More than half of the money the typical UK household spends on fuel bills goes towards those that provide the property with heating and hot water. As fuel costs rise, having an efficient heating system is vital. It’s also one of the main steps to reducing your carbon dioxide emissions.
The most common form of central heating is a boiler and radiators. The boiler heats up water that is then pumped through pipes to radiators throughout the home, it also provides hot water to the kitchen and bathroom taps.
Most boilers run on mains gas or oil. These are usually the cheapest fuels, and also the lowest carbon dioxide emissions apart from wood.
Gas and oil boilers are combination boilers, heating water when it is needed. Often, the hot water is used immediately and not stored, but some boilers heat the water and store it in a hot water cylinder that feeds to the taps.
If you have a boiler system like this, then you have plenty of options for energy-saving upgrades.
•Replace the boiler – to a newer and more efficient model.
•Fit better controls – make sure your boiler only provides heat where and when you need it by getting a programmable thermostat with a 7 day timer.
•Renewable technologies – switch to lower carbon fuel technology such as solar heating for your water, or solar photovoltaic for your electricity.
•Draught-proofing improvement – thoroughly check all insulation throughout your heating system to prevent heat wastage, and maybe think about having underfloor heating installation.
•Chemical inhibitors – help maintain central heating system efficiently and save on bills.
•Storage heaters – install new and more controllable heaters.