Efficient home heating

Heating your home during the colder months uses a large proportion of the energy you use throughout the entire year.

Ensuring your heating system is running efficiently and that you are not wasting any energy can therefore help you to make big savings on your fuel bills.

Heating experts at boiler manufacturer Glow-worm advise homeowners to consult a qualified engineer on the best boiler for their home, to ensure that you get it right from the very start.

Other top tips from Glow-worm to help homeowners get the most from your central heating:

•    Ensure your heating system is working most efficiently

Many people believe that keeping their heating on all day, even when out, is more efficient as it will take less energy to bring their home up to the desired temperature.

In fact, a far more efficient way to heat your home is to programme your system to operate when you need it most.

•    Intelligent controls

New, intelligent controls such as Glow-worm’s Climapro2 RF, a wireless programmable room thermostat with two channels, can be used as part of a heating system containing a cylinder, to accurately set your heating and hot water to come on together or at totally different times of the day.

The advanced programmable thermostat can also enable you to programme your specific heating and hot water requirements for the exact times you require, throughout each part of every day, so that you can manage your heating more effectively.

Controls like this are central to the efficient running of a heating system.  All Glow-worm controls use an advanced communication system to ‘talk’ directly to the boiler so the flow temperature of water to the central heating system can be controlled directly, based on the temperature measured in the room.  This helps to create a more efficient heating system which can deliver significant savings on household energy bills.

•    Thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs)

Your heating engineer may suggest installing thermostatic radiator valves.  This means applying a valve to each radiator, which will control the temperature of a room by regulating the flow of hot water to the radiator.  If a room is not used, then the thermostatic radiator valve can also be turned off completely.

•    Call in the boiler doctor for an annual maintenance check

It’s important to arrange an annual maintenance check for your boiler and central heating system by a Gas Safe Registered engineer, to ensure that it’s working correctly and efficiently.  A check up can sometimes seem unnecessary when nothing’s broken, but your installer or service engineer can help to ensure that everything is in good working order and reduce the risk of any breakdowns during the cold snaps of winter.  It’s also very important to get your boiler serviced annually as in many cases; you will need to do this to keep your manufacturers warranty valid.

Glow-worm has a list of installers available online at www.glow-wormheating.co.uk all searchable by postcode, or if you’re looking to get your Glow-worm boiler serviced call 01773 828100 to speak to our after sales service department.

Insulate

Loft insulation is effective for at least 40 years, and it will pay for itself over and over again in that time.

If your loft is already insulated, it’s worth checking that you’ve got enough insulation to get the maximum savings. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that if everyone in the UK installed 270mm loft insulation, we could save nearly £500 million – and 2.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year – the equivalent of taking nearly 100,000 cars off the road.

Approximately a third of all heat that is lost from un-insulated homes is lost through the wall, due to wall cavities, so investing in cavity wall insulation from the offset will keep your home warmer for longer, and limit costs in the long run.

As well as walls, heat can be lost through doors, windows and fireplaces, so make sure to shut the living room door in the winter to stay cosy, and ensure windows are all closed.  Leaving them open whilst the heating is on will mean your home doesn’t heat as efficiently.

As well as preventing heat from escaping your home, insulating your cylinder also avoids heat lost through the tank itself. Glow-worm’s  new range of high efficiency cylinders exceed Central Heating System Specifications (CHeSS) best practice with regards to insulation, making them the preferred choice for retaining heat, and for the ultimate choice in energy efficiency. The new Glow-worm Hydracyl and Flurocyl₂ cylinders are available as single and twin coil domestic hot water cylinders (for traditional boiler and renewable installations respectively) in a range of sizes, so you can find the one most suitable for your home.

Time zones

Be selective as to where and when to allocate your central heating. Most advanced heating systems allow flexible settings, so as to suit your preferences with regards to which rooms you would like heated and when. Taking the time to set up the timers correctly on your heating system, and checking to make sure they are functioning properly can save a lot of money on bills in the long run. Make sure you heat the zones of your home which you spend most of your time in and avoid heating those which aren’t used.

Plus, if you make sure to turn the heating off for the hours that no-one will be in the house , such as when you are at work, and set it to come on for when you will be arriving back in the evening, you will be saving a lot of otherwise wasteful heat and energy.

Intelligent boiler controls like the Climapro₂RF provide an easy way to control and time your heating to fit in around your lifestyle, enabling you to pre programme your heating and hot water requirements for each part of every day.  Controls like this can also be teamed with an outdoor sensor to benefit from external weather compensation, which enables your boiler to automatically adjust the temperature in your home in line with both the internal and outside temperature, meaning you’ll always have the heating at just the right level.

Don’t forget to make the most of your controls, and set your heating requirements for night time too.  It is easy to forget to turn the heating back off before going to sleep which means the system continues to work overnight and wastes energy while you’re sleeping – this will not only expend unnecessary heat energy and crank up the energy bills, but it will also leave your home uncomfortably hot at night.

Some extra wooly warmers!

Putting some extra layers on, may be the cheapest way to keep us warm, but sometimes it takes more than that to keep us cosy when trying to keep the heat in and the cold out. A well insulated home and an efficient central heating system should do the main job, but here are some good old fashioned tips for that extra bit of winter warming at home:

•    Hot water bottles: even though we now have more modern, practical solutions to keeping warm, more traditional ways of staying warm can still top up your temperature.

•    Drink up! Hot drinks warm us up instantly, as they work like an internal radiator, and although the effects are short-lived, your body temperature will go up for a time, meaning you can turn the thermostat down!

•    Thermal curtains: Thermal curtains can significantly reduce heat loss around the home and offer a cheaper alternative to insulated walls. You can either buy these readymade or the make your own by simply lining your curtains with an insulating material.

For more tips on energy efficient home heating, visit our advice page.

Keeping cosy

Making sure you insulate your home efficiently will not only save you money on energy bills, but will also keep your home toasty and warm over the winter months. Finding the most efficient heating system for your home and its specific needs is the first step towards energy efficient home heating.  By using a modern day high efficiency condensing boiler in a well insulated property, your heating system will modulate to control the output to give the best performance, ensuring that it operates in the most economic and fuel efficient way to help you save money on energy bills.

In addition, once a suitable level of insulation has been achieved the property will be in a much better position to take advantage of the latest renewable technology – which could mean even bigger savings!

For more information and advice, visit our Home Heating advice page.

Have a happy low carbon Christmas!

Happy low carbon Christmas!

Happy low carbon Christmas!

1st December – Feeling a little too toasty?
If you’re feeling a little too warm indoors this Christmas, turn down your heating by 1-2°C. Not only will this make the temperature in your home more comfortable, it can reduce your winter heating bill by up to 8-10%*.

* http://www.bbc.co.uk/bloom/actions/heatingcontrols.shtml

Various events will be taking place from 24th – 28th October where homeowners can learn all about energy efficiency as well as put it in to practice, so to support this important campaign we’ve put together a few tips on how to save energy all year round.

Energy Efficiency at home

Conserving energy around the house can seem difficult, as we’re accustomed to using certain appliances on a daily basis and making sure our homes are toasty and warm. However, small changes can be made in the way we lead our lives that can have a big impact on our energy bills.

Simple changes like switching off computers, laptops and appliances when they aren’t in use, turning off lights when you leave the room and not over-filling the kettle all help to significantly reduce the amount of superfluous energy used in our homes. Take a look at some of these handy tips and expert info on how to avoid wasting energy at home for some more ideas!

If you have been meaning to give your home heating system an energy efficiency overhaul – now could be the perfect time. Take a look here for lots of information on how to go green at home and to ensure you’re using the most energy efficient home heating option available.  Upgrading an older standard efficiency boiler to a new High Efficiency model such as the Glow-worm Ultracom₂ or Flexicom could save you up to £240 on your heating bills a year.

Saving away from home

As well as making changes around the home, consumers can also cut back on the way they’re expending energy away from home and save further cash. Try just one of these during Energy Saving Week and see the difference it makes:
•    On the move

Cars account for 22% of UK carbon emissions!  Leaving the car at home and walking, car-sharing or getting public transports not only means less CO₂ emissions and a reduced carbon footprint, but you will also save on petrol and instantly save on expenses!

•    At work

It is easy to get too comfortable and leave computers on while out at lunch, or have the radio on all day in the background when you’re doing jobs – but try to switch appliances off when they’re not in use, just as you would at home.  Even though you may not directly pay for it, the effects of wasted energy at work on the UK’s CO₂ emissions affect everyone, and it’s easy to make a difference.

Businesses have a responsibility to save energy and can make changes this Energy Saving Week to do their bit – here are some energy efficiency tips for businesses

•    At play

On our days off from work and at weekends it is natural that we want to indulge ourselves – drive to the shops instead of walking, leave the TV on all day and generally expend more domestic energy.

This Energy Saving Week, why not make your days off about walking, leaving the TV off and trying to tighten up on the amount of energy your household is wasting!

Every little helps

Making these small changes in the way you use energy in your everyday life can go a long way to reducing the UK’s energy consumption – make a change this Energy Saving Week to show support to the campaign.

Visit the EST website for more information on the Energy Saving Week campaign and what you/your business can do to make a difference.

The Carbon Trust reports that the number of customers who will avoid a store or company with a large carbon footprint has doubled in the past year to 45%. This is alongside claims that only 59% of the FTSE’s top 100 UK businesses have clear cut targets for carbon reduction, indicating that they are in danger of losing nearly half their clientele unless they change their ways.

UK companies are therefore being encouraged to be pro-active in C0₂ reduction, so as to both adhere to their environmental responsibilities and prevent losing valued customers.

We at Glow-worm are dedicated to reducing our impact on the environment – both with the development of our renewables ranges like Clearly Solar and Clearly Heat Pumps as well as our range of High Efficiency boilers. We recently smashed our zero waste to landfill targets and have a pretty rigorous environmental policy too. But we’re not resting our on laurels as we know that there is always room for improvement.

When it comes to buying a new product, just how important are a company’s green credentials? Would you still consider buying from a company with a large carbon footprint, if the price was right? Let us know what you think, by leaving a comment below.

Where to start? Making the changes

Many things have an impact on the carbon footprint of a business, and there are lots of simple ways in which we can, as employees and employers, cut down and cut back.

• Recycling – more and more companies are adhering to recycling regulations, including ensuring all cardboard, plastic and paper is disposed of in separate recycling bins, as well as using products such as napkins and tissue which are made from recycled material

• Travel – although employers can’t control how their employees get to and from work, encouraging car shares and cycle to work incentives can prove an effective means to getting more cars off the road

• Heating – ensuring the company’s property(s) and production sites are heated in the most energy efficient way possible can significantly reduce carbon footprint. By ensuring less fossil fuel is used and wasted. Investing in alternative energy sources, such as solar and wind power will ensure the company is relying on renewable energy where possible

• Energy efficiency – using eco-friendly versions of as many domestic items as possible can improve a company’s energy efficiency and ultimately reduce its carbon emissions, so switching to energy saving light bulbs, encouraging people to switch computers and lights off each night and implementing regulations which ensure each employee is monitoring their individual C02 contribution, can go a long way to making a large impact

Each business is different, depending on size, purpose and methods, and will therefore require a different set of carbon reducing targets, but advice is on hand with the Carbon Trust. SME’s and bigger corporations can develop a strategy which is both realistic and unique to them.

For more information on how your business can reduce its carbon contribution and keep consumers coming back, visit the Carbon Trust website, which offers advice from calculating your carbon to implementing personalised targets and plans for your business.

Homeowners across the country could make a big difference by making a few simple changes at home to make sure we’re all doing our bit. Here are a few ways you can reduce your carbon footprint with just a few simple changes to your lifestyle and day to day activities around the home.

Do the maths

Make a start by calculating the carbon footprint of your household, with a handy carbon calculator. By simply inputting a few details, you can estimate the CO2 footprint of your home and highlight where emissions are coming from. This can help you see where and how to cut back.

Be switched on

One way to reduce the carbon footprint of your home is by curbing your individual footprint, for example, you could perhaps make some of the following simple changes to your lifestyle:

• Cars and other forms of road transport account for 22% of all UK carbon emissions, so walking or lift sharing with others could make a dramatic difference
• Switch off appliances around the house when they aren’t in use
• Replace low efficiency light bulbs with an energy-saving bulb
• RECYLCE! re-use where you can, recycle rubbish and take reusable carrier bags shopping so you don’t waste plastic
• Invest in new heating technologies such as solar thermal; like Glow-worm’s Clearly Solar, or air to water heat pumps such as the new Glow-worm, Clearly Heat Pumps range. Both are MCS accredited (meaning they’ll be eligible as part of the government’s Renewable Heat Incentive scheme*), and could significantly save you money.
• Insulate: Insulation Grants are a government initiative designed to encourage people to invest in better insulation for their homes – so as to keep the heat in, and the cool out. Ultimately, this would result in lower energy bills and less CO2 emissions, as less energy would be used to heat the home. All UK properties will be eligible for either full or partial insulation grants, so check here for a quick answer as to what your property is entitled to.

Upgrade

Replacing an old boiler with a newer, more energy-efficient model will make your heating system more efficient and reduce the CO2 you are emitting from your home.

Boilers that are 15 years or older, are likely to be far less efficient than newer models. Replacing an old G-rated boiler with a high efficiency condensing boiler, like the Ultracom2 cxi combi boiler, can save CO2 as well as money on your energy bills.

Experts at Glow-worm have calculated that if you replace an older standard efficiency boiler with a new high efficiency model, the average household could save between £190 and £240 a year on their heating bills.

Renewable heating technologies like Clearly Solar, our straightforward solar thermal range, as well as Clearly Hybrid and our new range of heat pumps; Clearly Heat Pumps (due to launch later this month) should also be considered when reviewing energy requirements at home or upgrading your heating system. Our team of renewable experts can advise you on the best forms of renewable technology for you or advise on an accredited renewables installer in your area.

Seize the opportunity!

The National Association of Estate Agents (NAEA) is encouraging homeowners to make the most of the tools and information currently available, designed to help homeowners access greener forms of energy, from the wide range of renewable products available through to Government schemes like the Renewable Heat Incentive.

NAEA argues that this will not only aid reduction in carbon emissions, but could also increase the value of a property, reduce energy bill prices and help people save money in the long-term.

For more information on Going Green click here.

*Current understanding at time of being published

Reliability and value for money have always been important factors when it comes to buying new appliances for the home. More of us are also looking for products to help reduce energy consumption at home to save money and help the environment.

Well, help is at hand! The Energy Saving Trust tests a range of products every year to ensure that the products which come ‘Energy Saving Trust Recommended’ do just that.

Each Energy Saving Trust Recommended product has to meet energy performance criteria so you know you’re getting the best for your money. The idea is that whatever the product, all you need to do is look for the Energy Saving Trust Recommended logo when you go shopping.

Glow-worm are proud to have 41 Energy Saving Trust recommended products, including our complete High Efficiency Ultracom and Flexicom ranges.

Under the Energy Saving Trust Recommended scheme only products that meet strict criteria on energy efficiency can carry the logo.

Want to know more? View the Energy Saving Trust’s video or check out the full database of qualifying products.