New research from Fair Fix, the boiler engineer experts, reveals that broken boilers cost English households £32.1 million a year despite just 5% of them failing each decade.

Fair Fix has analysed boiler breakdown statistics in England over the decade between 2009 – 2019 to reveal how many boilers require repair or replacement each year, and how much this costs the nation’s households.

The data shows that 20.8 million households are reliant on a boiler to heat the home and provide hot water this winter.

Between 2009 – 2019, 5.1% of these boilers broke down and needed repairing or replacing. This is equivalent to just over 1 million boilers.

As such, it can be estimated that an average of 107,108 boilers break down each year.

At an average repair cost of £300 per boiler, it’s revealed that the total cost of boiler failure in England is £32.1 million per year.

Which regions bring the highest chance of boiler failure?

On a regional level, you are most likely to fall foul of a faulty boiler this winter in London, where an estimated 6.1% of boilers break down across a 10-year period, which is equivalent to 18,661 households.

This means that the average annual cost of boiler repair in London is £5.6 million.

In the West Midlands, 6% of boilers fail during the course of a decade, which means there are 12,861 annual breakdowns, creating an annual regional repair cost of £3.9 million.

Meanwhile, the decade sees 5.6% of boilers fail in the North East, which equates to 5,943 annual breakdowns and a repair cost of £1.8 million.

Founder of Fair Fix, Tye Ekrem, commented:

“Boiler breakdowns are, more often than not, the result of lacklustre or irregular checks and maintenance. Modern boilers are incredibly efficient, sturdy, and reliable, which is why only 5% breakdown over a 10-year period.

But because repair required as a result of failure can be relatively pricey, even such a low percentage of breakdowns results in significant financial outlay.

The smart thing to do is ensure that your boiler is serviced and checked regularly – at least once a year – by a licensed boiler and gas engineer.

The cost of a service visit is significantly less than a repair job and certainly a replacement boiler, and due to the quality of modern boilers, regular servicing will mean you’re highly unlikely to become one of the 5% who suffers a total breakdown and, as such, has to contribute to £32 million annual national spend.”