You paid a lot for your boiler when it was fitted and you will get the most value from it the longer it lasts. In this guide explain why maintaining your existing boiler is more sustainable and up to 55% cheaper than replacement and give you TOP TIPs for keeping your boiler going until a heat pump makes sense for you.

Contents

1. Let your boiler run its full lifespan
2. Check parts availability for yourself
3. Get prepared for adhoc repairs
4. Don't be seduced by a new boiler warranty
5. Keep the boiler running smoothly and save
6. Get ready for the future of home heating

1) Let your boiler run its full lifespan

The one of the biggest household savings you can make in any year is not replacing your boiler, at a typical cost of £2.5k-£3.5k.

Contrary to the information found on most boiler manufacturers’ websites, modern boilers have a 22 year lifespan. Yet the big five manufacturers, including Worcester and Ideal, all give 10-15 year lifespans.

This misleading prediction has spread to every corner of the domestic gas industry and is now widely accepted as true. Yet the same boiler manufacturers give lifespans of 15-20 years elsewhere in the world where households expect their boilers to last much longer.

To make matters worse, many customers coming through our business report being advised to replace their boiler sooner than 10 years. They have been told their boiler ‘is approaching the end of its life’ as early as 7 years old, creating a risk that a household may fit three boilers over the course of a 22 year period.

It is unsurprising that a whooping 75% of homes have a boiler that is 12-years old or less. The good news is that 75% of homes don’t need to change their boiler before moving to a heat pump in the next decade (more on the Future of home heating below).

2) Check parts availability for yourself

Many of our customers are nudged towards a new boiler at the annual service visit, alarmingly when the boiler is working, when they’re told ‘the parts are getting scarce’.

Boilers up to 22 years old have good parts availability and even older boilers have the core parts available to keep them going.

3) Get prepared for adhoc repairs

If your boiler has good parts availability and you’re comfortable to deal with boiler repairs as they arise, then it is a good idea to find a boiler breakdown engineer to call on. It’s a relationship you can start by booking them for the annual service.

Word of warning, gas engineers that fit boilers have a different skill set to gas engineers that repair boilers. Calling out the right person might be the difference between getting it repaired and being wrongly advised to fit a new boiler.

4) Don’t be seduced by a new boiler warranty

10-12 year warranties on boilers have played their part in distorting our understanding of lifespan. Many people think that because the warranty has come to an end they should get a new boiler, but even with an extended warranty a new boiler is up to 55% more expensive.

A boiler warranty means the manufacturer will repair the boiler free of charge if it breaks down. However a warranty is not cost-free, as the boiler must be serviced annually to validate the warranty. The 10-year cost of a new boiler, including an annual service and installation cost, is £3,100 - £4,250. The 10-year cost of a maintenance contract on an existing boiler, which will include an annual service, is £2,005.

5) Keep the boiler running smoothly and save

Studies have shown that nearly all A-rated boilers are B-E Rated in the home, increasing heating bills by up to 15%. Sadly building regulations have not mandated higher installation standards to overcome the performance shortfall, which means a new boiler fitted today won’t save you any money.

On the rare occasion a new boiler is optimised, the average household will save no more than £120 per annum. With typical installation costs ranging between £2.5-£3.5k it will take 21- 29 years to recoup the upfront cost.

For a fraction of the price you can make your existing boiler more efficient and help it run more smoothly. Many existing boilers are compatible with load and weather compensation controls (the best type of control), but product compatibility is a minefield and you need to find the right control for your boiler. We give you some guidance below depending on what type of boiler you have:

6) Get ready for the future of home heating

Gas boilers are the biggest source of CO2 from our homes. Replacing your boiler with a heat pump is the single biggest thing you can do to cut your carbon footprint, even if your boiler is just a few years old.

If you’re not ready to fit a heat pump then the most sustainable thing you can do is keep the gas boiler going until you are. Replacing your boiler early will lock you into gas for longer, as you will be reluctant to pay out for a heat pump in the five years that follow.

What is a heat pump?

Heat pumps are a type of renewable heating that everyone will switch to eventually. Heat pumps cut your energy demand by 65-75% and run on clean electricity. 80% of homes will move to a heat pump in the coming decade and the rest will run on heat networks whereby a large clean energy source powers multiple homes.

What is a hydrogen boiler?

Hydrogen boilers don’t exist, likewise hydrogen-ready boilers and likewise green hydrogen in sufficient quantities to power anything.

It may be that hydrogen is mixed into our gas supplies to make a hydrogen-blend, but all existing boilers are hydrogen-blend ready. Should green-hydrogen become viable it will be needed for transport and industry.

To date, 56 independent studies found no role for hydrogen in home heating, including the National Infrastructure Commission. Homes will all move to heat pumps over the coming decades.