What Is the Gas Safe Register?
Most people will have heard of it, but many won’t know what it means. The Gas Safe Register acts as a licensing body and replaced the CORGI in 2009.
By law all gas engineers must be on the Gas Safe Register. It’s a list of engineers who have been specifically trained and qualified to work on gas appliances such as boilers, heaters and cookers. However, not all engineers are qualified to work on all gas appliances, so a homeowner will need to check the register to see what their engineer is qualified to work on.
It may be obvious, but careless work with gas appliances can lead to carbon monoxide poisoning or even explosions. It is therefore imperative that anyone working on these appliances is properly qualified to do so. Landlords also need regular Gas Safety Certificates issued by law for the properties they rent out.
According to the Gas Safe Register, less than half of British homeowners don’t check if their engineer is working legally with a Gas Safe accreditation. If you are unsure, ask to see the engineer’s Gas Safe Card, which will have their registration number and will have been issued by the Gas Safe register so will have the yellow triangle logo on.
Awareness and Consumer Advice
The Gas Safe Register also provides assurance for homeowners when things go wrong. If a homeowner suspects illegal or poor gas works, the register can send a team to investigate and ensure that anyone working outside the safety guidelines is removed from the register.
Another role is to educate consumers on gas safety awareness. It is recommended that homeowners have appliances checked annually and a Gas Safe Certificate presented after each check.
There is some heating work that doesn’t have to be completed by a Gas Safe Engineer. For example, if you are replacing your radiators, with something like a column radiators from http://apolloradiators.co.uk/Products/View/3/54/7/category/roma/Apollo-roma-bespoke-steel-column-radiator, a normal plumber can complete this work.
However, if during that work the boiler needs some work doing to it, this needs to be done by a Gas Safe engineer.
By contacting the Gas Safe Register and checking the website you can see exactly what work needs to be completed by a registered engineer.
