Ways to improve your home for heating efficiency
On average, we’re all spending £3 every day on heating our homes, which amounts to an annual bill of over £1000. When the weather is particularly cold and we have the heating on for longer periods or at a higher temperature, costs can escalate to £6 a day or more. These are substantial sums for any household, and if you are thinking about cutting back on heating to save cash, then try these simple and cost effective tricks first.
Draught-proof your windows and doors
Switching single glazed windows for efficient double glazed ones is the best way of keeping heat in, but if you are in a rented property or haven’t the budget for new windows, get down to the DIY store and buy strips of foam sealer which you can use to block out draughts. Make your own draught excluders with old leggings or pairs of tights and put them around the bottom of your doors, especially those leading to the outside. These simple actions could save the average house £20 to £30 a year.
Thermostats for heating control
If you have an old central heating system which is either on full blast or not on at all, installing a heating control system could save you up to £150 a year. Radiator thermostats only cost £5 to buy and are not difficult to fit and allow you to adjust the temperature in individual rooms. You can also programme your heating to come on as and when you need it. Nearly all central heating systems can be used with a thermostatic control system, but check with your heating engineer if you are not sure.
Swap your boiler for a more efficient one
If your old boiler is prone to breaking down and is more than about ten years old, you could save by replacing an old boiler with a modern one. Savings will vary depending on the type of house and just how inefficient your old boiler is, but the typical three bedroom house upgrading from an E band boiler to an A band boiler could easily save £300 a year. Coupled with other energy saving measures, this could make a substantial difference to your energy bills. If you are considering replacing your boiler with a new one, it is essential that you get someone who knows what they are doing. Contact at least three professional heating engineers to ask them to quote for the work, and remember that if your new boiler is gas, the engineer has to be on the gas safe register.
Installing loft insulation
If you still haven’t insulated your loft, now is the time to get the job done. Adding the recommended thickness of 27cm of loft insulation could save the average household £150 a year off their heating bill. There are sometimes government incentives or grants to meet the cost of loft insulation, but even if you don’t qualify, you will pay around £300 for insulating your loft, so the work will pay for itself in two years or less.
