# Servicing Your Boiler

Who should I get to service my boiler? As with all heating appliances, your boiler should be serviced on a regular basis to ensure that it is operating efficiently and safely. The service should be carried out by a qualified and experienced service technician / service engineer. More information regarding boiler service providers and service contractors can be found on the following websites:
 Natural Gas fired boilers  LPG fired boilers  Oil fired boilers 

### What should I expect when a service engineer arrives? When carried out by a competent technician, a boiler service should entail little disruption to your routine. A typical service should take around an hour and leave you with a safe and efficiently operating appliance. A service engineer will perform a number of tests on the boiler during a service. This will depend in part on the fuel and boiler. While there is no set standard or regulation specifying what constitutes a boiler service at this time, we have prepared checklists of the type of work that the Service Technician should carry out during the course of a typical service. These checklists can be downloaded in PDF format below:
 Gas Boiler Servicing Checklist.pdf (size 36.5 KB)  Oil Boiler Servicing Checklist.pdf (size 40.3 KB) 

### Why should I service my Boiler? An annual boiler safety check and boiler service, carried out by a professional service engineer ensures that your boiler is functioning properly. Regular servicing of your boiler is important as it ensures that the boiler is working to the specifications designed by the boiler manufacturer. This will help prolong the life of the boiler as well as reduce the risk of faults and expensive repairs down the line. The efficiency of boilers, both oil and gas fired, deteriorates with use. There are several reasons for this, the key ones being:
 Soot production from the combustion process coats the heat exchanger surfaces.  The critical air-to-fuel combustion ratio changes due to gradual component wear.A boiler service will remove any sooting and, by adjustment, will re

combustion conditions. But while optimising operating efficiency is paramount in these days of rising fuel costs, there are other important benefits in having your b

 By checking the safety controls, early failures can be detected and rectified in good time.  A variety of operational systems and components will be checked including: - Gas/Oil leaks - Boiler start-up performance

- Noises that give an early warning signal of pending component failures. Just like cars, boilers can operate for many years without servicing but generally with fuel consumption penalties, undermined reliability and even safety implications. 

### Is there really a benefit to servicing my boiler? Because of the difference between individual installations, it is difficult to predict what saving servicing will bring for a p articular house. The following chart is conservative and gives the increase in fuel costs each year that the boiler is not serviced.

For example, servicing a kerosene bo about an immediate fuel reduction of some 5%. A boiler service will remove any sooting and, by adjustment, will re

- establish the optimum combustion conditions. But while optimising operating efficiency is paramount in these days of rising fuel costs, there are other important benefits in having your b oiler serviced: By checking the safety controls, early failures can be detected and rectified in good time. A variety of operational systems and components will be checked including:
Noises that give an early warning signal of pending component failures. Just like cars, boilers can operate for many years without servicing but generally with fuel consumption penalties, undermined reliability and even safety implications. 

### Is there really a benefit to servicing my boiler? Because of the difference between individual installations, it is difficult to predict what saving articular house. The following chart is conservative and gives the increase in fuel costs each year that the boiler

For example, servicing a kerosene boiler, which has not been serviced for 3 years, will bring about an immediate fuel reduction of some 5%. establish the optimum combustion conditions. But while optimising operating efficiency is paramount in these days of oiler serviced: By checking the safety controls, early failures can be detected and rectified in good time.

Just like cars, boilers can operate for many years without servicing but generally with fuel

Because of the difference between individual installations, it is difficult to predict what saving The following chart is conservative and gives the increase in fuel costs each year that the boiler

iler, which has not been serviced for 3 years, will bring

### How often should I service my boiler?

Most boiler manufacturers recommend an annual service, primarily on the grounds of safety but also to ensure reliability. On efficiency grounds it is well worth servicing oil boilers annually because the soot build-up is such as to significantly increase oil consumption. With gas, while soot build-up is not so much a problem because of its clean burning characteristics, an annual service would still be recommended. 

### Who should I get to service my boiler? As with all heating appliances, your boiler should be serviced on a regular basis to ensure that it is operating efficiently and safely. The service should be carried out by a qualified and experienced service technician / service engineer. More information regarding boiler service providers and service contractors can be found below: Fuel Type Oil Natural Gas LPG Contact OFTEC Register of Gas Installers of Ireland Irish Liquid Petroleum Gas Association (ILPGA) Phone 01 8645771 1850 632 632 01 450 5000 / 041 9831 041 Website www.oftec.org www.rgii.ie www.ilpga.ie/members