Upgrade your boiler to a condensing boiler these are 90% efficient
Condensing boilers use the same gases twice. This is why it comes out as a liquid making them 90-95 % more effiecient than your old conventional boiler which runs around 70% efficiency
Turn down the thermostat on the wall by a few degrees
The thermostat is normally screwed to the wall. 21 degrees is what they call comfortable, but just turning it down to 19 degrees will keep your gas bills as low as possible
Setting the programmer / timer
If you have a programmer to switch hot water and central heating on/off, set the hot water for 6 am or an hour before showers or baths. Same again in the evening rather than on continuous this will keep your gas bills as low as possible
Turn off the pre-heat on your combi boiler
most combi boilers have a pre-heat setting which can be changed to zero for yout hot water, you will normally hear you gas boiler go on and off for no reason throughout the day.
Get a combi boiler so you only use instant hot water from taps
Limit shower times to 5 mins
Get a magnetic filter attached to the central heating to prevent sludge
Try and fit underfloor heating in rooms, much more efficient than radiators as the heat rises over a larger surface area
Insulate the loft and walls
Solar Panels
Generate free electricity for your home
Although a costly expense of around £7k you should save around £1k a year off your electricity bill
You can export your electricity back to the grid
Heat pumps
The Scandanavians are leading the way in the heat pump market. Norway are topping the list with 1 in every 3 households having one.
The government is trying to push heat pumps to hit net zero targets. Grants are available for a limited to time to help you with the cost of installation.
There are different types of heat pumps available, air sourced, ground sourced, and water sourced.
Government grants available £5000
Typical install around £15000
Typical saving is apparently 50% off your annual bills
Insulation
Insulate your loft space as all heat is lost through the ceiling of your home
Make sure all pipework around either your boiler or hot water are insulated to stop heat loss
You can get insulation drilled in through your outside bricks to stop heat loss to outside
Servicing your boiler
Most people put off having a boiler service but it’s very important not only to keep up the guarantee but to keep it running as effiiebtly as possible
Cleaning the heat exchanger will make your boiler work more effectively as water passing through the fins will be more effective.
Cleaning the carbon deposits from your syphon will help build up back to the heat exchanger which again helps the longivity of your boiler
Summary
If you carry out these simple steps these will help keep your gas bills as low as possible
MAY
2023
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