Is your home ready for winter?

With the winter months looming, making sure your plumbing and heating is in good shape can save you £100’s AND help you avoid the hassle of burst or frozen pipes and central heating problems.

There are certain things you can do yourself, like making sure any exposed pipes are properly lagged and checking that your heating and hot water switch on when they’re supposed to.

 

However, for some of the other items that need to be checked, it pays to call the specialists in, especially for things like your boiler and plumbing.

 

So you might like to know that Sutton and East Surrey Water Services offers a thorough pre-winter healthcheck service.

 

For just £49.00, our guys will give your home a rigorous examination, including:

• Checking that any tanks in your attic and pipes in your garage or other outbuildings are properly lagged
• Checking that your taps, valves and overflows are in good working order
• Ensuring that your internal stopcock is fully functional
• Visually inspecting your central heating system pipework and radiators and giving helpful advice on your boiler
• Inspecting your electrics, including sockets, switches, light fittings and fuse boxes
• Giving helpful pointers on waterproof insulation for any exposed pipes and taps

In addition to the above assessment, you will also receive 365 day emergency plumbing and drainage cover – FREE of charge for the first year*.

If it’s been a while since you last checked any of these, then today could be a good day to pick up the phone and call 020 3355 9735 to book your winter healthcheck – before the weather starts to get really cold.

*Terms and conditions apply. The free 365 Assured Primary scheme (worth £69) offer is available to new policy customers only. Please note our phone lines are open Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 5.00pm.

Ten Top Tips for designing your perfect bathroom

Achieving the perfect bathroom isn’t always straightforward. In particular it can be difficult to get the look you desire in the space available.

Here are some handy tips to consider when choosing products and planning the best layout:

1.     Think practically as well as aesthetically when designing your bathroom. Consider the space available, who needs to use the room and the storage requirements

2.     There’s nothing worse than a cold bathroom, so choose practical heating methods. It is usually necessary to have both a radiator and a heated towel rail, as towel rails supply less heat to the surrounding area. Using underfloor heating can make cold surfaces warm and are great for bare feet, but won’t heat the room itself

3.     Check the water pressure – many taps and showers require higher pressure than a gravity feed system can deliver so it may restrict your choice of products

4.     Find out how much water storage you have. Additional bathrooms or pumps may mean you need to increase the capacity of your hot and cold water tanks

5.     If you have a small bathroom and require storage, use fitted furniture to maximise available space
6.     A tiled bathroom is the most practical in terms of hygiene and maintenance. Choose larger tiles to reduce the amount of grouting and minimise unsightly limescale stains. When choosing your tiles, a neutral colour scheme is advisable if you plan to sell

7.     Install an extractor fan to improve ventilation and reduce the risk of mildew

8.     If using downlights, bear in mind that the beam of light is narrow and you may need more units than you would expect

9.     Take advantage of the supplier’s experience for some free planning advice and suggestions. Measure your bathroom to help with the selection of suitable products

10.  Make sure you use qualified, professional bathroom fitters – like Sutton and East Surrey Water Services, for a beautiful finish. They have a team of planning, project management and installation specialists with the expertise to help you create your perfect bathroom. All staff are fully qualified and there’s a one-year peace of mind guarantee on all work, so you not only get a space you can relax in but also the peace of mind of a job done well!

Now's the time to get ready for Winter

With the summer months now drawing to a close, it's time to turn your attention to getting your boiler and heating system ready for the cold long winter months ahead.

Many of us take our boilers for granted. We expect them to last a long time, and in most cases they do without a problem. But it's no good finding out your boiler needs servicing once winter has set in, so it makes sense to get someone to service your boiler now and ensure your heating system is healthy.

Think about it. If the recent winters are any indication of what's to come, then a boiler or heating breakdown is the last thing you'll want when the cold sets in. While you may not want to stretch to annual cover, an annual service is the least you can do. Most manufacturers recommend a service at least once a year, but this increases as the boiler gets older, or if it has an open flue.

Plus if you're already looking for a new boiler for the winter months ahead, and you get a new boiler installed by a Sutton and East Surrey Water Services (SESWS) Gas Safe Registered engineer, you could cut your energy bills by up to 40% according to the Energy Saving Trust. 

So what are you waiting for? Check your boiler and heating system today to see if you're properly prepared for the months ahead.

And here's what to do if you find out that your boiler or heating system has stopped working in the time since you last used them.

Don’t let solar savings pass you by

Pssst. Have you heard? There’s now a simple way to cut your energy bills AND earn yourself a handy tax-free annual income. And what’s more, you can even do your bit to help save the planet too!

All you have to do is switch to solar. Simple to install, Solar PV (photovoltaic) and Solar Thermal panels offer a great solution to meeting the ever increasing cost of electricity.

Solar PV panels convert the sun’s rays into electricity, which can help you to reduce the amount of power you consume from the National Grid. (See how Solar PV works)

Solar Thermal panels use heat from the sun to heat up water which is then stored in your hot water cylinder to provide a ready supply of hot water for your home. (See how Solar Thermal works)

As a qualifying technology within the Government’s Feed-in Tariff (FIT) scheme, Solar PV can help you not only to save money on your energy bills, but also to generate some extra cash too! Basically, you will be paid for the electricity you export to the National Grid for a period of 20 years. With fuel bills and the overall cost of living continuing to rise, that’s an offer that’s almost too good to pass by! (See how much you could save)

To qualify for the scheme, your home must have an Energy Performance Certificate, with efficiency rated at Band D or higher. But don’t worry. If your home’s energy efficiency is in the lower bands (E, F or G), or if you do not have a Certificate, then help is at hand on the Energy Saving Trust’s web site.

There’s added good news too. Thanks to a new scheme that is currently being developed by Government, you could also qualify for a financial contribution towards the cost of installing Solar Thermal panels in your home. Part of a £7m scheme, the Renewable Heat Premium Payment is a one-off grant available to householders in England, Scotland and Wales to help pay towards the cost of installing renewable heating technologies. The grant applies to any installation that has been commissioned since 21st July 2011.

Ever the helpful chap, I’ve done some digging around to help you find out more about the scheme, including whether you’re eligible for a grant and how to apply. 

Constant sunshine not essential
As you’ve been reading this, you’ve probably been wondering whether it’s actually sunny enough in this country for the technology to work. Don’t worry. When properly located and installed, both Solar PV and Solar Thermal have been proven to work even when it’s overcast, making  them ideal for the UK’s unpredictable climate.

Find out more
To help you cast more light on the ins and outs of solar technology for your home, why not visit the dedicated solar panel pages on Sutton and East Surrey Water Services’ web site. The site has everything you need to help you find out what’s available, plus a great Q&A section which answers some of the main questions surrounding solar technology.

Technology is great, but peace of mind is better

It’s always nice to see technology being put to exciting new uses, so it’s hats off (or, in my case, caps off) to British Gas for its new remote heating control package. Consisting of a wireless hub, receiver, thermostat and a smartphone app, the package enables users to remotely control their heating from wherever they are.

This all sounds great. However, the package comes in at around £229 or £199 if you’re an existing British Gas customer. If it’s installed as a part of a new central heating installation, the price is further reduced to £149.

With many households strapped for cash at the moment, it makes me wonder how many people are in a position right now to use the technology. Also, while I’m always up for a shiny new gadget, there are many people who are not comfortable with technology and either don’t have a smartphone, or if they do have one, don’t know how to use it.

Furthermore, it may be well and good to be able to remotely control your heating, but is it really something that people are going to keep using once the novelty value has worn off? After all, a properly programmed central heating system will do the job just as well.

Thankfully, there is another way to get the most out of your central heating that can be much more affordable. At just £52.82 for the first month and £18.02 for the next nine months, Sutton and East Surrey Water Services’ 365 Assured Classic Heating policy gives you complete peace of mind that your boiler and central heating will be operating at peak performance all year round.

As well as covering all aspects of your hot water and central heating system, including your heating controls, the policy also gives you access to our own fully qualified Gas Safe Registered engineers. Our guys will carry out an annual boiler service and system safety check and can also quickly be with you in the event of any emergencies.

With their help, you can be sure that your heating will always be available whenever you need it, whether you’re at home in the warm or about to return from a long day at work or from the shops. With that sort of help, who needs remote control?