The benefits of leaving your boiler behind

Don’t be left in the cold

Did you know that when cold weather sets in, the likelihood of your boiler breaking down increases?  

It’s true! According to industry data, a significant portion of boiler breakdowns in the UK happen during winter, with some suggesting that over 107,000 boilers break down on average each year. Split by month, a weighty 15.56% of boiler breakdowns happen in January, with December the next busiest month (12.01%). July is the quietest (just 3.8%).  

Why is your boiler much more likely to break down when it's cold outside? Gas boilers tend to modulate to cope with variations in demand and (in some cases) outdoor temperature. And when heating hot water, they have to work at full pelt to fill a tank or provide instant hot water in combis. This means that during a cold snap the system is put under increased and prolonged pressure, making them more prone to breaking down. This can happen in the summer too, but it’s most common in the winter months.  

Spring into action

The data also shows that demand for new boilers or boiler repairs is always lower between March and October, so it may be worth thinking about swapping to an alternative heating source when the warmer months start rolling in.

Switching to a heat pump as we enter spring seems to be a sensible course of action – you’ve got time to sort everything out before winter comes round again. But before you do, we thought it best to show you the reasons why a heat pump is such a reliable alternative heating system:

1. Operating temperature: Gas boilers typically operate at higher water temperatures than heat pumps. This puts more stress on internal components and can contribute to them degrading faster  

2. Cycling: No, not the Lycra kind! The turning on/off kind. Gas boilers have to cycle on and off more frequently, causing increased wear on the ignition system and other components. Due to their high efficiency and lower operating (flow) temperatures, heat pumps typically run for longer periods at a lower output to avoid the need for cycling

3. Cold weather: While gas boilers tend to break down when the cold weather hits, heat pumps function well in extremely cold climates (just look at Norway, Sweden and Finland, the top three countries in the world when it comes to heat pump installations). Okay, this doesn’t necessarily relate to the UK’s milder climate, but it shows that they’re more robust when severely cold weather sets in – so in the UK, we should be just fine!

And there’s more! Let’s also quickly look at other great reasons to replacing your boiler with a heat pump:

1. Lower emissions: As heat pumps use energy from the air or ground, this means they produce significantly lower carbon emissions compared to gas boilers, which burn fossil fuels

2. Futureproofing: It’s more than likely that a ban on gas boiler replacement will be rolled out in the future. Installing a heat pump now will futureproof your home for when that time comes – and it can even add value to your property, as future owners won’t need to do the work themselves

3. Going even greener: Having a heat pump opens the door to even more opportunities to link other green technology, such as solar panels and batteries. These technologies can work in tandem to reduce your costs and improve the energy efficiency of your home

Why wait?

So there you have it - some pretty convincing reasons to switch to a heat pump before your gas boiler gives up the ghost again.  

If you are considering moving to a heat pump, contact our team on 0800 029 3129 or register for a call back here: https://www.thermly.co.uk/contact  

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