Boilers And Building Regulations

Whenever a boiler is installed or replaced, there are a number of regulations which immediately come into play. The old “do it yourself” system has changed dramatically and it is now very difficult if not impossible to do it all yourself. In many ways the changes have been successful in reducing accidents and increasing efficiency. Unfortunately Government bureaucracy has taken over and there is an enormous amount of paperwork that goes alongside these sort of changes.

Fortunately the best manufacturers have risen to the challenge and have brought some of the more difficult installation procedures back into the production system, ensuring that new boilers can be simple to fit and easy to operate. In most cases, the boiler is fitted to the wall according to manufacturer’s instructions and flues are fitted accordingly. Gas and electrical supplies are fitted and the best new boilers have an electronic installation and set up program, meaning they are completely ready to run as soon as they are installed. They also have built in fault finding systems for easy trouble-shooting.

Since 1st April 2005, all replacement and new installation Cv ketel vervangen in England and Wales have to be of the condensing boiler type. This has come about from the Government’s drive to install more efficient boilers and therefore to save energy. All new installations have to be reported to the Local Authority Building Control. All the electrical work has to be carried out by a competent electrical engineer, and reported or inspected by the local authority. This is not only to ensure that the work is done correctly but also that the work is recorded, ensuring that any later work in the area can be completed with full knowledge of the present electrical wiring in the area.

The idea is a great one, but it is quite likely that the paperwork developed is so large that the local authority is limited in its control and future access. All gas supplies must be carried out by a registered CORGI fitter and all new installations must be reported to GORGI as part of its 1st April 2005 “Complete Safety Initiative”.

The fact that so many different companies are involved means a new boiler installation can become difficult to understand, with a large amount of paperwork. In the future, hopefully this can be cut down to allow a single company to take responsibility for the mass of safety checks.

There are very few exceptions for when something other than a condensing boiler can be allowed to be fitted. However in a few rare cases, your replacement can go into an assessment procedure, where if accepted, it may well be permitted to replace an old appliance with a standard non condensing boiler.