Christmas is normally a time of great comfort for people; getting to spend quality time with your family, enjoy a few days off work, exchange presents and eat a delicious Christmas dinner. Yet that reassuring safety and familiarity is under threat this winter, in one of the most tumultuous and unpredictable years in living memory.

With swathes of the UK living under high level restrictions due to Covid-19 and the looming threat of a second wave of the disease, it’s difficult to know what is going to happen in the weeks and months leading up to Christmas.

The current tougher restrictions of Tier 2 and Tier 3 means that other households outside of your social bubble are not meant to mix indoors, putting under threat the possibility of families coming together on Christmas Day for the traditional turkey dinner.

With any luck, the current actions being taken by the government means that all of us will be able to spend Christmas with our loved ones. If that is possible, Christmas can bring its own stresses too, like cooking the turkey and keeping everyone happy.

Having an unexpected problem on the big day is a disaster that most of us will do anything to avoid. Among the worst you can imagine would be your heating system breaking down, leaving your house cold and your guests feeling the chill.

Avoid a frosty reception if it’s a white Christmas

The cold weather can play havoc with your water pipes; if we have a white Christmas this year, your condensate pipe could be prone to problems. Left unprotected, it can freeze up and stop your boiler from working, meaning you’ll lose your heating just when you need it most.

Luckily, 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. Unlike other devices, it doesn’t rely on a constant energy supply, only kicking in when it’s needed.

If the winter is mild, that can bring problems too

If we have a mild winter and you haven’t put your heating on much, flicking it on again on Christmas Day can put it under great strain. A stop / start approach to using your heating can lead to a loss in boiler pressure, one of the most common causes of boiler breakdown in the winter months.

Our easy-to-fit PressureSentry alerts you if the system pressure drops below a pre-set level, allowing you to take action before the boiler breaks down and in doing so, avoids the cost of an emergency engeineer call out.

The device can be fitted to almost any radiator in your home in minutes during a routine visit, and because its alarm is both visual and audible is also suitable for death, heard of hearing and visually impaired homeowners.

Avoid costly callout charges

Both the PressureSentry and the FrostSentry can help you avoid costly callouts on Christmas, arguably the most expensive day of the year for a plumber; if the weather’s extreme, there’s no guarantee they’d even be able to get to you!

They can also be the difference in keeping your heating running during the coldest weeks of the year, offering great peace of mind and making sure you stay warm all year round.

To find out more about the PressureSentry, visit https://teddingtonheating.com/pressure-sentry — to find out more about the FrostSentry, visit https://teddingtonheating.com/frost-sentry