A gas boiler servicing specialist operating in the Republic of Ireland has launched an initiative offering Kidde carbon monoxide alarms to customers free of charge, with the dual aims of improving safety and increasing business.
Airtricity Home Energy Services (AHES) have been servicing, repairing and replacing Gas Boilers for over 2 years. This is a highly competitive market even though only a third of gas customers have their boilers serviced annually. Customer research revealed that they equated a gas boiler service to a car service, leaving them without anything tangible. So, AHES decided to act, as Áine Murphy (AHES Marketing) explained: “We revaluated our product offerings and wanted to give gas customers something different but still related to the gas boiler. Safety is our first priority and we came up with the proposition of offering customers a free CO alarm with every gas boiler service.
“We selected Kidde’s 5CO battery alarm for its quality, endorsed by a BSi Kitemark and 7-year warranty. The offer has been promoted through various channels, including our website, customer ezines, bill inserts and sales collateral. We immediately saw an increase in gas boiler service bookings as a result, as well as positive feedback from customers. We then decided to give a Kidde CO alarm as standard with every gas boiler repair and replacement as well.”
This initiative demonstrates a clear trend for those involved in supplying, installing and maintaining combustion appliances to offer CO alarms as well. Apart from increasing business, this approach mirrors a recent draft Building Regulations guide published by the Irish Government. This calls for CO alarms to be fitted in rooms where combustion appliances are being fitted - but it also requires a CO alarm in every bedroom or in the corridor within 5m of the bedroom door. And it calls for an alarm in any bedroom where a flue system passes within or over the room from any combustion heating appliance.
As well as the 5CO range, Kidde offers an extensive choice of carbon monoxide alarms including TenYCO - the very first battery CO alarm range with a full 10-year guarantee – and hard-wired units which can be interconnected with the company’s Slick® smoke and heat alarms. Find out more by downloading Kidde Fyrnetics’ guide ‘Fire & CO Safety in Housing’ at: www.smoke-alarms.co.uk
