According to the Met Office, winter began on December 1st, with this meteorological definition of the seasons varying from the astronomical definition, which has winter starting on the shortest day of the year on December 21st. This means it will be winter until March 1st, 2025.
However, the weather does not abide by these precise definitions, as was seen in the middle of November when Britain endured its first seasonal snowy spell. At other times, however, it has been unusually warm.
Beware The Higher Energy Price Cap
If you are relying on a gas boiler to keep warm this winter, you may be concerned about how efficient it is, whether it will break down when it is very cold and what your bills will be, with the Energy Price Cap having recently been raised again.
Should you have concerns, now could be a very good time to get your boiler serviced to ensure it functions well throughout the winter.
What sort of weather the rest of winter will bring remains to be seen. We may end up with another mild winter, as the last couple have been, or it could be a colder one. And while that measurement may be based on average temperatures, there is every chance we could see more fluctuations between abnormally warm spells and periods of freezing weather.
Even allowing for these variations, the fact is that the coldest days of winter tend to come in January and February, not December. Indeed, for all the hype about the possibility of a white Christmas, it is a fact that a white Easter is statistically more likely, even though the latter date can be as late as mid-April.
The bigger risk for a boiler at Christmas is that it is placed under more strain because it is kept busy heating the home while also providing hot water in what may be an unusually crowded house if the family is around. It is in the later months of winter that it will be most important for keeping you warm.
Winter Fuel Allowance Woes
A further consideration applies to older people. The decision by the government to axe the winter fuel allowance for many pensioners drew the ire both of those directly impacted and fuel poverty campaigners.
While the rationale behind this was that the poorest would still get the allowance and wealthier pensioners currently in receipt of it didn’t need it, those in the middle have been outraged by the situation.
Now winter is upon us, the effects could be felt. The most dire warnings of people not turning their heating on and potentially suffering severe health issues or even dying in the cold because of this are a concern for many.
The Winter Fuel allowance is worth £200 or £300 to those who still get it, depending on whether they were born before or after 1958. For the ten million who won’t be eligible, finding that extra money could be hard. However, it may be possible to save it by having your boiler serviced now, so that it is much more energy-efficient.
For some, there may actually be a bonus as the winter fuel allowance is an automatic payment made to those who get pension credit, but this benefit must first be claimed.
There appears to be greater awareness of this, as pension credit claims made in the 16 weeks after the winter fuel announcement increased by 145 per cent compared with the 16 weeks before, according to Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) figures.
If you are a pensioner who has started claiming pension credit, you may be better off as a result. But the DWP figures also showed that the number of pension credit claims awarded in the 16 weeks in question (81,000), was actually 500 fewer than the number rejected.
Other Ways To Boost Efficiency
This means many who hoped to be able to qualify for extra help will now be looking elsewhere for ways to make their energy bills more affordable, especially if the winter is a cold one and their costs surge.
Although winter is the time when you need your boiler to be working at its top capacity and greatest efficiency, the ideal time to have it serviced or even replaced altogether is spring or summer, since engineers are more readily available because they don’t have lots of emergency call-outs and it is easier to manage without a boiler for a while when it is warmer.
However, that is a long time to wait and it could be an expensive one if you have an inefficient boiler, which is why now may still be a good time to book a service.