Lockdown turns up heat on household gas boilers
THE PANDEMIC has put the nation’s heating systems under added pressure, with a third of homeowners having to repair their gas boilers over the last year.
Boilers are more likely to blow as people spend long days locked down and working from home, while this winter’s recent cold snap did not help.
A quarter of households have had the same boiler for at least 10 years and are paying the price.
Home emergency call-outs jumped by a quarter in the last year, costing more than £200 a time, while ageing, inefficient boilers add £183 to the average energy bill.
They are also bad for the planet, spewing out 8,700kg of additional carbon emissions, according to new research from home insurer More Than.
It urged households to consider greener alternatives such as electric, solar water heating or an air source heat pump.
More Than home claims director Andrew Moore said homeowners are more concerned about their heating system’s environmental impact, with three in five taking action to reduce energy usage.
A new boiler typically costs around £2,595, according to Which?, depending on the type, brand and model.
There is still time to claim the Government’s Green Homes Grant voucher worth up to £5,000 towards energy-efficient home improvements, Moore said.
With just over a year left to claim the voucher, More Than found that two in five homeowners have never heard of the scheme and, of those that had, almost a third did not understand it.