ADEY Professional Heating Solutions, one of Europe’s largest water treatment manufacturers serving the heating industry, is encouraging installers to employ best practice as the most effective weapon to eliminate the estimated 12 million ‘zombie’ boilers present in UK homes.

While often marvelled at by their owners because they just keep chugging away and refuse to die, the underlying cost of owning a ‘zombie’ boiler and its accompanying dirty heating system is higher energy and maintenance bills. It also impacts detrimentally on the environment with higher carbon emissions.

By encouraging their replacement with a modern condensing boiler and a programme of best practice maintenance, installers can help their customers take the first step towards reaping significant savings while protecting the environment.

While some efforts have been made to support the scrapping of ‘zombies’, such as the recent implementation of the London Boiler Cashback Scheme and the extension of a similar scheme for homes in Northern Ireland, ADEY believes a great deal more can be done to secure the success of these schemes for the long-term.

The company’s ceo John Vaughan said: “To deliver the energy savings that government schemes promise and ensure ongoing boiler efficiency, they need to be supported with effective system protection.”

He continued: “If new boilers are fitted to dirty systems and aren’t properly protected by effective magnetic filtration and chemical water treatment, their performance will quickly deteriorate. Instead of focusing solely on the replacement of ageing and inefficient systems, the industry needs to support every new boiler installation with ongoing protection if we’re to ensure that the ‘zombies’ won’t rise again.”

According to the company, if homeowners adopt its best practice approach of clean, flush, maintain, protect and test, they will ensure the ongoing efficiency of their heating system and help extend boiler life. Total energy savings could amount to as much as 15% a year and help extend the life of a household boiler beyond the average lifespan of 12-15 years.