The main stream media is full of reasons why we should cut gas and electric usage. Ever increasing gas costs, not just in the UK but worldwide make it crucial to get the most out of your heating boiler and central heating system. You may be surprised to find out that a very high percentage of your gas and electric costs will be related to your heating system. Quick Tips. Read below for some simple ways in which you can take small changes to lower your daily energy expenses.
Don’t use the boiler in areas where it is not required
You can easily turn off gas central heating radiators for a period without much change in temperature, so switch them off in any rooms that are not going to be used for a while, such as a spare room or toilet. If an area of your home is not used often, it really doesn’t need heating 24/7. Also, make sure to close doors on rooms when not in use to keep the warmth inside.
Don’t use the fire if you can use the central heating system
If gas or electric, the main fire of a home is not as efficient as the heating boiler. Furthermore it will not heat the rest of your residence. If you have a real fire, the presence of the chimney means that a lot of the heat generated gets put straight outside. So the gas central heating is much more efficient for heating than that of an electric or gas fire.
Stop Drafts With Proper Insulation
Stop those drafts. Pay special care to your doors and windows and insulate any obvious gaps. Use a foam based sealer to close off any spaces between your door frame and the window frames where they join the exterior wall. These type of gaps happen often in older dwellings as the foundations settle.
Wrap Up Warm
When you feel the room is a little cold, rather than turning the heating up, consider putting on some more layers of clothing as an alternative to turning up the room thermostat. Surprisingly, tiny decrease in the room thermostat can result in approximately a 5% - 10% reduction in your energy usage.
Finally
Insulate your central heating hot water tank if you have one. A cylinder which is not insulated will lose heat and cause you to use more energy to heat the hot water up to temperature again. Radiators warm the wall behind them and while not very nice if not done with some professionalism, the heat escaping can be bounced back into the room if you put aluminium foil at the back of the radiators.
