Can Regular Gas Servicing Lower Your Business Energy Bills?

Energy bills constitute a major portion of the overall business expenses. The cost of electricity and gas has registered a considerable rise in the recent past and is still showing an upward trend. Businesses in the UK are facing a consistent challenge to curb this trend. 

Apparently, it seems that businesses don't have control over the price hike of electricity, gas, or other energy sources. That's true but even then, there is still a lot of room to curtail the expenses in this head of account. Experts suggest that energy bills can be reduced by 30% just by following a vigilantly planned gas servicing strategy. While the cost of the gas is beyond your control, the efficient consumption is still in your hands. The energy bill can be drastically reduced by enhancing the energy efficiency of businesses. Regular and well-planned gas servicing can play a significant role in lowering the energy bill of businesses. 

Understanding Gas Servicing

Gas servicing is a complete package, aimed at maintaining the safety and efficiency of gas appliances. Additionally, it also ensures compliance with regulatory obligations per the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Compliance with the Gas Safety Regulations ensures the safety of people and property. On the other hand, regular maintenance and servicing of the gas appliances enhances their efficiency, which not only ensures their optimal performance but also increases their useful life. All such maintenance and servicing of gas appliances must be done by a Gas Safe registered engineer.

Regular gas servicing typically includes the following:

• Visual and Physical Inspection of Gas Appliances and Fittings

Apparently looks like a simple task, but visual and physical inspection of gas appliances and allied pipework is critical. The Gas Safe registered engineer typically starts their work by inspecting the gas appliances and fittings to assess their physical condition. Over time, these appliances, especially the pipework, tend to deteriorate. The engineer will inspect the entire gas system, including boilers, cookers, hobs, and heaters, to check the following:

• Whether the appliances are correctly installed according to safety standards.
• Sufficient ventilation is available or not. Insufficient or poor ventilation may lead to the accumulation of harmful gases such as carbon monoxide.
• Any signs of deterioration, physical damage or corrosion, and rust in gas appliances, especially the boilers and allied fittings. 
• Is there any leakage from the boiler?

If any such disorder is detected, the engineer will fix it, on the spot. They might suggest the replacement of any irreparable or severely damaged part, which should be done immediately. 

• Checking of Gas Flow and Pressure

The gas appliances work at their best when gas is supplied with the correct pressure and flow rate. Any fluctuation in gas pressure or flow rate may result in malfunctioning of the appliances. It may also pose serious safety and health issues. Usually, gas pressure should be 20 to 25 mbar (millibars). Usually, the incorrect gas pressure is due to a faulty gas regulator. The gas safe registered engineer must check this critical aspect carefully to ensure that the appliances are receiving the correct gas pressure. 

• Combustion Analysis – Flue Gas Analysis

A Flue gas test is conducted by a Gas Safe registered engineer during gas servicing, using a Flue Gas Analyzer. This test enables engineers to check the levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, and oxygen in the environment around gas appliances. A higher level of carbon monoxide is a serious health hazard. It happens due to the incomplete burning of gas. Incorrect levels of carbon dioxide and oxygen may lead to inefficient burning of fuel. 

The gas safe registered engineer needs to check these levels. In the case of the detection of any fault, they should resolve the issue immediately. 

• Inspection of Safety Mechanism

The gas safe registered engineer will also check the safety mechanism of the gas system. It includes:

• Gas flow safety valves to check their performance, whether they shut off the gas supply when required, especially in the case of an emergency
• Pressure Relief Valves. These are meant to release the extra pressure. Check for their correct performance. 
• Thermostats are meant to auto on/off the gas supply. These are installed in different gas appliances to control their performance. The engineer needs to test their efficiency.
• The pilot light is associated with the thermostats and is meant to ignite the gas when required by the appliances. Normally, it should reflect a blue flame. A yellow flame is an indication of an error in the system, which should be fixed immediately. 

• Cleaning of Various Critical Parts 

With the passage of time and consistent usage, some critical parts of the gas appliances tend to accumulate dirt, dust, debris, and carbon spots. Any such development reduces the efficiency of that appliance. During the regular gas servicing, the gas safe registered engineer will check the following parts for any such happening: 

• Burners
• Heat Exchangers
• Fans
• Filters
• Condensate Trap in Boilers

The engineer should clean these parts of all sorts of dirt and debris to ensure optimal performance of these gas appliances. 

• Inspection of Boilers 

Inspection of boilers is the most critical part of regular gas servicing. Special attention needs to be given to boilers during the gas servicing. The engineer needs to check the boilers for any leakage, rust, or damaged parts. In the case of a commercial boiler, the engineer will also perform the following tests:

• Inspection of Expansion Vessel
• Testing Pump Operations
• Testing of system controls, such as timers and thermostats

• Annual Gas Safety Inspection

It is a legal requirement for all landlords to conduct an annual gas safety inspection on all gas appliances installed in their rented property. This is also a prerequisite to getting a valid gas safety certificate. It is a legal requirement under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. It includes a comprehensive inspection of the entire gas system and typically involves all the above-mentioned steps. 

Important

• The engineer must provide you a documentary proof of having conducted gas servicing. This document must include the details of the inspection and faults detected and removed.
• In the case of an annual gas safety inspection, the engineer will provide you the gas safety check record (CP 12), in the form of a gas safety certificate.
• Keep these documents in safe custody for any future reference. 

Frequency of Gas Servicing

• Annual Gas Servicing: This is the minimum requirement for gas servicing. It is also a legal responsibility of the landlords under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998. Hence, it cannot be skipped in any case; otherwise, the landlords will have to face legal consequences. Boilers, central heating systems, cookers, heaters, ovens, and any other gas appliances in use by the occupants of a rented property are included in this annual gas safety inspection. 
• Biannual Gas Servicing: Though not a legal compulsion, it is highly recommended to conduct a six-monthly inspection of older gas appliances. Similarly, the appliances that are used more frequently or excessively should also be included in biannual gas servicing. Typically, it includes older boilers and LPG-operated appliances. Similarly, the appliances used for commercial activities should also be included in six-monthly gas servicing. 
• Quarterly or Monthly Gas Servicing: The gas appliances, used in a commercial organization, especially those having excessive usage, may need extra care and servicing. In the case of such appliances, quarterly or even monthly gas servicing is recommended. 
• Recommended by Manufacturers: Some manufacturers also provide a schedule of servicing and maintenance of their products. In this case, you need to follow that schedule to maintain the optimal performance and efficiency of those gas appliances. 
• Troubleshooting: Occasionally, during scheduled gas servicing, you may encounter an emergency situation where a gas appliance suddenly malfunctions. This should be attended to instantly. Even a small error may end up in a big disaster if left unattended. Immediately call a Gas Safe registered engineer to check and remove the fault. 

Can Regular Gas Servicing Lower Your Business Energy Bills?

A one-liner answer to this critical query is, yes, regular gas servicing goes a long way in reducing your business energy bills. Let's explore how:

• Improved Efficiency: Regular gas servicing improves the efficiency of the gas appliances, especially the boilers. With the passage of time and consistent usage, boilers and heating systems tend to accumulate limescale, dirt, and debris, which drastically reduce their efficiency and cause abnormal energy consumption. Regular servicing removes these issues; hence, the efficiency is improved, which reduces the gas consumption and lowers the energy bill.
• Prevents Major Breakdown: If you leave the heating system and boilers unattended for a prolonged interval, even a small fault may aggravate and end up as a big problem. In such cases, not only can the energy bill rise, but it may also lead to a huge expense in case of a major breakdown. Timely servicing can save you these unexpected expenses. 
• Ensures Optimal Performance: A regularly serviced gas appliance would ideally give optimum performance, hence saving energy as well. The optimal performance of a gas appliance guarantees the minimum possible energy consumption, hence the minimum energy bill. 
• Ensures Extended Lifespan of Appliances:  Regular gas servicing ensures minimum possible wear and tear of the gas appliances, which ultimately has a positive impact on their lifespan. In this way, you can save a lot of money on premature replacements or unusual maintenance costs. 
• Ensures Compliance with Regulations: The gas safety regulations of 1998 require that all the gas appliances in rented properties should be kept gas safe at all times. Regular annual gas servicing ensures compliance with this legal requirement, which otherwise may attract fines and penalties. 

Conclusion

Ever ever-increasing cost of gas and electricity is a consistent challenge for businesses in the UK. While the cost of the energy supply is beyond the control of businesses, they have the option to control their expenditure on energy consumption by adopting energy-saving measures. 

The gas appliances, especially the boilers and heating system, need regular servicing to keep them functioning at their optimal level. Regular servicing of these appliances improves their efficiency, which in turn improves their energy consumption level. A well-maintained and regularly serviced gas appliance saves a considerable amount in the form of energy bills, whereas a poorly maintained appliance causes wastage and excessive usage of gas. Hence, it is important for businesses to plan regular gas servicing to save money in the form of energy bills.