News & Advice

Everyone is feeling the effects of the rising cost of living, so more than ever, every penny counts. Therefore, we will draw on our experience to provide advice and suggestions to assist you in lowering the size of some of your bills. We sincerely hope that this is helpful. Please feel free to leave comments with any questions, and we will do our best to answer them.

1. Reflective Panels behind the Radiators

According to the Energy Saving Trust, installing reflective panels behind your radiators can aid in lowering your energy consumption. In particular, if the wall is not insulated, the idea is that it reflects the heat back into the room rather than allowing it to escape into the wall. I’m not sure how much this will help, but every little bit helps.

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What type of reflective panel is not specified. We have seen foil used and some have bought from B&Q.

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2. Control the Temperature Stat

Coming in from the cold makes it tempting to “turn the heating right up,” but there is a misconception that doing so will cause the heating to warm up more quickly. This is not the case, and doing so would typically result in your house getting too hot and a significant amount of energy being wasted.

Instead, you should know what is a comfortable temperature for you in your home.

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Learn to control your control stat so that you aren’t over heating your home.

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3. Turn off Radiators

If you have a spare room in your house that nobody is using, turn the radiator valve off. This way, you are only paying to heat the areas of the house you are using.

Your boiler needs to be able to circulate the water and dissipate the heat it generates, so it is possible to turn off too many radiators and cause your boiler to overheat, but as long as you have enough radiators open, this won’t be a problem.

The thermostatic valves are controls designed for customer use, so they should be fairly straightforward, but if you aren’t sure, we would recommend getting someone to help you.

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Turn down radiators that are in unused rooms.

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4. Do your radiators need bleeding?

In certain parts of your system, usually at the tops of your radiators, air tends to collect. As a result, your radiator may not be utilised to its full potential, which could cause your heating system to perform less effectively than it could.

How do you know if your radiator has air in it?

The temperature difference between the bottom and top of the radiator is a typical sign that air is trapped in your heating system. When your heating is on, check to see if the tops of the radiators are getting as warm as the bottom. If the top is considerably cooler than the bottom, there is a possibility that there is air trapped in the radiator.

What should you do if you believe air is trapped in your system?

Your system needs to be bled to get the air out of it. Bleeding the radiator of air is what is meant by this. Please note that while bleeding your radiators is fairly simple, you should be sure you know what you’re doing before attempting it. If you are unsure how to do it, we strongly advise you to ask someone to help you bleed your radiators if you are unsure how to do it.

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If your radiator is cold at the top and warm at the bottom while your heating is on, then there’s a good chance there is air inside.

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5. Wash your hands with cold water.

According to studies, using cold water to wash your hands is just as effective as using warm water. By the time your combi boiler ignites and starts to deliver hot water to your taps, you’ve probably already finished washing your hands almost entirely.

In the UK, NHS experts say people can use cold or hot water to wash their hands.

By using cold water to wash your hands, you can prevent the boiler from starting up to provide hot water to the tap. Every time your boiler fires up, gas is used, so every time you wash your hands in cold water, you use less gas in your house or caravan.

This is a great way to cut your gas use and expenses without drastically altering your daily routine.

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Washing your hands with cold water can reduce your energy bill.

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6. Identify and block draughts

Draughts can cause you to feel cooler than the room actually is, and windows and doors can let a lot of heat out. You can make your own draught excluders out of stuffed stockings, rolled-up towels, and other items without needing to buy expensive ones.

If your windows are draughty, you may want to upgrade them eventually, but in the interim, you can try to block any gaps to help reduce how draughty they are.

Decide where there might be draughts by taking a walk around your house.

WARNING: Do not cover up any vents that were specifically installed in your home.

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Don’t buy expensive draught excluders, you can make your own.

Please let us know if this was helpful, and if you know someone who could use this knowledge, please share it with them. We are sharing lots of tips and tricks on our Facebook page so go ahead and follow us there.

Otherwise if you find yourself in need of a gas engineer for your holiday home in the west midlands be sure to give us a shout.