What is most needed when the summer is coming to a swift conclusion?

‘It’s time to switch on, check and evaluate the efficiency of your heating system.’

At Rapid Response were are certainly well-known in the field of commercial and domestic property maintenance, providing a diversity of services to Insurance Company’s, Property Management Company’s and a huge variety of organisations looking after multiple domestic and commercial property. With this in mind you would certainly expect us to be diverse given the nature of our ongoing maintenance contracts and Insurance projects.

One of the areas we cover the most, especially in the winter months is undoubtedly heating systems. Invariably a long and mild summer, or in the case of this year and incredibly hot summer, the need for a boiler or heating check is overlooked for obvious reasons. Why would you when the Sun is at its hottest have any inclination to even think about checking your heating system. However, at this time of year specifically, it is the time we recommend to all of our clients to look at certain property maintenance checks, especially heating systems. Boiler servicing, flushing central heating systems are all part of the service in order to not only make sure when you need that heat the system is working fine, also to reduce energy costs creating the necessary efficiencies within your heating system infrastructure.

A lack of efficiency can sometimes lead to extortionate fuel or energy usage, which in turn can impact negatively on your utility bills and energy costs. So, what do we recommend to take place now at this very appropriate time?

Boiler Service

This is the obvious route of heating system problems. Faulty valves, wear and tear and general deterioration of component parts is common. Our engineers will look to restore a boiler to its maximum efficiency, and very often a thorough service can make a considerable difference to cost savings and of course making sure you have heating and hot water for the winter months.

Pipe Insulation

Huge amounts of heat and energy are lost through lack of insulation. In winter months pipes can freeze, boiler stops working and of course the dreaded pipe burst in that most awkward of locations. Our recommendation is always to keep your heating on at low temperature even when a building isn’t being occupied. The dangers of freezing pipes, and potential damage to a property are well documented, and through our insurance work we have certainly seen water damage at its very worst.

Pressure checks

If your heating system is only luke warm at its very best, this is very often down to the pressure dropping. Typically, pressure in most domestic and commercial boilers sits at around 1-1.5 bar when the system is cold. If your pressure has dropped, it is very likely you will experience a reduced supply of hot water around your system. If it consistency drops then other problems may have occurred within the heating system infrastructure, and will require further investigation to diagnose and complete a satisfactory fix.

Pressure loss can also affect heating system and boiler efficiency levels, and we advise to have this checked as soon as possible, should you encounter problems around pressure.

Check those radiators

Testing your system before the winter sets in is very important. Trapped air from loss of pressure or leakage is common in dormant heating systems. Naturally, air is likely to infiltrate a system, and one of common issues relating to high heating bills. Your heating is turned up to the max, but your radiators are running at a decreased level of efficiency. In the more extreme cases, boilers can break down and you are left without heating.

A Power Flush is the only answer and clears any residue or blockages in the system with the use of specialist cleaning and flushing chemicals which are geared to clear those blockages and provide a fully working air tight system.

The major contributory factor for servicing a domestic or commercial heating system in the long-term is the cost it can save. Poorly maintained boilers become very expensive, and certainly the cost of a brand new boiler before the festive season kicks in is not normally on anyone’s radar. Now is the time to get your heating system checked!

 

 

 

 

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