The colder weather has started to approach and its almost time where everyone is reaching for their thermostats. Now is a good time to be thinking about whether your central heating is working to the best of its capability and most efficiently. Here are some tips below which can help save on your energy bills, reducing your carbon footprint and saving energy.
Bleeding Radiators
You can tell if your radiators need bleeding because only the bottom of them will get hot and the top will be colder. Bleeding your radiators releases trapped air from the system, which then allows the water to circulate and heat the system once again.
Radiator Inhibitor
Adding an inhibitor chemical to your central heating system helps prevent limescale build up and corrosion of the radiators. Limescale is caused by oxidation of the metal radiator and the water running through it. Preventing limescale build up helps your central heating system run more efficiently.
Radiator Additive
Radiator additives heats up the liquids in your central heating system quicker and also keeps the liquids hotter for longer, by changing its heat transfer properties. This means your heating will reach your desired temperature quicker and your boiler won’t have to work for as long, saving you money on your heating bills.
Powerflush
A powerflush is known as a cleaning process which removes all sludge and other debris which may be clogging up your central heating system. This helps with the circulation of your central heating system, heating your home quickly and efficiently.
Thermostatic Radiator Valves
Thermostatic radiator valves allow you to control the temperature of each individual radiators in your home. This is a good way to save money and be more energy efficient as you are keeping the rooms you are not heating rooms you are not using whilst still staying nice and warm in other rooms,
Unvented Cylinder
These types of cylinders store cold water from your mains supply and only heats up when you needed. In an unvented system you do not need a water storage tank which also gives you more space in your property.
Cylinder Insulation
New hot water cylinders are factory insulated to help keep your water at the right temperature, but older cylinders may need some additional insulation to stop heat escaping. You could save money and energy by topping up your insulation.
Home Insulation
Making sure your home is correctly insulated is a great way of keeping your home running efficiently whilst saving money. The Energy Saving Trust have many tips and tricks which you can read here.
Service your boiler
It is important to service your boiler annually as this can detect any minor problems that may cause bigger and more costly repairs in future. It also helps with keeping your boiler running efficiently which will mean it will use less energy to run and in turn saves you money.
Upgrade your boiler
On average a boiler typically lasts for 10-15 years, if you are starting to run into problems it may be time to consider a boiler replacement. Modern boilers are more efficient than older boilers because they are all condensing boilers. All boilers burn fuel efficiently if they are well-maintained, but they tend to lose some heat in the gases that escape up the flue. In contrast, condensing boilers have larger heat exchangers, so they recover more heat and send cooler gas up the flue. Sometimes the flue gases get so cool that the water vapour in them condenses out and even more energy is recovered, making condensing boilers particularly efficient. In fact, a condensing boiler only wastes around 9% of its gas, compared to 20-40% for non-condensing boilers.
