I hate being cold. So as we are now heading into the winter months, I have been looking into how to make sure that I am using my central heating as efficiently as possible. This is especially important as the use of gas to heat our homes is actually the most significant part of most people’s annual carbon footprint!
Unfortunately, I cannot afford to change my heating system from gas to something greener, however I am at least happy to have Bulb as my provider who state that their gas supply is made up of 10% green gas and they off-set the rest, so in theory all of the gas that I use is carbon neutral.
In reality though 90% of the gas is still coming from an unsustainable source, so I have therefore been looking at what I can personally do to reduce my energy useage. Luckily my boiler and radiators are relatively new and I have thermostatic radiator valves on all of my radiators to allow me to control the temperature in each room more effectively. (Apparently these should be set at 3 or 4 and then adjusted as necessary.) I have therefore been slowly adjusting the thermostatic valve on each radiator to find the optimal setting, unfortunately it has been taking quite a lot of trial and error. To make it even trickier two of my radiator valves are in an awkward position to read and so I have decided to mark the settings on the top of the controls with some stickers (I found in my crafts box) so that I can easily see what I am doing!
In terms of some overall optimum temperatures, most guidance says you should set your boiler to 65°C, radiators 60-80°C and hot water 60°C. However it can vary depending on your system and so when I have my annual boiler service in the next couple of weeks I will be making sure that it is all set to work as efficiently as possible by my plumber.
My radiators are centrally controlled by a room thermostat which I now make sure is set to the lowest comfortable temperature, (typical levels are 18-21°C). So at the moment I have it set to 19°C and when I go to bed I turn it down to about 12°C .
My underfloor heating is controlled by a very clever thermostat with lots of different programmes and settings. So after managing to find and work-out the instructions, I have now set some programmes with the minimum comfortable temperature for the different times of the day. (At night the underfloor heating is set for 7°C as this is the recommended temperature for frost protection.)
Now they say that turning the thermostat down by just 1°C can reduce your heating bill by 10%, so I have been paying very close attention to my room thermostats to see what is comfortable and if I can manage 1°C less than usual and on the whole I haven’t even noticed.
There are also a lot of people saying that you should keep the heat on a low level when you are out rather than turning it on and off, however this opinion is frequently disputed. I think it comes down to a lot of different factors, including how long you are away from the house, how long your house takes to heat up and how well it retains heat. I am generally at home most of the day though so I think it is best just to leave mine on at carefully controlled temperatures.
Something I have previously been very guilty of is increasing the temperature settings on my thermostats whenever I feel a bit cold. However my research has pointed out to me that this WILL NOT heat rooms quicker, it will just overheat the room and waste energy. In cold snaps it is actually better to adjust the programmer to put the heating on earlier rather than adjust the temperature. The average home needs approximately 1 hour to warm up from 16°C to 21°C. On the flip side your home will take about 30 minutes to cool down (longer in a well-insulated property) so apparently I should also try to turn the heating down half an hour before I go to bed.
To help my radiators actually radiate properly I have not only made sure that I have moved furniture away from them (especially the sofa), but I have also now shortened the floor length curtains in both of my boys’ rooms so that I can now tuck the bottom of them behind the radiator (apparently the best way to stop hot air escaping out of the window). I had also read about the benefits of using reflector panels to stop heat escaping through uninsulated exterior walls and so as I have two radiators located in bay windows (where I am not sure of how well they are insulated), today I made two reflector panels out of cardboard and tin foil and have tucked them discreetly between the radiators and the wall.
Other quick tips include:
• Let in the light in the daytime and draw curtains at dusk to make the most of any heat from the sun.
• Eliminate drafts, including letterbox and keyhole covers.
• Unused rooms should have the door closed and the radiator set to lowest level, but sunny rooms should have their doors left open.
• Corridors and hallways should be heated less and bedrooms should be at a lower temperature than living rooms.
So that is a quick sense check of my heating system to get me started and I will definitely be taking a more considered approach to managing the temperature of the house from now on. Not forgetting of course that we should be putting on another layer of clothes rather than turning up the thermostat as apparently it can increase the temperature you feel by up to 3 degrees. So just pass me a jumper and some slippers and I am all set!
