Our boilers are integral parts of our homes, keeping us warm in the cooler months and making sure there’s always hot water to wash our plates up with. We almost take them for granted, tucked away in cupboards or our lofts – but when something goes wrong, the impact is felt immediately.
Emergency repairs on a boiler can quickly become very expensive, so it’s important to know the best-practice methods of keeping safety a priority while ensuring costs are as low as possible when it comes to maintaining your boiler.
In this article, we’ll be covering how much it costs to service a boiler, what affects the cost of a boiler service, how to save money on a boiler service and how to find and hire a heating engineer.
If you’ve just moved into a new property and haven’t yet set up your boiler care package, or you’ve had something in place for years and are no longer sure if it’s the most economical choice, keep reading to find out our top tips for boiler servicing and maintenance.
Topics
How Much Does It Cost to Service a Boiler?
There are two main types of boiler:
Conventional boilers use a storage tank with cast iron heat exchangers inside the tank which heats the water. They’re the boilers that supply a lot of hot water but if the hot water runs out, you have to wait for them to heat up again. You normally find them in a loft.
Combination (or combi) boilers access water directly from the mains supply. There’s no need for a storage tank. They’re a lot smaller than conventional boilers and they’re often found in a kitchen hidden behind the door of a storage cabinet.
For homeowners with gas boilers, there are two types of boiler servicing schemes available:
An annual servicing contract, which includes cover if your boiler breaks down, normally priced between £150 and £250
A one-off boiler service, normally costs you between £60 and £120, with local companies being cheaper than nationals.
For both annual and one-off servicing, you can normally pay in advance with a monthly direct debit which allows you to spread out the cost over the year.
Other common repair solutions are listed below, together with their general costs:
| Service or Product | Cost |
|---|---|
| One-off boiler service | £60 to £120 |
| Annual boiler servicing contract | £150 to £250 |
| Emergency call-out | £100 to £120 |
| New heating pump | £175 to £200 |
| Replacement thermostat | £175 to £225 |
| Magnetic filter installation | £250 to £350 |
| Replacement fan | £225 to £275 |
With a replacement thermostat or fan sitting at over £200 per item, you can see how it can work out cheaper overall to be enrolled in an annual service plan. However, these types of repairs are more commonly occurring in older boilers rather than new ones, so if you’ve moved into a new build property or somewhere with a brand-new heating system that is unlikely to have major repairs, you might be better off paying a one-off fee for periodical servicing instead.
If your boiler is very old – 10 years plus – it’s usually better to take out an annual servicing contract because your boiler will be more prone to developing problems. Otherwise, you might end up paying an emergency call-out fee, on top of the cost of any repairs all in one go.
What Affects the Cost Of a Boiler Service?
There’s no set reason why you might need a boiler service. Here are some of the most common complaints or concerns with regards to boilers:
- The hot water isn’t on
- The pilot light isn’t on
- The thermostat doesn’t seem to be responding
- The boiler switches off a lot for no reason
- Radiators are cold, or tepid at best
- The boiler’s making a funny noise
- I am concerned about the safety of my boiler
- Utility bills are higher than normal – is the boiler working inefficiently?
As well as the problems listed above, it’s good practice to have an annual boiler service to make sure there are no underlying issues that could end up costing you hundreds of pounds further down the line.
National vs Local Company
If you choose to opt for a national company to complete your boiler service, you’ll be spending more on the same service that could be provided by a smaller, local business.
With nationals, you’re not just paying for the service but for their customer care team, their advertisements and call centres – whereas with smaller companies, you’ll just be paying for the engineer and perhaps a small surcharge for their petrol fees.
Location
Your location will impact the price you need to pay for your boiler service, with charges being higher in London than in the rural countryside.
Multiple Gas Appliances
Finally, if your property has more than one gas appliance this can help to lower your total price as you can ask the engineer to check everything during the one visit, rather than paying out separately to get your fire and then your boiler checked in separate sessions.
How Can I Save Money on a Boiler Service?
It’s recommended that you have your boiler serviced every year, which is the time recommended by both boiler manufacturers and boiler engineers – even if you don’t think there’s anything wrong with your boiler.
Boilers are complex pieces of technology, and while one part not functioning effectively doesn’t mean that your boiler will immediately stop working; leaving it to fix on a later date will cause both your utility bills and later repair charges to spiral.
Although it may sound counter-intuitive to have someone come in and perform a boiler service on something that’s working perfectly well at the moment, doing so can help to detect any early problems. This can help to save you money in the long run as it’s unlikely that you’ll suddenly need an extortionate emergency repair as your boiler will have been well-maintained over the years.
Similarly, to validate some boiler manufacturers’ warranties, you must adhere to their servicing guidelines to make sure you’re able to claim if you need a part replaced. If you don’t have a service history to prove you’ve been having the checks done as routinely as they want, you may have a large bill on your hands if it comes to needing a repair.
How Do I Find and Hire a Heating Engineer?
To ensure you’re getting a hassle-free experience, it’s best to ask for recommendations from family, friends or neighbours in the first instance. This way, you can find out who they have used recently (and crucially find out if they were any good), which can save you from hiring someone who may turn out to be unreliable or not as thorough as you would like.
But, if no one close to you has had work done recently, using an online search tool is a quick and easy way to find reputable traders. Using HouseholdQuotes can save you up to 40% of your project fee, as well as display all those who match your criteria in one simple list.
Ensuring the Professional Is the Right Fit
Before you hire your engineer, make sure they are on the Gas Safe Register. This is essential to make sure their work is legitimate and will save you from hiring someone who mightn’t do a proper job.
Getting a written quote is important as a reference point so that both parties know what’s involved in the inspection – and will save from any uncomfortable exchanges and unaccounted for extras when it comes to settling the fee.
Your engineer will know what to look for when they come in to complete the service on your boiler, but if there’s anything, in particular, you want to check, make sure you let them know before they get started.
As standard, make sure that your engineer checks all of the parts inside your boiler, check that there are no leaks and that the boiler pressure is normal.
Then, at the end of the servicing, ask for your Gas Safety Certificate. To make sure it’s genuine, the certificate will need the engineer’s name, company, company address, and Gas Safe number displayed on it.
It should detail any problems or issues that came up during the inspection, including the result of the flue test. Your engineer must make you aware in writing and verbally of any safety concerns they have, and they must also make a note of any other gas appliances they looked over on their visit.
Final Checklist
Even if there’s nothing wrong with your boiler right now, it’s best to have a service plan in place in the event you need a repair. It’ll save you money, and it’ll save you the stress and hassle of having to organise something last-minute which could end up being more than double the price of an annual servicing plan.
Here’s our final checklist to make sure everything is taken care of when it comes to boiler servicing:
- Decide which plan is best for you – do you have an older property? Then an annual service plan might be best to keep any pesky breakdowns at bay. If you have a newer property or a brand-new boiler, then perhaps a one-off fee would be best as you’re less likely to need new parts
- Choose a Gas Safe Registered engineer using HouseholdQuotes to help save up to 40% off your final bill
- Find out if you’re eligible for any money-back schemes, such as the Warm Home Discount Scheme, Cold Weather
- Payment or Winter Fuel Payment
- Ask for your Gas Safety Certificate at the end of your service to ensure you can validate your home insurance, tenancy policy or manufacturer’s guarantee.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why Should I Bother Getting a Boiler Service?
At the top of the list is safety. Two dozen people a year in the UK die from carbon monoxide poisoning, and the gas boiler is always to blame.
Secondly, a faulty or inefficient boiler will push up your utility bill, meaning you might be paying hundreds of pounds more a year than you should be. For the cost of servicing, it becomes cost-neutral to rectify this if it’s been happening without you knowing.
Then, the nitty-gritty – if you’ve had your boiler installed within the last ten years, most manufacturer warranties now make it a condition of providing a repair service that you have your boiler serviced every year. And, if you have boilers installed in your rental properties, it’s now law for you to provide a Gas Safety Certificate to your tenants every year.
Can I Service My Own Boiler?
At the very least, you risk invalidating the manufacturer’s guarantee.
When it comes to boilers and other gas appliances, it’s best to be safe and hire a professional to do the work for you.
Can the Cost Of a Boiler Repair Be Covered By My Home Insurance?
If you’re not sure whether to choose a one-off boiler service every twelve months or to opt for a boiler service plan, make sure you check your home insurance policy to see if you’re covered for boiler repairs. If you have both a boiler servicing plan and a home insurance policy that pays for a boiler repair, you may end up paying hundreds of pounds a year more than you need to keep your boiler covered.
Can I Get Any Financial Assistance With the Cost Of Boiler Servicing?
You can call up the Energy Saving Trust in England and Wales on 0300 123 1234. There are equivalent schemes in Scotland on 080 808 2282, and in Northern Ireland.
The Government provides help through the Warm Home Discount Scheme. You can also choose to allocate some, or all, of your Cold Weather Payment or Winter Fuel Payment to boiler servicing, too.