August 9, 2018 in Uncategorized

New Gas Boiler Needed?

Buying a new boiler tends to be a decision that most people need to make in a hurry. Usually, your old boiler has broken down, it’s the depths of winter and you need to get your hot water and central heating restored to its former working glory.  Unfortunately, buying a new boiler and getting it installed can be a bit of a minefield of big decisions. Choose an unreliable boiler or make the wrong decision about part of the installation, and it’s a mistake you and your bank balance will later regret.

What to ask the heating engineer to get the best boiler installation When you talk to the heating engineer about your hot water needs, we think a good installer will mention some or all of the following for you to consider. If they don’t come up in conversation, ask about them.  A good installer will be able to give you a full understanding of the benefits of each extra and advise whether they are necessary. Not all these extras will be necessary for many installations.  The cost, which will vary by property, will need to be weighed up against the benefit of having each of them done. However, extras such as a system flush and a water filter are likely to be good for the ongoing health of your boiler and prolong its lifespan.

Choosing the right company to install your gas boiler is probably the biggest part of any decision. Some installers are tied down to one boiler manufacture and may not offer you the best advise, quoting for a boiler that’s not suited for your properly or your needs. We believe at Gas Safe you should get at least 3 quotes and take advise from different companies before researching boiler manufactures and the companies you are considering to install the boiler. Google, Trusted trader, Facebook and many more companies record reviews from previous customers. This is a good way of eliminating the odd rouge trader and unreliable gas fitter. Here at gas safe we are Worcester and Vaillant accredited, this means we can offer the extended warranties on any of their boilers. We are also able to fit cheaper boilers so can cater  for all budgets. Our review ratings are all excellent and second to none in the Bristol area.

August 9, 2018 in Uncategorized

Landlord Safety Testing

As a landlord you should be aware that you are responsible for the safety of your tenants. Your legal duties apply to a wide range of accommodation occupied under a lease or licence, including (but not limited to):

• Residential premises provided for rent by local authorities, housing associations, private sector landlords, co-operatives, hostels.
  
• Rooms, let in bed-sit accommodation, private households, bed and breakfast accommodation and hotels.
• Rented holiday accommodation such as chalets, cottages, flats, caravans and narrow boats on inland waterways.

The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 outline the duties of landlords to ensure gas appliances, fittings and chimneys/flues provided for tenants are safe.

Your responsibilities

If you let a property equipped with gas appliances, you have three main responsibilities under UK law:

1. Maintenance: gas pipework, appliances and chimney/flues need to be maintained in a safe condition. Gas appliances should be serviced in accordance with the frequency given in the manufacturer’s instructions. If these are not available, annual servicing is recommended unless advised otherwise by a Gas Safe registered engineer. Any gas appliances owned by tenants are not the landlord’s responsibility, however the connecting pipework and flue (if not solely connected to the tenant’s appliance) remains the responsibility of the landlord to maintain.
2. Gas safety checks: gas appliances and flues must be safety checked annually by a qualified Gas Safe registered engineer. New regulations introduced in April 2018 allow a landlord to arrange for a gas safety check to be carried out any time from 10-12 calendar months after the previous check whilst still preserving the original check expiry date. Where a gas safety check is carried out less than 10 months or more than 12 months after the previous gas safety check this will have the effect of ‘resetting the clock’ and the new deadline date will now be 12 months from the date of this latest gas safety check. Landlords are not responsible for safety checks on gas appliances owned by the tenant or any flues that solely connects to tenants own gas appliances.
3. Record: a record of the annual gas safety check should be provided to your existing tenants within 28 days of completion, or to new tenants upon the start of their tenancy. If the rental period is less than 28 days at a time you may display a copy of the record in a prominent position within the dwelling. You’ll need to keep copies of the record for at least 2 years. If you have benefited from the new regulations allowing flexibility in timing of gas safety checks, records must be kept until two further gas safety checks have been carried out.
   

Additional info: It’s a good idea to ensure that your tenants know where/how to turn the gas off and what to do in the event of a gas emergency. Last, but certainly not least, make sure anyone carrying out gas work on your property is Gas Safe registered and qualified to work on the type of gas and appliances provided – this is not only the law, but the most important step to ensuring the safety of your tenants.

Any issues?

Some landlord/tenant relationships can become problematic. The tenancy agreement should allow access for any maintenance or safety check work that needs to be carried out. However, if your tenant refuses to give you access to the property you must show that you’ve taken all ‘reasonable steps’ to comply with the law – such as repeating attempts to carry out the safety check and writing to the tenant explaining that a safety check is a legal requirement that is in place for their own safety. Be sure to keep a record of any action taken as you may need this at a later date. The Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations do not give powers to ‘force disconnection’ of the gas supply in these circumstances and you may need to seek legal advice.

Short term lets

If you let a property for a short period of time (e.g. a holiday home for a week) you still have gas safety duties as a landlord. 

August 9, 2018 in Uncategorized

Why do we use thermostatic radiator valves

What are thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs)?

Thermostatic radiator valves are commonly referred to as TRVs and are used to control the air temperature of different rooms – you will normally find them on the side of your radiators.

TRVs are just one of a number of heating controls, which allow homeowners to heat their homes more efficiently. If set up correctly, they allow you to have different heating zones throughout the house, despite only one centralised boiler providing the heat.

How does a TRV work?

The TRV is a self-regulating valve that works by changing the flow of hot water into a radiator. It consists of two parts, the valve head and the valve body, with the head sitting atop the body. When the room temperature changes, a capsule in the valve head contracts or expands, which moves a pin in the valve body causing it either to open or close.

If it gets too warm in the room, expansion of the capsule will cause the pin to close the valve – slowing the movement of hot water into the radiator. Likewise, if the room drops in temperature, contraction of the capsule in the valve head pulls the pin out, allowing hot water to enter the radiator once more.

There tends to be two materials used in the TRV capsules – wax or liquid. On the whole, liquid models are generally considered to be better and their price reflects this. One of their advantages is their responsiveness to changes in temperature – while the wax one is relatively slow to expand or contract, the liquid capsule will change the flow of water into the radiator far more quickly.

Costs of TRVs

A TRV will cost you about £10 – 30 each. The Drayton TRV4 for example, which is a liquid capsule TRV and is considered one of the best costs £20 from Screwfix. Installation cost will very depending the system. A full drain down is usually needed and can take some time. Inhibitor is then needed when filling the system back up.

Where not to use a TRV

There are two places that you really shouldn’t install TRVs on the radiators – the first is in bathrooms. This is because the heat produced by the bath/shower will cause the TRV to shut off (it will cause the capsule to expand), just when you need the heat from the radiator to fight off condensation.

We also don’t advise installing a TRV in the same room as your main heating thermostat. The main thermostat will link directly to the boiler, firing it up or turning it down, so by having a TRV in that room they will fight for control – if the TRV wins, the heating in your house will go off!

Newer electronic TRVs

Nowadays you can take zonal heating control a step further with electronic TRVs (for example Honeywell’s Evohome system). These electronic TRVs use batteries and electronic thermostats to constantly monitor the temperature of the room and move the pin up and down accordingly.

They can also be used with the other heating control components to create an intelligent heating system like the Heat Genius system. This obviously adds significant cost to the system, but allows you to accurately monitor and control the temperature of individual rooms in the home all from the touch of the button on your tablet computer or phone.

Are TRVs a good idea?

In properties with a decent number of different rooms, then TRVs are definitely worth considering, especially if there are rooms that are unused and therefore not worth heating in the first instance.

They can produce decent energy savings especially when part of an intelligent heating system.

It is important to maintain them though; many clients we see have non-functioning TRVs.

It is important to ensure that the valve head vents don’t get clogged by dust and other objects since this can obstruct air hitting the liquid or wax capsules that control how the TRV functions. It is also worth checking once a year that the pin in the valve body is still moving freely (these sometimes get stuck).

To do this, unscrew the valve head off the body – this should reveal the pin that moves up and down controlling the flow of water into the radiator. A spring should hold the pin fully extended above the valve – if the pin doesn’t move when you push it, you may need to replace the whole valve assembly.