If you have a broken boiler, or your boiler is very old and inefficient and you are in the market for a new one, then why not look into boiler installation? There are a lot of companies that offer boiler installation right now, and you don’t need to spend a fortune on it.
In fact, there are some government support options available that will give you a boiler for free if you are on a low income and your old boiler is not energy efficient.
In addition to offers to get a free boiler via the Energy Company Obligations scheme, there are some businesses that are offering boiler leasing, or free boilers under specific circumstances. For example, there is one new, innovative boiler called the Flow Boiler. This product costs more than £3,000 – which is more than three times the average cost of a standard gas boiler. The boiler has small turbines inside it, which generate electricity using the waste gases from the heating process.
If you were in a financial position where you could afford to pay for the boiler outright, then you would save money on your energy bills, or get a rebate on them by sending that energy to the grid on a feed-in tariff. If you can’t afford to pay for the boiler outright, then you could sign up for it via Flow Energy – and they will then give you the boiler ‘for free’ if you sign a five year contract with them, where they take the feed in energy.
British Gas advertises free boilers under the ECO scheme, and they offer affordable finance options for people who do not qualify.
If those schemes don’t appeal, then take some time to shop around. Don’t limit yourself to just the biggest energy companies. You may be able to get a refurbished boiler installed by a local tradesman for an affordable price. Just make sure that they are qualified – because gas safety is no joke. You don’t want to end up in a position where your boiler is unsafe and a gas leak puts not just your safety but the safety or your neighbours and family at risk.
Try not to take out a loan for a boiler. This is an expensive option and it is something that will put you in a financial hole because of the interest that will be charged on the loan. If your credit rating is good enough and you are buying a relatively modest boiler, you might be able to put it on credit card and then transfer it to a zero percent balance transfer one – but this is a convoluted option. Look at other options provided by energy companies first. Right now, there is a lot of emphasis on the idea of getting people to buy green and energy efficient boilers and other updates for their home, so you could well find a great deal from an unexpected source such as your current energy provider.