As the temperature rises outside, turn off the central heating; but don’t forget your summer service!
As central heating systems all over the country are switched off as the weather finally warms up, OFTEC is encouraging oil users to use the opportunity wisely and have their boilers serviced in the summer months.
People tend to forget about their boilers until the cold kicks in during autumn, but OFTEC, the leading representative for oil heating and cooking in the UK and Ireland, wants to inform consumers about the many advantages of getting a registered technician to service a boiler before winter arrives.
Director General of OFTEC, Jeremy Hawksley says, “Summer can be a very economical time for people to get their boiler serviced as labour and sometimes oil tends to be cheaper and engineers have more time available. Ideally people should be having their boiler serviced once a year during the summer months to make sure that it is in good working order and works to optimum efficiency throughout the winter. The last thing that anyone wants is for the cold weather to arrive once again and find that their boiler has stopped working and to have to address the issue then.”
“It is important that people use a qualified installer to service their boiler as unqualified work can potentially cause fault. OFTEC has over 9,500 registered business and technician members throughout the UK and Ireland who have proved that they have the skills to ensure safe and effective installation.”
Any work carried out on oil heating systems or appliances, except for routine service and maintenance, must be notified to Local Authority Building Control (LABC). The Department for Communities and Local Government (DCLG) maintains a list of ‘Competent Persons’ schemes for England and Wales. These schemes were introduced to allow individuals and enterprises to self-certify that their work complies with the building regulations as an alternative to submitting a building notice or using an approved inspector, which can be costly and time consuming.
OFTEC operates a Competent Persons Scheme and has a list of its members on its website at www.oftec.org OFTEC registered technicians can self certify and approve their own work on oil installations without involving LABC. By going through OFTEC to find a tradesperson, you can rest assured that your heating and plumbing engineer will be competent. After any work is carried out, you should always receive a certificate stating that the work done meets legal requirements and complies with current building regulations.