Although the weather has felt really mixed this autumn, we’ve yet to truly enter the coldest days of autumn and the even colder months ahead in winter. As we enter what’s usually the coldest months of the year, there’s every chance that we will experience severe cold snaps, general cold weather and potentially disruptive snowstorms as the UK has almost every winter for several years now.

With the colder weather approaching, the Association of British Insurers has urged people to act as quickly as possible to avoid frozen and burst pipes this winter. The ABI states that the average cost of weather-related insurance claims for burst pipes averages over £10,000 per claim, leading to tens of millions of pounds of claims each year. That’s an awful lot of money to find in a year which has already been financially difficult for so many of us!

There’s still time to act, with an average low of 4 °C for November just above the point of freezing —but don’t wait around! You can’t change the weather but you can pre-empt it — so what should you be doing to prepare.

Have you checked whether your pipework is insulated?

One of the most straightforward measures you can take to protect your pipes is to make sure they’re lagged and insulated.  If they aren’t insulated, now is the time to get that work carried out in an effort to avoid an expensive claim. Pipe lagging also has the added effect of potentially reducing your energy bills by keeping the water inside your pipework hotter for longer.

Don’t forget to protect your condensate pipe too

In freezing weather, the condensate pipe from your boiler is one pipe that is particularly prone to problems; if not protected properly it can freeze up and stop your boiler from working. If that happens to you, you’ll be left without heating and hot water, definitely not what you want during that cold snap!

Our FrostSentry device can prevent yours from ever freezing up again.

As soon as air temperatures fall below 2.5C, the FrostSentry automatically warms the inside of your condensate pipe, ensuring you continue to have a fully functioning heating and hot water system just when you need it most. Unlike other devices, it doesn’t rely on a constant energy supply, only kicking in when it’s needed.

Having one fitted could save you expensive emergency callout charges; if your boiler suddenly stopped working, it might be tempting to call out a plumber or heating engineer, but how frustrating would it be if the cause was as simple as a frozen condensate pipe?

The FrostSentry is straightforward to installed and supplied with all parts required to finish the job, so it’s also the ideal “fit and forget” solution to keep your boiler working all winter.

To find out more about the FrostSentry and how it could potentially save you an awful lot of potential headaches this winter, visit https://teddingtonheating.com/frost-sentry