You probably recall the days when we left our homes for work or school. These were the times we could turn down the thermostat for the larger part of the day, setting it to ramp up the heat when we got home. With the lockdown restrictions and the frosty winter days, this is now a thing of the past. Most people have no other option but work from home, and the heating costs are expected to shoot up in the first quarter of 2021. For most households, almost half of the energy bills are as a result of hot water and heating. And now that most gadgets are always powered on, this is a place you could make significant savings.
If you are looking to cut down on your monthly bills and save some money on your heating expenditure, these three tips will come in handy.
1. Turn Down the Thermostat
Doing this could make a significant change in your heating bill, as turning your thermostat down by a single degree centigrade could save you up to £80 annually. To compensate for heat lost in the living room, you could get portable electric heaters. This helps you keep the room you live in warm without heating up the entire home and wasting the heat in unoccupied rooms.
2. Switch to an All-electric Boiler or Buy a New One
Switching from a G-rated unit to a new A-rated condensing boiler could save you up to £300 annually. A new boiler, however, doesn’t come cheap – prices will range from £1,250 to almost £4,000. What’s more, with the government’s position on climate change and the use of fossil fuels, it may not be a smart investment for your home. Electric radiators, German ceramic heating, ground and air source heat pumps, and underfloor heating are becoming more popular. Moving into the future, using renewable and sustainable energy sources will be the norm. From 2033, there’ll likely be a permanent ban on the sale of gas boilers as climate change experts are pushing to actualise this. This makes clean and sustainable heating solutions a viable long-term solution for people.
3. Use a Smart Thermostat
There are plenty of smart thermostats that can work well with your electric heating system or gas boiler. With smart technology, you can monitor your home’s temperature on your smartphone or tablet. Besides monitoring, you can control devices from anywhere, even if you’re thousands of miles away from home! You can easily adapt to the changes in your schedule and in doing so, you’ll only heat your home – and specific rooms in your home – only when you require the heat. This will significantly reduce your energy bills, and is a smart decision for any homeowner to make. Smart thermostats can be integrated to most central heating systems, and you can easily find various excellent models in the market, including:
- Google Nest Learning Thermostat (Third Generation)
- Tado Smart Thermostat V3
- Hive Active Heating 2
- Drayton Wiser Multi-Zone Smart Thermostat
- Honeywell Evohome
- Google Nest Thermostat E
These models have different features and prices. If you’re looking to purchase one, look out for features like energy-saving calculators, smart radiator valves, geofencing, and open-window detection. The geofencing feature enables the thermostat to detect your location, therefore turning down the heat once you leave and up again whenever you approach your home.