Home improvements are always important for a number of reasons. Perhaps you’ll want to retain property value, ensure your house is looking its best throughout the year, or even find a way to reduce your ever-expensive energy bills.
Whatever the case for you making changes to the home, one of the major factors for you to consider, is how you’ll finance the project.
Some improvements, such as adding loft lagging or cavity wall insulation won’t break the bank. Payback can be in just a couple of years because of the money saved on wasted heat, so it makes sense to finance the work yourself.
However, there are other areas of the home that could be improved too if you had a bigger balance.
So let’s take a look at how you can finance a replacement boiler.
The boiler is one of the most important parts of any home and no matter which fuel you use to heat your home, efficiency levels must always be remain high. Unfortunately, when something does go wrong with the boiler you could be forced to pay hundreds and even thousands of pounds on repairs.
That’s why it’s always best to replace a boiler on your own terms, rather than being pushed into spending money when you least expect it.
The boiler provides the heat and hot water for your home all year round and experts say it makes up 60% of the average household bill. The biggest problem is efficiencies because over the years these can seriously deteriorate.
A boiler between 10 and 15 years old could be wasting over £300 a year, which is coming straight out of your pocket. This is why replacing the boiler could be your best bet.
How to finance a replacement boiler
If you’ve decided on a boiler replacement then the chances are you’re spending a lot more on energy bills than you should be. Perhaps your boiler has caused you a few problems recently and you’re now on first name terms with the engineer.
Whatever your reason to make a change, you’ll want to know how much you’re likely to be spending on an efficient boiler replacement.
Boilers aren’t the most expensive investment you can make and a decent A-rated boiler will set you back somewhere between £2,000 and £3,000. Of course this is still quite a substantial whack at one time.
What we always recommend, if you can, is paying for the new boiler in full yourself. This way, all savings go straight into your pocket and payback can be in as little as five years.
For those who would struggle to do this, here are a couple of other options.
ECO boiler scheme:
The ECO boiler scheme has been designed by the Government to help out low income houses and those receiving benefits, including the elderly. £1.3 billion has been bankrolled to help fund the scheme, which provides a free boiler for those who meet the strict eligibility criteria.
This ensures you don’t have to pay out for a new boiler and can start saving money instantly by taking advantage of the Government grants. The scheme’s purpose is to reduce fuel poverty in Britain, which is characterised by spending more than 10% of income on dual fuel bills.
Green Deal:
The Green Deal is the Government’s flagship energy efficiency programme to improve British homes all over the country by issuing loans for home improvements. A number of products are included on the scheme, including replacement boilers.
Low interest loans can be taken out worth up to £10,000, so you can replace your boiler and even upgrade insulation elsewhere in the home too. A Green Deal advisor will visit your home and calculate which areas you can improve on, before recommending certain products.
So if your boiler is highlighted as one of the key areas, you’ll be eligible to apply for one of these loans. With the Golden Rule, you won’t pay back more than you save either, so it’s definitely worth consideration.
Pay As You Go schemes
These schemes are offered by quite a few boiler companies in the UK and help avoid the need to take out a loan. Your new boiler will be installed and you’ll then make pre-set monthly payments to the company for a certain period of time.
These Pay As You Go (PAYG) schemes are perfect when your boiler faults or breaks down unexpectedly and you need a replacement quickly to help continue providing heat and hot water.
Typically companies offer low interest rates on these PAYG schemes and can work out cheaper to taking out a personal loan from the bank. Of course, with the money you save on energy bills to take into consideration, you won’t be left out of pocket.