We all love to be warm and cosy at home, but with soaring energy bills and increasing concerns for the environment, using less energy makes sense for everyone.
So here are a few simple changes you can take to be more energy savvy around the home and save money on your bills. Plus, every small change can make a big difference to our planet.
Let's begin by taking control.
A full set of controls can enable your boiler to be precisely matched to the heating needs of your home and even adapt to the weather outside. So, you only use your heating when it's absolutely required.
There are potentially millions of UK homeowners who could benefit from upgrading their controls, even if your boiler is relatively new. Making this upgrade not only ensures your heating system is working much more efficiently but could also save you a whole lot of cash every year.
Turning down the temperature of your heating by just one degree could lead to big savings too. In a typical detached house, this could bring down your bills and save the equivalent of 11 trees worth of carbon every year. So, imagine if every home did the same.
Turning your central heating boiler flow temperature down to reduce how hot your radiators are, could also reduce your bills. That’s if you have a modern boiler and you didn’t choose intelligent heating controls or weather compensation controls. If you do have these functionalities, the good news is the boiler is already doing this for you without you even knowing. You will still need to have enough heat to warm your home comfortably though so it’s worth a bit of trial and error throughout the year and how much you could save will vary.
Now, you probably already know that a shower uses a lot less water than a bath, so you are already onto a winner. Less water heated means less energy used and less money spent, and if you keep your shower to around four minutes, the average household can keep the savings flowing.
While we’re upstairs, let's talk insulation too. Now you know how wearing a hat in cold weather keeps your body heat in. Well, insulation in the roof does the same job for your home, it’s like a hat for your house. Now your house could lose a quarter of its heat through the roof, so effective insulation will reduce the amount of heating your home needs to get warm and stay warm.
It is worth occasionally checking your radiators too. And if you have any cold spots, it means your heating isn’t as efficient as it could be. So you could be wasting money. Bleeding your radiators isn’t as hard or scary as it sounds, and there is lots of help online if you need it. One of the most obvious energy savings you can make is the energy you don’t use. The more you can do to keep the warm in and cold out will always pay dividends, particularly in older houses.
Simple DIY fixes to cover cracks and seal gaps around windows, doors, and even floorboards are always worth a little effort and the saving can really add up.
The savings we've talked about can make a real difference to your energy bills and your carbon footprint.
You can go further too by considering your heating system itself. This boiler is A-rated for efficiency, so in terms of heat output, it’s getting the best out of every kilowatt of fuel. If you have an older G-rated boiler, switching to a new A-rated boiler can help you save on your gas bills. With a typical boiler replacement costing anything between two and a half to four and a half thousand pounds, you could find your savings quite quickly cover the cost of your system upgrade.
Perhaps you are considering going greener still by switching to a heat pump or a hybrid solution, which combines a boiler and a heat pump in one system. If your home is suitable and many, many homes in the UK are, you could save money on your gas bills by upgrading. Speak to your local installer to check if your home is eligible. As you can see, all these little steps can add to big savings, not just on your bills but on your carbon footprint too.
You can find all these great tips and more in a handy savings guide from Worcester Bosch. Just searching energy savings checklist on their website to make sure you get savvy and get saving.