Central heating means heating a whole property or parts of a home from a central source.

Most modern central heating systems use water as the medium to transfer heat from the central source – usually a boiler – to all the areas to be heated. However, some systems use forced-air through ductwork or steam fed through pipes.

There is no such thing as a standard central heating system – a system can be tailored to suit your needs, can be set to work automatically and should use no more fuel than what is needed to keep a home at a desired temperature. It should also provide all the hot water you need, when you need it.

Builder Guide offers a number of energy supplier deals, nationwide central heating specialist firm options and local and regional businesses who focus on central heating sales and installation.

All the firms we list have Gas Safe Registered installers giving you the peace of mind that your installation will be carried out to the highest level.

Not every firm you buy a central heating boiler from will offer an installation service too. Or you may have found the prices offered for an installation through your central heating provider is a little inflated. If this is the case then you need to find a professional installer capable, and certificated, to fit it.

Gas Central Heating

Natural gas is very convenient, once you’re hooked-up to the gas supply, and out of all of the different fuel types has the best mix and choice of heating systems including combi boilers, back boilers and wall heaters. Because the supply is fed directly to the system you will never have to worry about running out and topping up. Gas is the most commonly used central heating fuel.

If you’re looking for a firm that can both supply a gas central heating system and fit it for you then we have a number of firms listed here.

Oil Central Heating

Oil tends to be looked upon as a more efficient fuel source than gas but it is restricted to just boilers meaning less choice for consumers. If you do opt for oil you will need to have an oil tank installed outside your home that will need topping up.

The negatives are that if you do run the system dry you will need a heating engineer to re-prime the system before it can be up and running again, and the oil tanks tend to be large and very difficult to disguise.

If you’re looking for a firm that can both supply an oil central heating system and fit it for you then we have a number of firms listed here.

All the firms we list have Gas Safe Registered installers and we have Oil Firing Technical Association (OFTEC) registered installers for oil devices too.

Electric Central Heating

Electric central heating boilers are a relatively new form of electric powered heating and can now directly replace other boilers in a conventional heating system. They’ve been developed to be very compact units, light in weight and can run off cheap electricity. They are also quieter than any other fuel-powered unit.

If you’re looking for a firm that can both supply a electric central heating boiler and fit it for you then we have a number of firms listed here.

Central Heating Service

Ensuring your central heating is kept in top working order is essential to prevent any problems when you need your boiler most, in winter. It is generally expected that you should have a boiler serviced once annually at a very minimum.

There are numerous nationwide services and regional technicians who can carry out this work.

There are also packages from energy suppliers and specialist home maintenance firms who can offer servicing as part of an overall boiler and heating maintenance package over a year.

Central Heating Repair

When it comes to gas, oil and electric central heating repairs, homeowners tend to require a repair service as a point of emergency. Central heating breakdowns tend to occur more frequently when the boiler is in heavy use during the winter. And it’s essential for homeowners to have a fully working central heating system in these colder months.

With this in mind, you can enter your repair requirements here at Builder Guide and your information will be sent to professional OFTEC and Gas Safe Registered boiler technicians who will be able to give you a quick quote and organise visiting your home to resolve the issue as soon as possible.

Central Heating Powerflush

A Powerflush (or power flush) is the method used to remove the dirt and residuals that build-up in your central heating system over time. Running your central heating system without having a Powerflush done will reduce the efficiency of your system as the layer of dirt and muck coats the internal piping and hampers the circulation of your system.

A Powerflush is recommended to anyone having issues with their central heating before thinking about a replacement boiler or system and one can be carried out by any certified central heating technician.

Add a radiator

Adding an extra radiator to your existing central heating system will provide extra heat to your home. An accredited plumber will be able to teed a radiator into any part of the central heating flow-and-return pipes so you can choose where you want the extra radiator located. However, this must be done without robbing existing radiators of their share of the gas boiler output, hence why it should be carried out by a professional.