SERVICES

Find out more about the full range of services offered by Singleton Black Heating & Gas by following the links below.

Natural Gas & LPG

We undertake all Natural Gas & Liquefied Petroleum Gas (LPG) work. We are members of the Gas Safe Register (number 525329), a legal must for anyone working in this trade. When properly installed and maintained, gas is an extremely efficient and flexible source of heat. Improvements are continually being made in the design of gas appliances making them increasingly economical. This benefits the consumer and the environment. We make it a priority to keep up with the latest developments and can advise you whether your appliance (boiler, gas fire etc. ) is safe and doing a reasonable job, or whether it’s time to think of changing it.

We are qualified to work on LPG in houses, leisure accommodation vehicles (motor homes, camper-vans & caravans) and residential park homes. As the ‘ go anywhere ‘ gas, LPG is widely used in restricted environments like caravans but, because of their size, it is of the utmost importance that installations like this are absolutely secure. The smallest escape of gas or fumes builds up rapidly in such confined spaces with possibly disastrous, if not lethal results. It’s tempting to ‘ do it yourself ‘, but is it worth the risk? Allow us to make a safe installation or check over what you have got.

So whether you require a new gas installation in your town house, a landlord’s safety check on your residential park home, a service on your natural gas boiler or advising on the installation of bulk storage LPG for your countryside cottage – Singleton Black are here to help!

Solar thermal panels, or solar hot water panels, are a simple way of saving you money and reducing carbon emissions. Whilst there is energy ’embedded’ in them, that is their manufacture, distribution and installation cause carbon emissions, once they are up and running they are virtually a ‘zero carbon’ system; ( there is a negligible amount of electricity used to circulate the heat transfer fluid ). The sun’s energy is gathered by the solar collector ( the solar thermal panel ), normally mounted on the roof, which heats water, usually indirectly via a heat transfer fluid circulated by a low consumption pump. The water is stored in a hot water cylinder ready for you to use. In the summer months a collector can often satisfy all your hot water needs, but back up is needed in wintertime when daylight hours are shorter. Even on cold and cloudy days however, the solar collector can provide a useful thermal contribution that will reduce the amount of energy needed by your boiler or immersion heater. An average family of four can trim about 65% off the annual cost of heating water by installing this low maintenance system.

When considering this option there are some essential requirements. You will need about 5 square meters of roof facing more or less to the south or a flat roof with a sunny aspect. You will need room in the house for a hot water cylinder and you will need a boiler that is compatible with solar thermal panels or an electric immersion heater. Installation is quick and planning permission is not normally required in England.

In essence solar thermal panels are a very simple system, but there are various technical aspects that require expert appraisal. That’s where we come in. Depending on your needs we will advise you whether to have a drainback system or a fully filled system, whether to install flat plane collectors or evacuated tube collectors. We are BPEC qualified to fit all types of solar thermal collectors and can integrate them with most gas & solid fuel boilers as well as other renewables.

There is nothing that beats the feel of a solid fuel stove – it is the heart of the home. There is no better place to be when you come in from the cold and damp, than standing in front of a real fire –  no better place to sit and relax in the evening as you watch the flames. But atmosphere is not the only benefit. If you burn wood you are ” carbon neutral” – wood is a renewable energy source. As a tree grows it absorbs carbon dioxide and produces oxygen, ( it’s a good job plants do this or we would have run out of oxygen a long time ago ) ! When it dies, or is harvested, the carbon within it will be released anyway, by rotting or termite action, so it might as well be burnt to save non-renewable resources. As long as another tree is planted this will be re-absorbed, and so the cycle goes on in perfect balance.

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We deal with all aspects of central heating, from maintenance and repair, to the design and installation of a new system. We are Part L qualified, so whether you have a gas boiler or solid fuel stove we can advise you on the most efficient way to use your resources. And radiators don’t have to be boring! There is a great range of options, from the stylish space-age to the classic Victorian. Function and aesthetics can be combined to keep you comfy and fit in with the character of your house.

We will be happy to advise you on any aspect of your central heating requirements.

Underfloor heating is a good way to heat ground floor spaces such as a kitchen, living room, bathroom or conservatory. It is relatively cheap when fitted in new builds or when there is a complete refurbishment and is ideal where there is a stone or tiled floor. Not only does it save space, it is also highly energy efficient thus saving money. It is a good way to use the warmth generated by a heat pump (which works like a refrigerator, only it makes the outside cold and your house warm). The temperature of underfloor heating is much lower than a radiator but it is evenly distributed throughout the whole floor making the entire space comfortable rather than giving you ”hot-spots” as radiators tend to do. This system is often combined with radiators on the upper floors (usually bedrooms) to give you the best of all heating options.

As always we’re happy to let you know what is best for your requirements.

What is ‘ Power flushing ‘, also called ‘Jet flushing ‘ or ‘ Hard flushing’, of a central heating system?  Well pretty much what it sounds like. Water is very corrosive. As it circulates, deposits and debris build up. In ‘ the good old days ‘  this wasn’t too much of a problem with large bore tubes and big heat exchangers. In today’s energy conscious world things are very different. Modern boilers must be over 90% efficient which requires a heat exchange matrix of very fine waterways. In this situation rusty sludge is the last thing you need!

We use the Kamco CF 90 Quantum power flushing pump acknowledged as the best in its field. Put simply it pumps water through your heating system to clear all the debris accumulated over time. More accurately it is a skilled procedure that we have been trained ( by Kamco ) to operate. It is a high velocity, low pressure pump which uses hot water, mobilising agents and high power magnets to remove all deposits and leave the system absolutely clean. We would stress that this procedure must be carried out by a trained technician or your system could be damaged.

So when is a power flush needed?

Most importantly if you are fitting a new boiler to an old system. In order for a manufacturer to fully accept the terms of a warranty in line with the ‘Benchmark’ standard, a system must be appropriately flushed. Power flushing is often the only way to achieve this. Not only that but your high tech appliance may quickly get clogged up, thus lowering the efficiency and costing more on bills.

If your system is up and running but you have any of the following symptoms;

radiators cold at the bottom,
some radiators heating up, but others not,
radiator water black,
system slow to heat up,
radiators need frequent bleeding,
unpleasant boiler noises,
‘combi’ boiler gives erratic temperature delivery,
slow heating of hot water cylinder,
repeated pump failure,

then it is likely unwanted deposits are causing the problem. A power flush followed by the addition of a corrosion inhibitor and a magnetic filter to capture rust will put you back on the road .

Contact us if you need more information.

At Singleton Black Heating and Gas our priority is to listen carefully to our customers’ requirements. We will only recommend what is best for you. We are not in the business of selling unneeded extras or condemning an appliance or system unless it is beyond its useful life. There comes a point where the cheapest option is to renew, but until then trust us to make the best of what you’ve got.

Rest assured that our installation work is to the highest possible standard  –  our reputation depends on it. You will not be asked for any advance payment and you will only be invoiced when the work (which is fully guaraneed) is completed to your satisfaction.

Allow us to give you a free no obligation quote; you may need a straightforward boiler swap or a complete bathroom refurbishment, a simple cooker replacement or a complex unvented cylinder and solar thermal installation. Whatever your needs you can rely on us to give you the best solution at a fair price.

Just like your car, gas installations should have regular maintenance. This ensures safety and efficiency.  As always, prevention is better than cure. For the small cost of a check-up you can have peace of mind that all is safe and in good order. Indeed many manufacturers insist on a yearly inspection of a new gas boiler throughout the guarantee period to keep it valid. We will check the servicing specifications according to the manufacturer and endorse the service interval record to validate your guarantee (we are gas safe registered) . Here are just some of the makers we service;  Worcester, Bosch, Vaillant, Baxi, Potterton, Alpha, Glow-Worm, Ideal, Vokera, and Ariston.

As a landlord you may need to carry out these checks along with a safety check. We are happy to offer a discount if you wish to combine these services.

If you are a landlord you have duties under the Gas Safety (Installation and Use) Regulations 1998 to arrange maintenance by a Gas Safe Registered engineer for all pipework, appliances and flues, which you own and have provided for your tenants use. A landlord’s safety check (CP 12 certificate) must be carried out whenever a tenant rents a property and then every 12 months after that. The tests carried out ensure that at the time of inspection the installation is safe to use. If a new tenant rents the property within 12 months of the safety check then new CP12 certification will not be necessary – although a copy of the existing certificate must be provided to the new tenant and a ‘Void Property Check’ must be carried out by a gas safe registered installer to ensure exiting tenants have left the gas appliances in a safe condition. It is, however, good practice to carry out a new safety check between tenancies especially if the old certificate is near to 12 months old.

If you have just bought a house we can also carry out a Homeowner Gas Safety Check much the same as a Landlord check – we would highly recommend having a homeowner check when moving into a newly acquired property. Who knows what condition things might be in?

We are happy to provide a free no obligation quote for a one off check-up as well as on larger contracts from letting agents and people with more than one property.

For more information please click here and follow the link to the HSE website.

As gas and heating engineers we often have to adapt or upgrade the electric supply. We are ‘ Part P ‘ qualified which allows us to undertake all such basic electrical work. However if the job is complex we have qualified electricians who can provide any service you may require, including a full house re-wire, at very competitive rates.