With energy bills rising, people across the country are trying to find ways they can keep their costs down. It can be very tough, but we’d thought we’d share a few ideas that might help, even just a little bit.
Choose where to direct your heating
You can use your heating more expertly both by directing it to specific rooms and by setting it to switch on at specific times. Think about which rooms in your home you tend to use the most, and which are insulated the worst. You’ll want to direct your central heating to the places where it’s most needed, such as living rooms and bedrooms. You’ll also want it to switch on when you’re actually home - otherwise the heating will just get wasted.
Find alternative ways to keep warm
We’ve got an entire blog about how to stay warm in the winter - but a lot of the points still apply year round. Make sure you layer up, wear thick socks and hide behind a cosy blanket! Don’t forget to stop any draughts coming in from the doors and windows too, as they can let an unwanted chill inside. Keeping active is also a great way to boost your body heat, as are hot drinks.
Take note of your thermostat
Your thermostat controls the temperature of your home and by turning it down, you’ll reduce your overall energy consumption at the cost of a slightly colder house. On top of this, you’ll want to make sure that your thermostat is in working order, as if it’s broken, it can make your heating run less efficiently. Have a heating engineer take a look, and if it’s the case then it would be cost-effective to invest in upgrading it. While it’s more money up front, you’ll end up saving more with an efficient central heating system.
Unplug energy vampires
If you want to save money on bills, but are reluctant to mess with your heating, then an easy place to start is with your “energy vampires.” Energy vampires waste loads of energy behind the scenes, even on standby - some examples being your television, computer and microwave. If you start to be more proactive about unplugging your appliances when they aren’t needed, you can save more money for your heating.
Is your boiler working right?
If your boiler isn’t running efficiently it can end up costing you more money in the long run than having it repaired or replaced. Every boiler is assigned an efficiency rating, with an A grade representing a boiler of 90% efficiency and a G grade one of 65%. The less efficient a boiler is, the more energy it wastes trying to heat up your house. While it’s more expensive to outright replace your boiler in the short-term, the costs of an inefficient one will eventually mount up to be more money.
If you have any questions about your boiler, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a qualified heating engineer - they’ll point you in the right direction.