Worried About Your Gas Bill This Winter?
– Read Our Simple Tips Below Proven To Lower Your Gas Bills!
We Were Awarded The No.1 Heating Company For Energy Efficiency In South East England 2021.
How To Lower Your Gas Bills
You’re right to be. With the cost of living crisis affecting us all and winter fast approaching, it’s paramount your heating system is working with you, not against you. The situation with energy bills was this week described by Martin Lewis as “a national crisis” on the scale of the Covid pandemic and whilst that may sound extreme, as a heating business, we are inclined to agree.
With that in mind, we are keen to provide you with some information and tips to help you make smart choices in your home and ensure you’re protecting your pocket as much as possible.
In fact, small tweaks you can control with your central heating system mean you can save up to 20% on your gas bill. We’re here to help.
Turn Down The Flow Temperature On Your Boiler
Do you have a condensing gas boiler? It has the ability to be up to 94% efficient (otherwise known as A-rated), however, reaching these sorts of efficiencies so often depends on how it is set up to work with the rest of your central heating system.
Average home efficiencies in the UK are closer to 80%, suggesting there is significant room for improvement and money saving. We see this as a huge opportunity.
The biggest improvement we so often recommend is that condensing boilers are never set-up to be A-rated out of the box. This is due to a few reasons, however, often because of a knowledge gap between the installer and how to optimise the boiler for your home.
Fear not, however. You can make some simple tweaks to the boiler in your home to improve its efficiency by 10-25% that don’t require extensive knowledge of heating or plumbing.
Firstly, what is the ‘flow’ temperature on your boiler? Flow temperature refers to the temperature of the water in the supply (flow) pipe in a heating system. Out of the box, the flow temperature of your boiler is typically set at 75°C and for the average household, simply put, it is overkill.
In fact, the majority of UK households can operate optimally with a central heating flow temperature of 55°C, showing how out of sync this factory setting flow temperature is.
As a homeowner, to have a flow temperature of 75°C, your system is overheating to the point where you’re wasting energy. The sweet spot is a steady heat coming from your radiators, providing enough heat in the house without being red, red hot. This steady heat will still make sure your home is comfortable for you and your family.
The beauty of having the knowledge to adjust this yourself is that you can fine-tune the heat coming from your system so it is perfect for your home year-round. If it’s too hot, tune it down. Too cold, up the flow temperature.
A 10°C lower flow temperature can save you 6-8% on your gas bill alone, solidifying how important this tweak can be to saving energy and, above all else, money for you and your family.
In order to lower the flow temperature on your boiler:
- Refer to the hard copy operating manual that would have been presented when the boiler was installed. If you don’t have the manual, you’ll be able to find a digital copy online.
- You can also give your manufacturer a call and they will be able to advise on how to reduce the flow temperature over the phone.
- Book in your annual service with your local heating professional (If you’re in Kent, that’s us!) and ask them to check the flow temperature of your boiler, the hot water temperature and your boiler controls to set them as efficiently as possible. They should also be able to provide you with additional energy saving advice, bespoke to your home and system. Just make sure you research reputable heating companies beforehand so you can rest assured the engineers are gas safe and have a good local reputation.
- Finally, you should also ask the heating engineer who carries out the service to show you how to adjust the flow temp and hot water temp on your system so you can make adjustments as and when you need to, based on the time of year and your usage.
Awarded The No.1 Boiler Installer In The South East 2021
Adjust The Hot Water Temperature On Your Boiler
Specifically for combi boilers, you can also adjust the hot water temperature on your system to save yourself money. The hot water temperature on your system can be turned up or down intuitively, based on how you use your water. Similarly, 55°C is often a good place to start – you can always turn it up a little more if needed.
The advice we give our customers is that if you’re mixing cold water with hot to cool it, you’ve got some room to play with. In fact, mixing the two together is like opening a window when your radiators are hot. It’s a huge waste of energy!
Every 5°C your hot water temperature is lowered can save 2-4% on your gas bill, making it well worth doing. Again, to do this, refer to the manual, or call the manufacturer or your local heating expert.
Ditch ‘Comfort Mode’ On Your Boiler
For modern boilers, another function that is costing you money is ‘comfort mode’. In fact, we’d go on to say that it’s nothing more than marketing jargon by your manufacturer designed to sell more boilers. ‘Comfort mode’ instead, is costing you your hard-earned cash.
‘Comfort mode’ is designed to constantly heat the water inside the boiler before it’s needed, meaning it’s hot before it needs to be. Without ‘comfort mode’, your water is still going to be hot, you might just need to run it for marginally longer. In ‘comfort mode’ your boiler is going to be heating your water constantly, even when you’re asleep, resulting in a colossal waste of energy and an unnecessary uptick in your gas bill. The cost to you vastly outweighs the benefit.
If you’re unsure on how to switch off ‘comfort mode’ or if you’re unsure whether or not it’s even on, refer to your operating manual or give your manufacturer/local heating expert a call.
Don’t Just Jump At Replacing Your Old Boiler
Another fallacy in the industry is that once your boiler is 10-12 years old, it needs to be replaced. This simply is not true. It may just need fine tuning! That being said, you should refer to your boiler manual or speak to your manufacturer/local expert about whether or not you have a ‘condensing boiler’.
A condensing boiler means it is able to recover heat that was previously lost to pre-heat the heating system, resulting in greater efficiencies.
As we’ve already discussed, they are not A-rated out of the box, however. With most boilers left at their factory settings, it means they rarely recover the previously lost heat and most useful heat is lost via the flue (which produces steam on the outside of your home).
Should you decide to have a new boiler installed to benefit from ‘condensing’, in the quote delivered by your installer, make sure they have agreed to set up your system bespoke to your home and requirements.
When choosing a new boiler, ask your local expert about the size of the boiler required in relation to your property. Most boilers only need 6-10kW minimum output to produce the right amount of heat yet, boilers are often set at 24kW. The majority of boilers nowadays can be rated down to the correct kW by your local expert. Lower output = a lower energy bill. Let your boiler work smarter, not harder.
Dirty Systems – Prevention Is Better Than Cure
When your central heating water gets dirty it majorly reduces the efficiency of your system. The water gets dirty when air enters the system and causes the pipes to corrode. This causes a build-up of ‘sludge’ in the water which in extreme cases can block pipes and radiators.
As the sludge builds up, your boiler has to work harder and harder to heat your home, using more gas and increasing your fuel bill. Loose sludge can also enter the boiler and damage the component parts, in particular, something called the heat exchanger.
What can you do and how can you spot it?
If you have cold spots on your radiators or completely cold radiators, then you may need a powerflush to get rid of all the sludge. A powerflush is a process whereby each radiator is flushed out and refilled with clean water. A flush will help prolong the life of your system, prevent breakdowns and reduce your bills. A hattrick of benefits.
Once the water is clean, the best method of keeping it clean is by fitting a device called a ‘dearator’. This removes air from the system and stops corrosion at its source.
Magnetic filters are also very common now and do a great job of protecting the boiler from any stray bits of sludge entering it, however, they are not a prevention device.
Your local heating expert will be able to help diagnose exactly what the best course of action is for your system and make sure it stays clean.
All of these measures should greatly reduce the likelihood of costly and inconvenient breakdowns. In fact, 80% of boiler breakdowns are caused by dirty systems meaning it’s really something to not be overlooked.
If a flush is carried out properly and a filter installed and maintained each year via an annual service, we’d go as far as saying you should never have to flush again.
Bleed Your Radiators
A common tip but something that shouldn’t be overlooked is regularly bleeding the air out of your radiators. When air gets trapped in them, they won’t operate as efficiently as the surface area of water that is being heated is reduced.
Something also to note is the colour of the water coming out of your radiators. If it is dirty, you might need a system water health check – something your local heating expert can help with.
Other Tips
Install a smart thermostat
- Smart thermostats can make your heating more efficient by only warming the rooms you are using.
- They learn how long it takes to heat your home, so they can have it at the right temperature at exactly the right time.
- They can also be controlled by your phone, which means you can steadily heat your home
- If you installed room thermostats, programmers and thermostatic radiator valves, you could save around £75 a year.
Turn down your thermostat
- Almost half the money spent on energy bills is absorbed by heating and hot water costs.
- Turning your heating down by just one degree could save up to £80 a year.
Think about draft proofing your home
Stopping heat from escaping through unwanted gaps around doors and windows could help you save around £25 a year in the average home, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
Especially take a look at the following areas:
- Windows – Use draught-proofing strips around the frame. Brush strips work better for sash windows
- Doors – Use draught-proofing strips around the edges and brush or hinged-flap draught excluders at the bottom
- Chimney and fireplace – If you don’t use your fireplace, use an inflatable pillow to block the chimney, or fit a cap over the chimney pot. If you have an open chimney, this alone could save you £18 a year
- Floorboards and skirting – Floorboards need to move, so use a flexible silicone-based filler to fill the gaps
- Loft hatches – Use draught-proofing foam strips to keep heat in.
Finally, insulate your pipework to minimise energy loss.
