Everybody loves the comfort of a warm and cosy home, especially during the cold months of the year. However, this comfort comes at an expense and the majority of household expenses in the UK go to central heating. According to the Energy Saving Trust, over 50% of a households energy bills go to heating and hot water. The average household also spends £1287 per which means there are a lot of cost-saving possibilities. Some are simple as putting on a hoody, while others call might involve replacing your boiler with a more efficient one. In this article, we will give you five tips, which if you implement you will save huge amounts on central heating.
Servicing Your Boiler
While this might seem like an additional cost, it is an investment that could potentially save you a lot of money down the road. Having a Gas Safe registered engineer service your boiler ensures that any issues with your boiler are rectified quickly. A simple malfunction could get out of control and it is not uncommon to find boilers damaged beyond repair from something that could have been easily fixed. Servicing your boiler also gives your boiler longevity, meaning it will serve you for years to come. You also get the added benefit of an efficient boiler which will help you save a lot. For instance, a boiler engineer can clear out water and built-up sludge in your radiators which will make your boiler more efficient.
Insulate Your Property
Another simple tip that will help you save money on heating costs is investing in insulation. Insulating your property ensures that the heat produced is trapped in a room or your entire home and is not lost through the cold walls. As such, your central heating system works less to keep your house warm, which in turn saves you money.
There a different options when it comes to insulating your property. The simplest method is draught-proofing, which entails sealing windows and doors tightly to prevent cold air from rushing in or warm air from escaping. Another method is thermal paper insulation which could increase your house’s warm-up time by over 60%
If you have a hot water cylinder, you should consider insulating it to reduce heat loss. The hot water in the cylinder cools down rapidly which in turn makes your boiler heat the water again.
Utilize a Thermostat
Thermostats go a long way in helping you to save on your central heating bills. They help you minimize wastage by ensuring your boiler is used only when it is needed. Thermostats also enable you to set a reasonable temperature and adjust the temperature of different rooms accordingly. Nearly every boiler on the market comes with a standard thermostat but you could upgrade to a smart thermostat for more cost-saving benefits.
Smart thermostats have different capabilities such as remote operation. This means that you can adjust the temperature of your home via WiFi or Bluetooth while at work or on your way home. Other thermostats come with weather compensation capabilities enabling them to read the temperatures outside and automatically adjust the indoor temperature as needed. Motion detector thermostats are increasingly becoming popular as they detect movement in a room and adjust the temperature accordingly.
With all these different thermostats, you can choose the one that works best for you or the one that saves on costs the most.
Use Solar Panels
If you would like to take your cost-saving to a whole other level, you should consider combining an efficient boiler with solar panels. Solar panels work alongside your boiler by absorbing heat from the sun which can then be used for your hot water or central heating. On their own, solar panels cannot provide enough heating or hot water especially for a house with multiple bedrooms and bathrooms. However, the reduced strain on your boiler will relieve you from costly energy bills.
Upgrade to an Efficient Boiler
If you have tried implementing some of the tips above to no avail or your boiler is simply beyond repair, you might want to upgrade to a more efficient boiler. If your boiler is at the end of its lifespan, then it might be a good idea to let it go and replace it with a new one. Otherwise, the cost of repairs will keep going up not to mention the difficulty in finding outdated spare parts.
Consider getting an A-Rated boiler to save massively on heating bills. This is what most boiler installers would suggest installing, once you are ready to get a new one. A-Rated boilers mostly have an ERP rating of 90% and above. Whilst these boilers are costly, their energy efficiency, in the long run, outweighs the cost of purchasing.
Conclusion
Hopefully, these tips are helpful and you will find them actionable. We fully understand that purchasing and operating a boiler can be expensive but there are steps you can take to mitigate the costs. To get you started, implement one or two of these tips which you find applicable and affordable.
