Optimise Your Heating Controls
Get the most out of your heating controls by following these easy steps to optimise your energy.
We know how important it is to feel comfortable in your home, especially as winter starts to draw in. However, for a lot of people changing costs of energy are a big factor in how they will heat their home this season. We’ve outlined some ways you can adjust your heating controls so you’re not over-consuming energy, saving money and staying comfy.
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Programmer
- Set the temperature to the lowest you can without being uncomfortable. You’ll save about 10% of your bill for every degree you turn it down.
- Set your programmer so your heating comes on 30 mins before you get up and 30 mins before you go to bed.
- Also remember to check the clock is correct, especially when the clocks change!
Thermostat
- Room thermostats help you save energy by localising the heat temperature control to one area only.
- Once the room temperature reaches the set temperature, the heating will turn off until it’s needed again.
- Avoid turning up the thermostat, the room will heat to the desired temperature but may just take longer in the colder months!
- Keep your thermostats aways from curtained areas or radiators so they can get an accurate reading of the room.
Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs)
- TRVs sense the air temperature in the room by the radiator. They can close or open the valve to adjust the room temperature.
- You can control the radiators in the rooms you aren’t using by setting the TRVs to a lower temperature.
- TRVs usually have a scale from 0 (off) – 6 (fully open).
- It’s advised to set them at the lowest setting that keeps the room at a comfortable temperature. This will decrease the volume of hot water you’re supplying tot he radiators, saving you energy and money.
SMART Heating Controls
- Adjust all your heating settings remotely – via Wi-Fi, on an app.
- You can make changes as your plans change. For example, you can save money if you’ll be late home and can set the heating to come on a bit later than usual!
- Some smart systems can ‘learn’ your habits and home, adjusting the settings to best suit how fast your home heats up and when you use the most heat – ultimately saving you money, energy and time.
Use Zone Controls
- Divide your home into sections/zones which require similar heating controls. For example, bedrooms may need less heat during the day.
- Using ‘zone controls’ via your smart controls is a great way of saving energy and money.
Control Your Combi Boiler Flow Temperature
- Gas boilers operate with flow (outgoing) and return temperatures – normally 80 and 60 °C, respectively. Your installer may have set these temperatures when they installed it.
- Advice for people with ‘condensing combi boilers’ is as follows: when you alter your flow temperatures to 70°C (outgoing) and 50°C (return), you allow the boiler to recover as much heat as possible from the return flow. (For experts, this is what’s known as ‘condensing mode’!)
- Your optimum efficient flow temperature will depend on your home and size of radiators. We can recommend starting your flow temperature at 60°C and going from there. If you have a home built after 2010, try 50°C. You can use trial and error to get your home to a comfy temperature.
- You’ll need to find the controls on the front of your combi boiler and follow the instructions here.
- Please note that this advice does not apply to conventional boilers.
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