Reducing Heating and Hot Water Energy costs by Up to 50%
(this is 78% of most peoples bill)
The most important thing is not to lose the heat you have paid for.
Heat rises and most of your heat will eventually disappear through your upstairs ceiling, so lets try and stop it leaving.
A central heating system is normally designed to heat each room to a comfortable temperature with the doors closed. If you or family members leave the doors open then your rooms will feel cold (cold air falls to lowest room and hot air rises to be lost through highest upstairs ceiling) and your heating bills will go through the roof as your boiler tries to heat the 20 foot high “room” you have created of your whole house.
- Doors
Doors should normal be shut, several cheap door closers exist.
Rising butt hinges (around £4.00 a pair) just replace your existing hinges (minor trimming of the top or bottom of door may be needed).
Alternatively simple door closing mechanism could be used, this just screws in place (from £10.00)
More sophisticated closers are available if necessary (from £20.00)
- Radiators
These should ideally be fitted with thermostatic radiator valves to allow ideal temperatures to be set for each room so you don’t waste money overheating rooms.
Radiators should not have furniture pushed against them as this stops them working efficiently, a simple spacer (block of wood or a book) should ensure an inch or two of free circulation space.
Do not drape clothes over a radiator in order to dry or air them, there are far better ways to dry laundry than this method. (Please see energy saver sheet on laundry) . Covering a radiator with laundry stops the radiator working properly either making that room cold and/or making the central heating system try and heat that room by overheating adjacent rooms.
- Using wasted heat
This is a proven method of reducing heating costs by over 50% whilst cutting heating up times in half.
Ceiling fans are used to both cool and heat buildings in the USA, Middle East, Australia and New Zealand but not in the UK. We simply have never installed, used or understand the advantages of ceiling fans
Scientific tests (by Choice the local equivalent of Which magazine) in Australia have proved that the amount of energy needed to heat a closed room is reduced by more than 50% when a ceiling fan is used in reverse (winter setting). The time taken to reach the desired air temperature is also reduced greatly. This works because hot air rises and becomes trapped against the ceiling and is normally wasted, the fan draws cold air from the floor and mixes it with the hot air and so uses this normally wasted heat for the first time.
For further data see
www.choice.com.au/home-and-living/cooling/fans/articles/how-ceiling-fans-heat-your-home-and-save-you-money
Fans cost from £70.00 each and are available from retailers such as B&Q.
If ceiling fans are included in a heating plan/design then radiator sizes and boiler capacities can be reduced substantially.
The effects can be startling, turning the heating down one degree will save around £120 after April 2022. The above 4 degree saving will result in something around £480 (energy costs based on April 2022 ) saving with no drop in comfort levels i.e the sofa level temperature will not change.
A ceiling Fan costs from £60.00 from B&Q or on line and simply replaces your rooms central/main light fixture.
- Draughts
The whole house should be checked for draughts, these constantly steal heat and make the occupants uncomfortable. A windy day makes this job easier.
Unused fireplaces should be draught proofed
a chimney balloon (£20.00) or similar devices do a good job.
Windows should be checked as above.
External doors and letterboxes, can be weather stripped, letterboxes are awkward to draught proof with bristle strips often trapping leaflets and letters. Consideration could be given to sealing the letterbox and fitting a new external lockable post-box (£17.00),
Wooden floors to the ground floor should be checked and rope or similar treatment installed in the gaps.
Kitchen, bathrooms and laundries should be checked for draughts around pipes exiting the house.
Any links between out buildings and garages should be checked and insulated.
Loft hatches should be checked for both draughts and adequate insulation and remedied or replaced as necessary.
- Insulation
Check loft insulation is to current standards, if not top it up. This is a cheap and very effective DIY job paying for itself normally within 2 years (270 millimetres for glass wool, 250 millimetres for rock wool or 220 millimetres for cellulose).
Sloping ceilings, these have long been considered impossible to insulate, a rip out and start again job, very messy and expensive but they can sometimes be tackled easily. The method is to use a complete roll of foil type insulation or plastic wrapped glass wool and make a bag at one end by turning the insulation back on itself and fixing or attaching a strong separate plastic bag. the bag acts as pushing points, you insert drain rods and slowly push from the loft until firm resistance is encountered.
Check loft hatch is insulated (this is a bit like a bath plug, it’s impossible to economically fill your house with heat if the loft hatch isn’t insulated properly (and most are not). (Available from
£34.00).
Insulate any overhanging floors , over porches, passageways etc either lift floor boards in rooms above and insulate or insulate externally with sheet insulation.
If you have cold internal walls due to solid external walls or other defects a relatively low cost solution is to coat the inside walls with Wallrock Thermal Liner (£60.00 a roll, covers 7.5 sq meters) or similar products to insulate wall and provide a new knock resistant decorating service. This probably will also eliminate any condensation or black mould problems on these walls.
Consider insulating any uninsulated cavity walls, again an inexpensive upgrade paying for itself in just a couple of years, (£200 per external two storey wall). Some free insulation grants exist.
The Energy Saving trust can advise).
Radiators on external walls will benefit from foil being fitted to the wall at rear of radiator to prevent warming of external walls. (£7.00 for 1.9 sq metres)
- Hot Water
Most central heating systems allow you to control the heat of the hot water for sinks and bath use. Most systems are set to produce hot water at a higher temperature than is actually used in the house. If you need to add cold water to the water you bath, shower in and wash up with then you are probably heating hot water up to a much higher temperature than you need too. Turn the thermostat down on your hot water cylinder or boiler and try a lower temperature. The savings here can be dramatic.
When washing hands or rinsing crockery most people reach for the hot tap, but often the boiler is many meters away. This means the boiler needs to fire up and all those many meters of pipe need to fill with hot water before you see any hot water in the bathroom or kitchen So you see no benefit most of the time, you just waste gas and hot water, try to develop the habit of washing hands and rinsing cups in cold water Save the hot tap for when larger amounts of water are needed, showers, baths and washing up after meals.
- Heating empty/disused rooms
Empty or lightly used rooms can have their heating reduced or turned off completely. If a three bed house has only one or two occupants it may be feasible to close off
two bedrooms and a dining room reducing hat requirements by some 40%.
- Windows
Windows should be checked for draughts (easy on a windy day) and any found should be stopped by fixing self-adhesive rubber or sponge tape (available at most DIY stores and some supermarkets).
Curtains should be closed at dusk to minimise heat loss as the outside temperature plunges at sunset.
Consideration should be given to fitting thermal liners to existing curtains particularly if you do not have double glazed windows.
Other things to do
There are plenty of other things that can be considered, but I have tried to concentrate on the fast to install and relatively inexpensive changes that normal people can do even with limited budgets.
If time and money allows these are a few of the areas that could be explored :-
• Underfloor insulation
• Upgraded double or triple glazed windows
• Upgrade source of Central heating (be very careful if looking at heat pumps as they only work well with underfloor heating and super insulated houses)
• Solar panels for electricity and hot water
Hope this helps