Gas boilers are ticking time bombs! Electric boilers are a much safer way of heating your home, here’s why.
There are loads of reasons to use electric boilers over gas (not least of which is the fact that gas boilers are slowly being phased out entirely). One that is often forgotten is just how much safer the electric models are.
The key reason for this is the fact that electric boilers simply don’t use gas. Instead, they run entirely on mains electricity. This leads to three key key improvements.
1) No Carbon Monoxide Risk
Electric boilers don’t produce any toxic gases because they don’t burn any fuel on site. Both oil and gas boilers produce carbon monoxide gas, with this becoming more of a problem as the boiler ages. This is why gas boilers need a flue, this allows the fumes to be safely gotten rid of.
Carbon monoxide is particularly dangerous because it’s colourless and odourless, so the only way to detect that it’s present in your home is with a carbon monoxide alarm. This needs to be frequently tested to ensure safety.
Getting exposed to carbon monoxide leads to a lot of health problems, from confusion, to shortness of breath, to nausea. If the problem isn’t fixed, it can even lead to death.
These leaks are rarer in modern boilers, but it’s still an important consideration that you’ll always need to be aware of when you have a combustion boiler. Electric boilers will never cause you this problem.
This also means you won’t need to install a flue, as you don’t need a method of expelling waste from your living space. This makes them a great choice for more compact spaces as they won’t take up as much room.
2) Combustion Free
The key perk of not burning fuel on site is the lack of carbon monoxide. There are a few other perks too.
Burning fuel, as a combustion boiler does, leads to numerous safety concerns, with high pressure steam and explosion risks being a factor to consider.
With oil boilers in particular, you’ll need to find a way to safely store that oil on site. The most common solution is a cumbersome oil tank, which is yet another safety concern. These tanks need to be kept well away from combustibles (which makes outdoor fires a bit trickier) and well maintained to reduce the risk of spills.
3) Low Maintenance
Electric boilers produce heat in a much more direct way, with fewer steps between the boiler receiving energy and it producing usable heat that you can feel. This means they’re under a lot less strain compared to combustion boilers, and they have fewer parts that can break.
Most of the above safety concerns mentioned above come to a head when your boiler isn’t properly maintained. Combustion boilers are a bit infamous for suddenly failing when you need them most for this reason.
An electric boiler will still need annual servicing, but they’re much less likely to suddenly fail on you. They also have longer lifespans, as they’re expected to last between 15-25 years. A gas boiler will be closer to 10-15 years.
If you’d like to know more about electric boilers, just give us a call on 0116 436 2250, or send us an email to sales@mirrorstone.co.uk and we’ll be happy to speak to you.
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