will hot water be 'on' when i move in...?

free4440273

...sorry if it's silly a question folks. will be completing soon and moving in shortly. yes, boiler is in working order etc but just wondered does the gas/electric company need to be informed before i move in, if i want to have hot water on the day i move in (which i do!). Or, provided the boiler is working (which it is) is there no need for this. thanks all as always

tanith

I don't think the utilities are actually 'switched of' but you do need to take meter readings as soon as you move in and inform the relevant suppliers so that they can send the previous owners a 'final bill' and start your usage from those readings.... of course if you will be changing suppliers you might need to orgainise that in advance...

scrummy_mummy_2

Utilities companies do not generally (as far as I know) turn services on and off anymore like they used to...the transfer accounts over. It is therefore up to you to contact them to advise them the date you will be taking the account over from (that's the day the house becomes your responsibility, not necessarily when you actually move in!) and let them know your opening meter reads...these should be taken the day the house becomes your responsibility too.

The boiler will probably have it's own timers (usually hot water and heating timer controls) built in and that is what will control when the hot water and heating come on....
If it's a demand boiler, you can generally advance the timer to get water immediately by pressing a button on the front of the boiler. Just make sure the electric supply to it is on, turn on the tap and hey presto...hot water...
If it is a tank fueled by a boiler, (there will be a big tank in the airing cupboard normally so you can tell!) it should take about 1/2 to 1 hour to heat up and you can boost this by switching on the immersion if there is one (normally).

Ask the previous owner/tenant/landlord if there are any instruction manuals for your to read and ask for them to be left available.
If not, note the name a nd model of the boiler and you can download PDF's of instruction manuals from manufacturers websites from free (again normally!)

Debt_Free_Chick

If I were the sellers, I would at least turn the timer off/thermostat down to zero, to prevent the boiler coming on. Two reasons ... it just seems to be a basic "security" measure although I appreciate the risk of anything dangerous happening (fire?) is very low. And I wouldn't want the buyer to think it was a bloomin cheek that I'd started to run up their gas bill before they'd moved in (as will have taken my closing meter reading when I left the property).

But I can see your point of view - you want instant hot water (though how "instant" I'm not sure ...). In this case, I would simply arrange with the seller to leave the timer on for the hot water; to leave the boiler set to provide continuous hot water; or to put the immersion on when they leave.

Of course, if it's a combi boiler, none of this is necessary as you'll get hot water on demand, provided the boiler is not turned off.

free4440273

thank you all, very kind as always. i have thanked each and every one of you, and thank you debt_free_chick as always. hope everyone is having a good evening if you've just come back from work