Kingspan Water & Energy - What you need to know about your cylinder service
October 2019

It is the annual Gas Safety Week (16-22 September)...

...and organisers and supporters release latest research and data aimed at raising gas safety awareness amongst both homeowners and installers.

While the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council, HHIC, reminds homeowners of the need to use a Gas Safe registered engineer to fit their gas appliances and boiler manufacturers pledge to place the Gas Safety messaging on their packaging, it is equally important to remember that your unvented hot water cylinder also has to be installed by a competent installer, certified to work on unvented systems.

A cylinder has many important safety features to control the temperature and pressure of your hot water system. But these safety features will only work if the cylinder is fitted and commissioned correctly, therefore to protect your family and ensure the cylinder operates both efficiently and safely, it is necessary to check that your plumber holds an unvented qualification.
Also, if your unvented tank is not fitted and configured correctly, it will invalidate your guarantee and could lead to consequential damages to other equipment or property. That's another reason why it's extremely important to check whether the installer you intend to use to fit your unvented system holds proper qualifications – the most common being BPEC Unvented G3 certification. Surely, risking the safety of your family and losing the guarantee isn’t worth saving a few quid on the installation costs?

But it doesn’t stop there – to continue working optimally and safely throughout its operational life and to maintain the guarantee, your cylinder needs to be serviced annually by a competent plumber or heating engineer, so make sure you book your service every year!

To help you get a better idea of what an ideal service should look like and what it should entail, we have produced - in association with Hot Water Association (HWA) - a consumer guide, detailing what you can expect when having your hot water storage cylinder serviced by a registered engineer.