Preventative boiler maintenance can prolong the life of your boiler and keep it working more efficiently. But when it comes to your energy bill, how does preventative maintenance affect the average home or business owner?
Preventative maintenance should, by definition, prevent major repair work on your appliances and home systems, saving you money in the long term.
When you adopt a preventative maintenance schedule for your boiler, you will be proactive and, hopefully, prevent significant expenses. And through continual tune-ups, your boiler will run more efficiently, provide stronger heat, and require fewer repairs.
Understandably, property owners are skeptical about this advice—after all, it just seems to be another expense to add to the ever-growing list of things to do.
We all want to keep money in our wallets, and it makes sense to be dubious about the effectiveness of preventative maintenance.
But the reality is that a boiler needs regular service to get the maximum output from it. Read on to see how preventative boiler maintenance can save you money.
What is Preventative Maintenance
Preventative maintenance is routine maintenance regularly performed that reduces the probability of breakdown.
Mechanical elements make up your boiler equipment and these elements can fail at some point.
By routinely checking on those elements, cleaning them, flushing the components, and more, you will reduce the chance of the boiler failing to start or providing less heat throughout its lifespan.
Your boiler requires regular service from a boiler technician.
Still, a few things a building owner can do to help extend the unit's life.
Luckily, simple cleaning, repairs, and mechanical inspections on any boiler can make the building or home more energy-efficient.
Preventative maintenance calendars are a great way to stay on top of your cleaning schedule.
To start, create a maintenance program that will allow you to schedule and document regular preventative maintenance activities.
Create a notebook or binder that outlines your maintenance schedule and maintenance plan's steps and how often.
Suppose you are the only person in your building that completes maintenance. In that case, a maintenance calendar will provide a clear breakdown of the maintenance done to the boiler over time.
What Type of Boiler Do You Have?
It is also essential to understand the type of boiler in your home or building because your maintenance program should be specific to the machine.
A boiler technician will tell you what kind of boiler works best for your climate and your building's size and suggest a boiler that will help you save money in the long run.
There is a good chance that your boiler is one of the following three most popular types:
Oil Boiler: This option is the most expensive. Buildings with very little access to natural gas frequently use oil boilers. Instead of natural gas, oil boilers use oil to make the hot water that heats a building.
Condensing boiler: Condensing boilers are the most environmentally friendly type of boiler as they are energy-efficient. A heat exchanger heats the water and a second chamber cycle it back into the system after going through the piping. Your boiler ends up using less fuel and energy to heat as a result. Switching to a condensing boiler will require a new drainpipe so that the condensation water can be drained away from the boiler unit.
Biomass Boiler: Biomass boilers use wood pellets, logs, or wood chips to heat water. Like an oil heater, a biomass boiler works for homes that do not have a gas connection. A biomass boiler requires a chimney or flume.
Your Preventative Maintenance Checklist
You should have an individual preventative maintenance program for each building’s boiler.
We have created a comprehensive checklist that you can use in your regular boiler maintenance practice to save you on your energy bills:
Clean around your boiler and radiators
You will not need to call a technician to complete this task. Remove any clutter that impedes ventilation from around your radiators. A clutter-free space around your radiators will put less pressure on your boiler and will help your boiler efficiently heat your building.
Check the boiler pressure
Ensure that your boiler pressure's arrow is pointing to green. Perform this check every two months or so. Your boiler must maintain an optimum pressure level to work correctly.
If the pressure is not high enough, the boiler will have to work hard to push the radiators' heat. Any force that is too high can cause damage or disaster.
Powerflush
A tell-tale sign that your boiler requires a power flush is that it is noisier than usual. You may need a water softener to reduce the amount of debris and rust build-up.
A power flush cleans your radiators of debris and rust from within the system.
You will need to have a boiler technician complete the power flush because it requires chemicals to clean the system.
Bleed the radiators
Your boiler radiators should not be holding excess air. And since the radiators are integral to the boiler heating system, you need to regularly bleed your radiators so that they are running efficiently.
Check your carbon monoxide detectors
It would help if you had a carbon monoxide detector close to your boiler. Suppose your boiler is not working and produces carbon monoxide. In that case, it can prove disastrous to the health of everyone in your building.
Prevent Boiler Issues and Save Money
Your boiler is an integral part of your building as it gives you comfort in the colder months.
New York temperatures can plummet during the winter, and your boiler gets a workout.
Your boiler should last between ten and fifteen years, and preventative maintenance will ensure that it does not require unnecessary repairs.
A boiler maintenance schedule will help you stay on top of your boiler repairs.
Assuming you have a building manager, or you have hired heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) professional to complete the maintenance for you, you will be able to verify the recorded checks on your boiler.
Rationale
You will want to complete your maintenance items annually, monthly, weekly, and daily, as required.
Enlist the help of a professional to help keep your boiler running efficiently.
Take Away: You will save money on your energy bills when your boiler is working correctly.
Ragno Boiler
523 Bruckner Blvd
Bronx, NY
10455
(718) 861-4895
http://www.ragnoboiler.com/
Want to talk to a professional boiler company about repair or maintaining your boiler Contact Ragno Boiler to get a head start on your boiler's preventative maintenance.
コメント