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How to Save Money on Your Energy Bills
As the cold months arrive and your house starts to get nippy, the time to turn on the heating approaches. You might be asking yourself when is the best time to fire up the central heating? How can I heat my home more efficiently? And how do I weather the economic storm?
When To Turn On The Central Heating
Although the perfect time isn’t set in stone, most people aim to turn on their heating when daylight saving ends, which will be 30th October this year. There’s also no set outside temperature that will dictate when you should fire up the radiators because there are simply too many variables to consider, when you should turn your heating on all depends on how well insulated your house is, what your threshold for cold is, your age, whether you have any medical needs, and unfortunately how much the extra expense is going to affect you.
Improving Insulation
To stay warm for a little bit longer without turning the heating on it is important to make sure your house is as well insulated as possible, it’ll help you save a small fortune in the long run!
Draught excluders are a simple, quick and cheap way to insulate your home a little bit more, they work by blocking up the gaps underneath your doors to trap heat in your room. Another quick and relatively cheap way to trap heat inside is to put up some thermal curtains, a lot of heat is lost through windows, so it’s a good idea to add an extra layer over the glass to prevent the heat escaping. Speaking of windows, installing double or even triple glazing is one of the most effective ways of improving the insulation of your house, although it is a more expensive solution it is definitely an investment worth considering.
Importance Of Boiler Maintenance
THE most important thing to improve efficiency is to ensure the regular maintenance of your boiler. According to the experts, you should have your boiler serviced at least once a year to make sure it is safe and working to its full potential. A defective boiler can massively increase your heating bill as your boiler will have to work harder to heat your house, so it may even be worth considering upgrading and replacing your boiler.
Tips For Saving Money
The question of when to turn on the heating is all about the associated costs, so finding out how to keep costs low is essential.
Installing electric radiators can be a good investment for you to save money in the long run, despite the higher unit costs of electricity compared to gas. This is due to the high efficiency of running electric radiators as 100% of the electricity used is turned into heat compared to traditional gas fuelled radiators powered by boilers, as even the most efficient boilers waste about 10% of the energy in its fuel when heating a radiator. You can find our range of electric radiators here.
Soft furnishings are also effective at making your home more insulated and reducing energy bills, carpets and curtains are great for trapping heat and if you have wooden floorboards adding a rug will help keep the room warmer.
Hanging wet clothes or a towel over a radiator might be a good way to dry your clothes faster and make your towel warm and toasty for your morning shower, however, doing this blocks heat from leaving the radiator and warming up the room meaning your boiler has to work harder to hit the set temperature.
An important thing to remember is to make sure your thermostat is located in the optimal place. Put your thermostat in the room you use most, the living room for example. Keep it away from heat sources like radiators and fires, and make sure it’s not blocked by any furniture.
When To Turn Off The Heating
Knowing when to turn off the central heating is just as important as knowing when to turn it on if you’re looking to save a few quid. Again, there is no specific date that is the best time to turn off your central heating, it all depends on a lot of variables, but we can give a good round about date. According to Utility Bidder, most households turn down the thermostat on the 14th March when the weather is warming up, obviously the date is different for everyone but it’s nice to know a good date to aim for.
If you’re looking to upgrade your heating to a more modern and efficient radiator, why not check out our range of radiators?