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Free, Fast DeliveryHow to heat a home cheaply and efficiently in 2020
Due to the social distancing measures introduced by the UK Government, many more of us are staying at home for much longer periods of time than usual.
Not only does this have an effect on our work and the supplies we need, having ourselves and our families at home a lot more also means we are increasing the use of our heating.
Having the heating on for much more of the day than we normally would inevitably means that our heating bills will be higher at the end of each month.
In this article, we'll give a few suggestions on what you can do to heat your home more efficiently and keep your bills down as much as possible.
Make sure your central heating system is well maintained
It's recommended that you have a professional heating engineer come and take a look at your heating system every 12 months.
If you can't remember the last time you had your boiler looked at, you have to consider the possibility that your system is not running as efficiently as possible.
Bleed your radiators
A very common problem with poorly maintained heating system is air trapped in your radiators. If you can feel that your rads are hot at the bottom but cold at the top, it is likely you have air trapped in the system and your boiler will be working harder as a result.
Fortunately, bleeding your radiators of air is an easy task you can do yourself, as shown in our video below
Add chemical inhibitor
If you don't know what chemical inhibitor is or you don't know when it was last added to your system, it's probably time to do it.
Chemical inhibitor is a liquid that can be poured into your central heating system to stop rust from occurring in your pipes and radiators.
Over time, water flowing through your system can react with the metal and cause corrosion. This corrosion causes tiny bits of metal to flake off, usually settling at the bottom of radiators in the form of sludge.
If you have a radiator that is cold at the bottom and hot at the top, it is likely you have sludge at the bottom of your radiator.
Making sure your chemical inhibitor levels are topped up helps stops this internal corrosion from happening and keeps your system running more efficiently.
Turn your thermostat down by 1°C
Of course you want to make sure your home is adequately heated, but this doesn't mean that you have to have your heating going full blast at all times.
Much like driving sensibly can help your car to get more MPG, thinking about how you use your heating can save you money on your monthly heating bills.
Some sources have suggested experimenting with turning your heating thermostat down by a single degree. Estimates have shown that you can save a significant amount of energy by using this tactic which will in turn create savings on your heating bill.
Don't block radiators with furniture
Where possible, it's best to ensure that large pieces of furniture aren't placed in front of radiators.
The reason is because the furniture will soak up a lot of the heat and block the radiator from emitting heat out into the room.
This will mean the room takes a lot longer to heat up to your desired temperature, using more energy as a result.
If you are limited for space and cannot help but place furniture in front of your radiator, try pulling the furniture away from the radiator and slightly closer to the middle of the room. It only needs to be by a couple of inches, but this could be enough to allow the heat to circulate around your room more quickly and efficiently.
Install modern radiators
If your radiators are over 15 years old, it's very likely that they could do with being replaced.
Not only might they contain energy sapping corrosive sludge, additionally radiator technology has come a long way over the last decade.
Modern manufacturing techniques mean that radiators can get up to temperature much more quickly than days of old and by using a lower water content. This means that much less energy is used in heating your home, resulting in lower heating bills.
While the material of your radiator can have an extra effect on energy efficiency, all of our radiators benefit from modern radiator design and are excellent at emitting high heat outputs with a low energy usage.
We are currently delivering all radiators as normal with free fast delivery at TradeRadiators.com. If you are interested in getting some new radiators for your home and feel now is a great opportunity to do it, please feel free to get in touch for any help and assistance with your choice.
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