gas boiler Archives -

Boiler Filter Replacement – As with virtually any component associated with a HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system, your oil or gas boiler needs to be properly maintained in order for it to run at its optimum efficiency levels. An often overlooked form of boiler maintenance which must be carried out fairly regularly is the process of boiler filter replacement.

Boiler Filter Replacement

Luckily enough, boiler filter replacements are reasonably easy to carry out. Despite the fact that there are a great many different types of gas and oil boilers on the market, the boiler filter replacement process is fairly standardised and does not offer a whole lot of variation from the norm. Your plumber will be able to replace a boiler filter regardless of what kind of boiler you own.

What does a Boiler Filter do?

A boiler filter is a device which is attached to your boiler and used to remove unwanted elements (dirt, dust, allergens etc.) from the air which circulates through a building. They are typically located where the return air duct of the HVAC system meets with the boiler itself.

You may, on occasion, hear of boiler filters being referred to as ‘furnace filters’. This is what they are known as in America, but ‘boiler filter’ is a much more commonly used term in places like Ireland. Please note that the boiler filters being discussed here serve a different function to the similarly named MagnaClean Filters which are used to remove black iron oxide from radiator systems.

Different Types of Boiler Filters:

There are several different kinds of boiler filters to choose from which vary in terms of pricing and effectiveness. The main types are outlined below as a guide to help you figure out what kind of boiler filter best suits your specific needs:

Fiberglass Boiler Filters:

Boiler filters which are constructed from fiberglass are the cheapest option available to you. Although they are inexpensive to purchase, their main drawback is that they only filter about ten percent of dust particles when operating. They also need to be replaced quite frequently (every month or so), meaning that they are not considered sound long term investments by most professionals.

Pleated Boiler Filters:

A pleated boiler filter could be considered a ‘level up’ from a fiberglass boiler filter in that they are more effective when it comes to air filtration. Pleated boiler filters will typically remove between thirty and forty percent of air based particles and tend to need replacement every three months based on typical use.

Electrostatic Boiler Filters:

Generally believed to be the very best boiler filters that money can buy, electrostatic boiler filters remove about 90% of unwanted particles (dust, allergens etc.) from the air. Another great advantage of electrostatic boiler filters is that they are a once off purchase which doesn’t need to be replaced. They do. however, need to be washed about four times a year in order to prevent excessive grime build up, but this is fairly easy to do. If you choose an electrostatic boiler filter you aren’t throwing out old filters regularly so are doing your bit for the environment by not generating waste.

Precautions to be Taken Before Carrying Out a Boiler Filter Replacement:

How to Change a Boiler Filter:

Whether you have a gas boiler or an oil boiler the process of boiler filter replacement tends to be very similar. For health and safety purposes, such tasks should be carried out by trained professionals. Your tradesperson will carry out the following steps when carrying out a boiler filter replacement:

If you wish to organise a gas or oil boiler service call DeWAR Plumbers on our phone number 01 514 3344. Alternatively, you can send us an email to organise a time and date that suits you.

Upgrading Your Gas Boiler – When is the Right Time?

Upgrading Your Gas Boiler – One of the key challenges associated with modern living that homeowners need to contend with is that of running an energy efficient home while keeping the cost of utility and fuel bills as low as possible. One of the most costly aspects of any home is its central heating system. This is why it is of the utmost importance to ensure that you’re gas boiler is running as efficiently as possible. Your gas boiler is essentially the ‘heart’ of your home’s central heating system and everybody knows that a healthy heart makes for a healthy body.

A lot of the time, simply ensuring that you gas boiler is serviced regularly is enough to keep it running at the necessary levels of fuel efficiency, with occasional small repairs being implemented when (and if) required. However, in the case of older or particularly run down gas boilers, regular servicing and repair work may simply not be enough to keep the boiler running at a sufficient level of fuel efficiency. In some cases the only truly economically viable solution to your home’s central heating problems is instigating a full gas boiler replacement service.

Is Upgrading Your Gas Boiler Necessary?

Upgrading a gas boiler to a more fuel efficient model tends to be a somewhat more complicated and expensive (at least in terms of the immediate future) undertaking than other, more short term, means of improving gas boiler efficiency. To that end, it is quite important that you are sure that upgrading your gas boiler is the right option for you before going through the trouble of organising one.

Every homeowner’s individual circumstances are different, so there is no single definitive answer as to whether or not a gas boiler upgrade is a good idea. However, there are a few key questions that you should look to answer that will help make your decision an awful lot easier. Ask the following questions of your gas boiler:

How Efficient does my Gas Boiler Need to be?

Much like how the circumstances surrounding different households vary, so too do individual gas boilers. Each different style of the gas boiler from each different manufacturer is unique in terms of both design and its ability to convert fuel into usable heating energy, ranging from those which would be considered quite poor (by modern standards) and those which are considered A-rated in terms of fuel efficiency as well as everything in between.

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.

Generally speaking, once your gas boiler is running at a fuel efficiency rating that is upward of 80%, you shouldn’t be in any major hurry to have it upgraded as it would take a considerable amount of time for the costs saved in terms of improved fuel efficiency to offset the price of having a gas boiler replacement carried out.

However, if your gas boiler’s efficiency rating falls below the 80% mark then serious consideration should be given to carrying out a gas boiler upgrade service. Remember, the lower the efficiency rating of a gas boiler, the more fuel, and therefor money, it wastes on a daily basis.

If you are unsure as to what your gas boiler’s fuel efficiency rating is, you can find it out here once you know its make and model.

How can you tell if Your Gas Boiler is Running at its Full Fuel Efficiency Levels?

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.

The key to keeping a hold on your gas boiler’s fuel efficiency levels is by having your boiler serviced by a registered professional on a yearly basis (at least). They will be able to tell how efficiently (or inefficiently) your gas boiler is operating and, if it is deemed inefficient, they will make a recommendation on what course of action best suits your circumstances. In the best case scenario, you may need to take no action in addition to the annual gas boiler service. Depending on you gas boiler’s condition though, repair works or even an upgrade service may be required.

It is of the utmost importance that anyone that you have to service or doing any work (for that matter) on a gas boiler is fully certified as an RGI (Registered Gas Installer) from the RGII (Registered Gas Installers of Ireland). All of DeWAR Plumbers’ engineers are registered with the RGII.

The typical life span of a home gas boiler tends to be about fifteen years. Even if your boiler is not causing any obvious problems (such as boiler break down) and has been serviced regularly, it will most likely have lost much of its fuel efficiency by the time it reaches this age. It is very rare that a gas boiler this old does not need to be replaced with a more efficient model. It is only natural that a brand new gas boiler would work better than one built more than a decade ago.

Does Your Gas Boiler Ever Break Down?

To put it bluntly, if your gas boiler breaks down at all then you have a serious problem which must be sorted out as soon as possible. Servicing your boiler regularly helps to considerably reduce the likelihood of such a boiler break down in addition to improving the overall fuel efficiency levels of your home’s central heating system. Having a gas boiler breaking down is a stressful experience which can often be time-consuming and expensive to rectify. If this is happening to your gas boiler semi-regularly and the cost of consistently repairing the boiler are adding up it may well be time to consider upgrading your gas boiler as constantly repairing a faulty boiler is not an economically sustainable home central heating system maintenance strategy.

How Much are You Spending on Gas Boiler Repairs?

While a lot of the repairs that a gas boiler will need throughout its lifestyle are relatively quick to perform and not too expensive, things tend to become increasingly complicated as the boiler ages. Not only are older gas boilers more prone to braking down, they are also much harder (and more expensive) to source suitable replacement parts for. If replacement parts are becoming increasingly difficult and costly to purchase then it is probably time to consider having a gas boiler upgrade service carried out, especially if your gas boiler needs to be repaired on a fairly regular basis.

Is it Worth Investing in Heating Controls for Gas Boilers?

There are a great many advantages associated with installing heating controls to be used with your central heating system’s gas boiler. Most notably of all is that gas boiler heating controls put you in direct control of your home’s central heating system, giving you the power to fine tune your heating needs specifically to your own individual requirements. Under proper use, gas boiler heating controls have been shown to help homeowners save up to twenty percent off the total cost of their home’s central heating bills. That’s a massive saving of one euro for every four euros spent on heating bills over the course of the year.

Upgrading your gas boiler heating controls is generally seen as a cost effective means of increasing your home’s central heating system’s fuel efficiency and reducing energy costs (instead of having a full gas boiler upgrade carried out). While this is true to some extent, the best results in terms of making your home’s central heating system more economical are by combining the two. Upgrading your gas boiler as well as having state of the art heating controls will have your home’s central heating system working at its optimum levels of fuel and energy efficiency, generating massive savings for your household when it comes to paying bills.

What Grants Are Available for Upgrading Your Gas Boiler?

If you are looking to upgrade your gas boiler then it is well worth contacting the SEAI (Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland) to see if you are eligible for a grant to alleviate the cost of having your works carried out under their BEH (Better Energy Homes) initiative. Depending on your financial circumstances, grant relief can be obtained for upgrading your gas boiler itself, upgrading your gas boiler’s heating controls or both.
More details on the SEAI’s Better Energy Homes grant scheme can be found here.

If you would like to make an inquiry in relation to having your gas boiler upgraded, feel free to call DeWAR Plumbers on our phone number 01 514 3300. Alternatively you can email us with your questions.

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.

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.