British Gas dominates the gas supply and central heating market in the U.K., but is that a good, or a bad thing?

Often, personal experience provides the best judge as to whether you can trust a huge company like British Gas and one particularly bad experience sticks in my mind.

I used to own a property in a small town which was in fact two terraced houses, which had fell into disrepair, and had then been refurbished to a reasonable standard. The house was spread over four floors, cellar, downstairs, upstairs and attic. In the end, after various stages of the refurbishment spread over a number of years, the central hearing system was running heat into 20 radiators in 18 rooms.

Such was the size of the property, that during the initial refurbishment, the plumbers who installed the new central heating system had recommended an industrial boiler to provide enough hot water for the water supply and for the central heating. So, they installed a small industrial gas unit; the type of boiler that might run a small office: sitting on the floor, it was about a foot-and-half square and three feet tall. It was a simple unit, with simple controls and worked as a conventional boiler, i.e. when switched on, it provided tonnes of water for the heating system and water cylinder.

When it was installed, global warming was a concept that had yet to be invented and fuel energy costs did not match the gold price.

For the first decade it sat happily heating away, oblivious to the failing environment and the impending gas market price fluctuations. And as the heating system was quite complex – three separate pipe runs serving three different floors, three thermostats and 20 radiators, a British Gas service plan was entered into to provide some security. Every month some forty odd pounds was paid over to British Gas in return for a comprehensive service agreement.

Now, British Gas turned out to be reasonable suppliers. They turned up once a year to service the boiler and the odd bang and moan in the piping system. The only problem was when calling their service line. As our account was held by the British Gas Industrial Division (by virtue of the amount of gas we were consuming), and not British Gas Consumer Division, they couldn’t believe that a house could have an industrial sized boiler and we had to explain the situation for the umpteenth time.

But, eventually an engineer would turn up and complete the service, declare the system fit, maybe replace the pilot light gas feed supply pipe (which went every few months) and also maybe fit a new set of burners.

Everyone was happy, until the time when we noticed the water was heating up to such a point that you could easily be scalded by the hot water. We hadn’t noticed at first, because the main benefit with such a large boiler was lashings of hot water, on demand.

But, things were now getting silly, and if we wanted to avoid a trip to the burns unit, then action had to be taken.

In came an engineer and after some time understanding the system (we never saw the same engineer twice), he declared there was a problem with silt in the system. And not just a bit of silt, but a lot of silt. So much silt that the system was in danger of jamming up, or blowing up. And what was worse, a small header in the attic – which acted as a back-up in case the cold water system flow ran dry and the boiler turned on, had no water to heat and exploded – was literally boiling, creating steam that had damaged the roof joists with condensation.

Now, bear in mind that this happened about ten years into the British Gas Service contract.

I had a simple argument. British Gas had for years been paid handsomely to service the system and was thus responsible for any fault, and was certainly culpable when it came to the roof joists. The problem of silt should have been picked up in the regular services. British Gas, first in writing and then via a personal visit from an area manager, disagreed, saying that a build up of silt was not covered by the service agreement.

The manager was not impressed with my analogy to car servicing. If I got my car serviced and was told it was road-worthy, and then went out and the brakes failed and I crashed, then that garage was at fault. British Gas had declared my boiler roadworthy and therefore should stand by that sign-off. And how could I, a mere user of the boiler, be able to detect silt in the system?

They counter claimed that because there had been so many additions to the system – new piping, new radiators etc – that silt must have been introduced during those times and British Gas had not been informed of the alterations.

An impasse was quickly reached. I was not prepared to pay them to do the necessary remedial work and they were not prepared to do it for free. After more heated arguments, examination of the service contract fine print and the threatened use of lawyers, a compromise was reached: the costs would be split half and half.

So, British Gas brought in their mega-powerful flush machine called the Octopus and for one whole day, engineers completely flushed the system and banished the silt. And as it turned out, the roof joints suffered no permanent damage.

But it taught me a few serious lessons. Firstly, examine the fine print of the service contract before you sign it. Secondly, ensure that the engineer servicing your system is fully aware of any problems, that he completes all the checks as stipulated and that he’s also aware of any modifications made by another party, say your local plumber. Put these in writing. Thirdly, bear in mind that your gas supplier can be a fair weather friend. When things are going well, you’re a valued customer; when things are going not too well, you’re a nuisance.

So, remember, don’t take anything for granted when it come to the major gas suppliers and their promises.

But as to whether British Gas is a beauty, or a beast, I would go as far as to say that on the whole, although they may not be a blemish free beauty, they are certainly not a beast. Lets say somewhere in between!

Guest Article by Neil Camp

After much deliberation about which heating system to install in your house, you finally decide to go with a gas boiler. You have probably investigated various options and decided that gas would be the most economical because the gas itself is clean, cheap to buy and the perfect choice for getting you through those cold winter nights. Aside from the effectiveness of running a modern, high efficiency gas boiler, there were probably many more important factors to be considered before making your gas boiler purchasing decision.

One important factor, and probably the main reason why you would decide on a gas boiler, is the fact that the unit itself is so cost-effective. Coal fired boilers, for example, are significantly more expensive to run, can be dirty to handle and need storage for fuel reserves. There are also the environmental hazards to consider. Burning up any fossil fuel can have a negative impact on the world around us and contribute to global warming and coal can be one of the worst offenders. With gas you can be green and eco-friendly. At least there are a number of highly efficient options available and it won’t leave a serious dent in your pocket or have major adverse effects on the environment.

Some gas boilers are more difficult to integrate into a heating system than others, so you probably considered how easy it will be to install from the outset. If you are replacing an old boiler then it should be fairly simple and straightforward. However, any new unit must be compatible with your existing system and be capable of producing the appropriate amount of heat. You therefore probably thought it would be a good idea to get your house professionally assessed and the boiler output properly calculated to avoid any expensive mistakes. Gas boilers need to be fitted professionally and maintained correctly to meet government regulations so you will have researched and found a reliable CORGI registered fitter.

Your location, type of accommodation, availability of services and space will have been factors in determining the best spot to fit your gas boiler, either inside or outside your home. The size of the boiler can also play a part here, as well as the need for floor standing, wall mounted or compact models. And, of course, it goes without saying that you will have checked to make sure your home has a ready supply of gas! There are still a few unfortunate remote rural locations in the UK that have no prospect of connecting to the gas mains.

If you were diligent enough to keep all these factors in mind you will be well on your way to a warm and happy winter. If you still haven’t decided, you can find out more about selecting a gas boiler by visiting our boiler section where you can read detailed reviews of all the best gas boilers in the market. You can also get advice on buying and maintaining an efficient heating system as well as hints and tips on saving money and saving the environment.

 Guest Article by Max Rickman