Money Saving Tips!

10 tips to save money on your energy heating bills

With increased energy costs we are all interested in ways to save money on our energy bills. Here are some ways to save money on your heating bills:

Over time a poorly maintained boiler, especially an oil boiler, loses its efficiency. That's because if the mix of air to fuel is too rich, it can burn too much fuel. On the other hand too much air, means your oil boiler has to work harder and can cause a strain on the boiler, meaning you may have expensive parts to replace quicker. It is estimated that your can save up to 10% by maintaining your oil boiler regularly. To correctly service an oil boiler, the engineer will use specialist equipment to 'reset' your boiler to the original manufacturers specification, whilst adjusting it to it's actual environment. It is not possible to correctly service an oil boiler without this equipment.

As heated water passes through the pipework, a considerable amount of heat may be lost in areas like roof spaces or under the floor, by poorly insulated pipe work. In effect you could be heating spaces that you do not use. Correctly installed pipe insulation can also prevent cold water pipes from freezing, which of course could result in an expensive bill. 

15 mm pipe insulation is here

22mm pipe insualtion is here

As dust, dirt and grime build up behind the radiator it reduces its efficiency. It is recommend that these often forgotten areas are cleaned at least annually. This will also help reduce allergies from dust too.

A long brush is available here

A simple way to reduce heating bills is by making sure windows and doors are draught free, whilst making sure your property still has good ventilation. Windows and doors can be adjusted and draught excluders installed, to prevent valuable heat from escaping. 

An example is available on Amazon here

Even just turning the heating down by 1 degree can represent a significant saving on your heating.

Installing a thermostatic radiator valve on each radiator allows the radiator to be controlled independently (some systems are not compatible) meaning you can turn down the radiators in rooms not in use and keep the rooms you use, nice a warm.

As the boiler heats up the water, a pump moves this around each radiator. If your heating system is incorrectly set up, you may find the first radiator on the 'route' is very hot and the last is cold to touch. Not only does this mean your rooms are not heating correctly, but also this can have a serious impact on your boiler. When incorrectly heated water returns to the boiler it can cause stress on the boiler, significantly reducing its efficiency and on occasion may even cause leaks in the heat exchanger or other damage. Normally, this is set up when your boiler was first installed (commissioned), however over time the lockshield valves may have been adjusted which causes an imbalance or there have been other changes to the heating system which have impacted the balancing.

This is a simple way to improve radiator efficiency. This is especially useful if you are using radiator covers.

They are cheaply available from Amazon

Smart systems can save you hundreds of pounds a year, find out more here

A radiator fan improves heat distribution and reportedly provides savings.

They are easy to install and are available on Amazon here

We can help save you money on your heating system, please feel free to contact us