Many of us are looking to lower our heating bills. Although you might be tempted to keep the central heating switched off, it’s not a practical solution and can cause dampness in the home. So, what better options are there? Here’s thirteen foolproof ways to lower your heating bills.
Service your boiler
Do you know whether your boiler is running as efficiently as possible? No? Then perhaps it’s time to get it serviced. Although boiler servicing is usually thought of as a safety measure, it also ensures the parts are in good working order – making it a good way to improve your boiler’s efficiency. It also provides an opportunity to ask the engineer for advice on improving your energy efficiency further.
Lower the flow temperature
One thing your heating engineer might suggest is to lower the boiler’s flow temperature. This is the temperature to which the boiler heats the water for your radiators. A combi boiler’s efficiency drops by around 5% when it runs with the flow temperature on max as it can’t operate in condensing mode. So, by lowering the flow temperature, you could save 10% on your heating bills.
Bleed radiators
If you have the heating on most of the time because the radiators aren’t heating up properly, then try bleeding them. Removing trapped air with a £2 key should help to warm rooms up quicker. In turn, this could save you as much as £100 a year on your heating bills.
Flush your system
Are your radiators still not getting hot? Then it’s worth paying for your system to be flushed. Power flushing removes the sludge that builds up in systems, enabling radiators to heat up properly. Although this typically costs from £200 to do, it may lower your heating bills by around 25%.
Programme your heating
It’s easy to forget to turn the heating off when you go out or go to bed. That’s why putting your central heating on a timer is a good way to stop you from wasting energy and therefore money. You can also use the thermostat to set the temperature. This means the heating turns off when the room’s warm enough, rather than running constantly.
Tweak the thermostat
If you regularly set your thermostat to a temperature over 21°C, it’s worth considering lowering this. It’s easier to get to sleep at night if your bedroom is slightly cooler and turning your heating down by just one degree could save you £100 to £200 per year. So, it’s beneficial to keep the thermostat between 18°C and 21°C.
Get smart
You could go one better than using a conventional programmer and upgrade to a smart thermostat. It gives you greater control over your heating as you can turn it off remotely and helps you closely monitor your energy consumption. Some devices are capable of learning your lifestyle and automatically tweak the programming to better suit your routine and improve efficiency. Some smart thermostats can also zone your heating, so you’re not heating unused rooms.
Adjust radiator valves
You can also zone your heating by using the valves on your radiators. These controls allow you to boost the warmth in the rooms you’re using and lower the temperature in the ones you’re not. Doing this should help to lower your energy consumption during the colder months, saving you £40 to £60 a year.
Move your furniture
Lowering energy bills isn’t just about how you use your heating controls. More low-tech solutions can help you reduce your costs too. Perhaps the easiest is to move your furniture away from your radiators. This allows the heat to radiate into the room properly, so you feel the benefit. It’s also worth making sure that you don’t have radiator covers or curtains blocking the heat either.
Use radiator foil
Putting foil behind your radiator bounces heat back into the room rather than it simply absorbing into the wall. Packs of radiator foil from DIY stores cost £10 to £15 each but you can make your own using kitchen foil wrapped around cardboard sheets. Doing this one job typically saves £20 to £30 a year on heating bills.
Insulate the loft
Done on a DIY basis, insulating the loft using rolls of mineral wool is likely to cost you £4 to £5 per square metre. If your loft is currently uninsulated, adding blanket insulation to a depth of 270mm could save you between £200 and £400 per year. But even if you’re just topping up existing insulation, you may still save £20 to £40 annually.
Draught-proof rooms
Draught proofing can be as effective as insulation in terms of helping to keep your home warm and cutting your heating bills. Cheap solutions such as using draught excluders on your doors and unused chimneys and sealing around windows and skirting boards can save you up to £100 a year.
Get the best deal
Energy deals aren’t what they once were but it’s still worth checking you’re on the best tariff available. And it only takes five working days to switch. Suppliers offer better rates if you pay by direct debit, so it’s also worth changing to monthly payments. Even though some people are reluctant to get a smart meter this prevents your supplier from overestimating your bills, so don’t hold out.
