off the cost of your home heating bills without leaving you in the cold.

Remember though, you should always consult with your gas/oil boiler’s instruction manual before making any adjustments to your home heating system’s operations via heating controls. By following the instructions carefully, you will be ensuring that you don’t accidentally make matters worse for yourself by messing up the settings or breaking something.

Check On Your System’s Pumps

Even when the weather is great over long periods of time during the summer and the heat provided by your oil or gas boiler is not required, it is still good practice to turn it on intermittently in order to make sure that its moving parts do not seize up and cease working properly. If left idle for too long, boiler parts can accumulate all manner of dirt, dust, and grime which makes it more difficult for them to operate properly when your boiler is eventually needed.

It is a good idea to leave your boiler running for a duration of five minutes or so every few weeks to ensure that such dirt does not accumulate. Doing this also allows you to check and make sure that your boiler is still in proper working order and has not seized up in any way. When ‘exercising’ your oil boiler or gas boiler in such a way, be sure to turn up your thermostat to a high level while you’re at it. Doing so will give your home heating system’s piping and radiators a similar ‘work out’, lessening the chance of dirt and sludge accumulating in this areas and thereby reducing the likelihood of you needing to avail of a power flush service in the near future.

This is a quick, easy and inexpensive piece of maintenance which can save you a lot of effort in the long term.

Help Yourself Save Money

Generally speaking, old boilers are much less efficient when it comes to converting fuel into usable heating energy than newer ones. For example, a state of the art thigh efficiency condensing boiler converts more than 90% of the fuel it burns into usable heating energy, meaning that it produces very little waste. By contrast, the non-condensing variety of gas or oil boilers (that are maintained properly) tend to convert a maximum of 78% of their fuel into usable energy. In practice though, this percentage is usually significantly lower, meaning a large proportion of the fuel you buy is being wasted. With this in mind, since 2008 any oil or gas boiler upgrades carried out are legally required to be of the high efficiency condensing boiler type. This not only cuts down on the cost of home heating bills but is also more environmentally sound.

If you have plans to get your gas or oil boiler upgraded to a high efficiency condensing model, you should consider having the job carried as part of your summer maintenance routine. Plumbers tend to be less busy in the warmer months, so offer reduced prices on oil and gas boiler upgrades. There is also less chance of you ending up on a waiting list which makes the whole process a lot more convenient. You could potentially save a few hundred euro by simply choosing an opportune time to have your boiler upgrade carried out. This is before you begin to reap the savings associated with the fuel efficiency of a condensing boiler.

If this sounds like a good idea to you then you should not hesitate to contact DeWAR Plumbers via email or on our phone number 01 514 3344 and find out what savings you can make by availing of a gas boiler replacement.

Boiler Upgrade FAQ

Boiler Upgrade FAQ – Nothing lasts forever in this world and your gas/oil boiler is certainly no exception. It is an unfortunate inevitability that boiler deteriorates in terms of efficiency over time. When they lose the ability to convert an acceptable level of fuel into usable heating energy it becomes high time that they were replaced.

What are the Signs that a Boiler Needs to be Upgraded?

Unfortunately, it is not always easy to tell exactly when your boiler is in need of replacement. However, there are some signs that you should be mindful of. Watch out for any of the following symptoms:

Once any (or, indeed, several) of these occurrences in your oil or gas boiler then it is quite probable that it is on its way out and should be replaced soon. In these cases, you should make it your business to have your boiler inspected by a fully registered oil or gas contractor (depending on what kind of boiler you have). With any luck, there may be less expensive and time-consuming alternatives to having a full scale upgrade carried out. However, in the case of very old or poorly maintained boilers, there is a good chance that you may have little choice but to upgrade to a high efficiency condensing boiler.

What is a Condensing Boiler?

A condensing boiler, often referred to as n A-rated boiler or a high-efficiency boiler, is any gas or oil boiler that has an energy efficiency that is upward of 90% with regard to HARP (the Home Heating Appliances Register of Performance) database. A boiler’s score is calculated by HARP based on its running costs as well its levels of fuel consumption.

The fact that condensing boilers convert much more of the fuel put into them into usable heating energy than regular oil and gas boilers means that they can quickly offset the cost of having them installed.

What Kind of Savings does a Condensing Boiler Provide?

While there are numerous variables which will affect the exact savings which can be made by getting your boiler upgrade to a high-efficiency model, it is generally accepted that you will stand to make an annual saving of anywhere between 18 and 25% of the cost of your central heating bills – a substantial saving. In practice, this means that a condensing boiler will usually recover the cost of its installation in about three years.

What other Advantages are Associated with Condensing Boilers?

While the financial advantages of having a high efficiency condensing boiler speak for themselves, they are not the only good reason to get one. Condensing boilers are also known for being considerably safer than regular boilers. When gas or oil boilers are not burning their fuel properly they run the risk of leaking out carbon monoxide (CO gas) which is an extremely dangerous and undetectable gas which can be fatal in high volumes.

Are there Grants Available for Installing Condensing Boilers?

The SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland), in conjunction with the Irish Department of Communications, Energy and Natural Resources, provide grants for many forms of home improvement, including gas and oil boiler upgrades, under their Better Energy Homes incentive scheme which can be availed of by homeowners whose houses were built before 2006.

When upgrading your gas or oil boiler to a high efficiency condensing model, you can save up to €560 in SEAI grants. A €400 grant is also available when upgrading your boiler’s heating controls.

More information on what grants are available and how to obtain one can be found here. Inquiries to the SEAI can be made via email or telephone (1850 927 000). Applicants usually receive a response withing one working day.

How long does a boiler upgrade take?

There is no exact length of time in relation to a boiler upgrade as there are many variables that must be taken into account such as the size of your central heating system and the location of your boiler. However, most installations will be finished in a few hours. DeWAR Plumbers will always have a boiler upgrade fully finished on the day the work has started.

Is it possible to get someone to check my boiler?

If you are still not certain whether your boiler needs to be upgraded or not, you can arrange for a DeWAR Plumbers engineer to visit your property for a no obligation consultation to discuss what options are available to you. Consultations can be arranged via email or over the phone. Our phone number is 01 514 3300.

Alternatives to a Boiler Upgrade

Alternatives to a Boiler Upgrade – There are a great many problems which can arise in relation to gas and oil boilers. Do not despair though, as with many potential problems come many potential solutions! When a boiler stops working properly, it is human nature to expect and fear the worst; that your boiler is broken and it will need to be replaced.

Boiler Upgrade

Replacing a gas or oil boiler is a time-consuming process which is best avoided if there are other solutions available. There are often less intrusive (and, indeed, costly) alternatives to carrying out a full scale boiler upgrade. The following situations are examples where replacing a boiler in its entirety may not necessarily be your best option:

When Your Boiler is in an Awkward Location:

In some cases, your gas or oil boiler may be situated in a poorly chosen location, making any potential removal of said boiler extremely difficult to carry out. In the past, many homeowners would have their boilers installed somewhere ‘out of the way’ in order to take up as little space as possible, with little regard for future ease of access.

Such boilers can be very hard to get at, particularly if they are ‘walled’ inside a sturdy protective structure. In these cases actually getting at the boiler is a challenge in itself as structures may need to be torn down and later rebuilt during the course of the operation. This is a time consuming, awkward and expensive process. When you take all of this into consideration, the idea of replacing a boiler can be unappealing.

When Low Water Pressure Discourages Boiler Upgrades:

In very rare cases, some high efficiency condensing boiler installations may not be possible due to there being insufficient water pressure in the region. Condensing boilers need high levels of water pressure in order for them to work at their maximum output. Unfortunately, some areas simply do not have sufficient water pressure for them to work properly. If you find yourself in such an uncommon situation, you should make sure that you do everything in your power to ensure that your existing boiler is working at its optimum levels of fuel burning efficiency

In such cases, it is essential that you have your boiler serviced regularly by a professional engineer and that any repairs that are needed are done quickly and efficiently, before they can become much larger and more expensive to rectify problems (such as boiler breakdown).

When You Can Save Money in Other Ways:

The most common reason cited by people who want to upgrade their oil or gas boiler to a high efficiency condensing model is that they want to take advantages of the long term monetary savings associated with needing to use less fuel to heat up their homes.

However, the relatively high start up cost of having a new oil or gas boiler installed may not be the most economically viable option in all cases. If your current boiler set up is a quality brand and model and has been maintained very well, there is a chance that it might not be a long way off a high efficiency condensing boiler in terms of converting fuel into usable heating energy.

A perfectly maintained non-condensing boiler may only be as little as 10 or 15% less efficient than a new condensing boiler. In such cases, the savings you make in relation to fuel saved in the burning process may take a while to accumulate to the point where they offset the cost of upgrading your boiler to a high-efficiency model.

In such cases, you might be better off ensuring that your current boiler remains in tip top shape by having it serviced by a professional on a regular basis and have any minor repairs carried out as you go. On the other hand, in the case of such non-condensing boilers, replacement parts may be more difficult to source as non-condensing boilers find themselves becoming less common, with high efficiency condensing boilers replacing them on the market.

Think About Installing Heating Controls:

One particularly useful and effective means of reducing your central heating bills without installing a new high efficiency condensing boiler is by installing heating controls. Heating controls are useful because they give you a much more precise level of control over your central heating system. You can use them to time when your heating comes on and off and what temperature it should run at, meaning you only need to use up as much fuel as you see fit.

When used correctly, the average household can save roughly 20% off the cost of their home heating bills when they have heating controls installed. There are also grants available which can greatly limit the cost of having such heating controls installed.

Consider a Power Flush Service:

In many cases, the main cause of a central heating system not heating up rooms properly is not a result of something going wrong with the boiler itself, but clogged piping and radiators. Over time, limescale and all manner of dirt can accumulate in your central heating system, causing all manner of problems, most notably a decrease in the system’s heating efficiency.

A power flush service is a process that involves running warm water as well as gentle cleansing chemicals through your heating system in order to clear out any blockages. You can find out more about how power flushing a heating system works here.

Which Option Is Best For Me?

It is always a good idea to discuss your boiler and general central heating system requirements with a fully registered gas installer or an OFTEC (Oil Firing technical Association) registered professional before deciding on what option is best for you.
By calling DeWAR Plumbers on our free phone number 1800 911 333 or sending us an email, you can get expert advice in relation to all of your home heating needs.