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What are the benefits of efficient appliances and how to save money at home with them?

What are the benefits of efficient appliances and how to save money at home with them?

The benefits of efficient appliances and how to save money at home

One of the most important things you can do to reduce the fuel bills you pay is to have an efficient heating system that runs on a low-carbon fuel source. In the average household, more than 50% of the fuel bills are heating and hot water for the home.
 
By using an efficient heating system, it is possible to control your heating to help cut down on fuel bills and reduce carbon emissions simultaneously. The government has a net zero carbon emissions target for the next 30 years, which will require us to cut the carbon emissions generated from heating the home by up to 95%.
 
To help put this into perspective, the average home created roughly 2690kg of CO2 in 2020 by using space heaters and hot water. By 2050, the target for the government has each house using just 140 kilograms.
 
To meet this objective, we’re going to have to make substantial changes to how we heat our homes and meet the targets assigned to us. Thankfully, there is quite a bit you can do nowadays to start making your home more energy efficient, and that’s by implementing more efficient appliances. These types of machines can have a slew of benefits, from saving money to cutting down on CO2 emissions.

Boilers - Usage, Maintenance and Useful Info

As heating and water make up more than 50% of the yearly budget, it is understandable that people need to have an energy-efficient boiler in place.
 
A modern boiler is a well-oiled machine if maintained and looked after properly. However, even the most efficient boilers do lose a little heat in the form of hot gas, which exits through the flue (the pipe that we use to supply fresh air to your boiler and extract fumes). The thing about a modern boiler is that it is more effective than older types of boilers for a few reasons, but the primary advantage that they have is that they “condense”.
 
Condensing is a process where the boiler takes some of the escaping heat from the flue gas and then uses it to heat the central heating water. This process makes it much more effective than some of the other older boilers.

Boiler Types

Changing your boiler is one of the best ways to make sure that you have an energy-efficient appliance, but that comes with its fair share of caveats as well. The first thing you’ll need to do is make sure that you pick the right kind of boiler. After all, there are both low and zero-carbon emission systems on offer now.
 
It is highly likely that we will see fossil fuel heating systems become less common in the coming years. This is because the government does have a plan to reach net zero carbon emissions by 2050, and from 2025, there will be a ban on new homes having gas and oil boilers.
 
There are two primary considerations when choosing a new heat system for your needs.
 
The first important consideration to keep in mind is the fuel type you use. If you’ve got a mains gas connection, then a modern, condensing gas boiler typically has some of the lowest running costs. On average, gas is the cheapest source of heating for fuel per kilowatt hour, in direct comparison to electricity, house coal, oil, and LPG.
 
The second big type of consideration for replacing your boiler and switching to an efficient appliance will be the boiler type. There are a couple of different types of boilers to pick from. Your typical gas and oil boiler are what is called a system boiler, which has a separate cylinder for storing hot water. However, you also have combi boilers, which don’t have a hot water cylinder, because they heat the hot water when you need it.
 
From a purely mathematical standpoint, the system boiler is more efficient than a combi boiler, at least in terms of producing hot water. However, the hot water cylinder does tend to lose heat over time. For this reason, the combi boiler could be a more efficient choice in the long term, although this depends on a couple of different factors.
 
There are a couple of different things that can influence your choice of boiler. Your hot water usage will play a big role in this. If you are a large family, then you should probably get a system boiler, but if you are a smaller household, the combi boiler might be a better choice. The amount of space that you have in your home is also a consideration because combi boilers take up less space because they don’t need a hot water cylinder.
 
You should also think about things like your compatibility with solar water heating. If you are giving some thought to installing solar water heating systems, then they are much easier to integrate into a system boiler than a combi boiler.

How to Improve Your Central Heating and Save

If you want to get a more energy-efficient appliance and save money at home, it’s worth thinking about how you can improve your existing central heating system. There are a couple of small adjustments that you can make which will ultimately help to improve the standard of your heating system.

1. Install Heating Controls

There are lots of different heating controls for a system that will help to allow you much more precise regulation of the temperature of your home and keep your bells down. There are quite a few different ranges of controls and thermostats that might be appropriate for your system.
 
We offer a wide range of thermostats including the basic room thermostats as well as the smart heating controls. You can find our range heating control here.

2. Heat Recovery Tools

Some of the heat which is generated by your boiler will escape through the flue shaft. Therefore, it’s worth using a passive flue gas heat recovery system. This can help to capture some of the energy that would be lost otherwise used for heating water. This will increase the efficiency of your system and save you some money.
 
Oftentimes it’s not practical to fit a new heat recovery system to an older boiler, so you might want to think about making an upgrade. However, if you fit a brand-new boiler, then you can very easily choose a model that has flue gas recovery directly incorporated into the design if you don’t fancy having it installed separately.

3. Use Chemical Inhibitors

If corrosion builds up in a much older central heating system, then the effectiveness of the radiators and the heating system itself can be reduced due to the buildup of sludge and scale.
 
If you want to prevent this, you should use a chemical inhibitor. Not only does it decrease the corrosion rate, which helps to stop the buildup of rust, but it also helps to maintain the efficiency of the system. This inhibitor should be either refreshed or replaced, depending on what’s necessary whenever you drain your heating system for replacement boiler or maintenance.
 
You can check our range of inhibitors here. You could also visite our range of Central Heating Chemicals.

4. Installing Heated Towel Rails

A good way to try and save money in the home is to install a heated towel rail. Aside from being a good way to help keep towels hygienic by heating them up and drying them out, a heated towel rail is also good for energy efficiency.
 
If you use the heated towel rail, you don’t need to install a radiator in the bathroom. The towel rail does the job for you because the heat it provides is not only good for the entire area but also for the towels themselves. Furthermore, the heated towel rail can be a very sleek and unobstructed way to heat a space. Bathrooms are usually small, so space is often at a premium, which means that things like heated towel rails, which are already part of the existing design, can be a valuable choice.
 
Check our range of range of radiators and heated towel rails.

5. Use Smart Heating Controls

Smart heating controls are a sensible way to save money and maintain a precise heat level throughout the house.
 
Smart controls work by allowing you to remotely alter the thermostat and regulate the temperature without input, thanks to a temperature sensor. If the temperature of the room or space falls below the minimum, then the heating switches back on. Conversely, if the room rises above a maximum temperature, the heating is switched off. The benefits of this are obvious - not only do you get a consistent level of heating, but there is also no chance of the heating bill racking up while a room is heated unnecessarily.
 
There are many ways in which smart heating can be implemented into a space. Some people use it in conjunction with central heating radiators, and others use underfloor heating. Whatever method you choose to introduce, it is recommended to have smart controls. These can be done via a smartphone in many cases.
 
You can have a look at our smart heating control section to find out more.

7. Filtration Tools

Using a filtration tool is a good way to save money in the home. Building regulations talk about using magnetic filters to help remove rust from your heating water. If you ever replace your boiler or swap it out, then your plumber should fit a magnetic filter near your boiler if there is not one present.
 
We offer a wide range of  magnetic filters from different brands as Fernox or Boilermag.

8. Use New Hot Water Cylinders

The newer brand of hot water cylinder is often factory-regulated. This regulation process means that it will help to keep your water at the correct temperature for longer than older cylinders. As this is an important part of making sure that you have hot water when you need it, it’s important to fully insulate and regulate them. If you increased the installation of an old cylinder to 80 mm, you could save around £35 every year. Furthermore, if you need to replace your cylinder, make sure that the new cylinder is the right size because bigger models will contribute to your price.
 
We offer a wide range of vented and unvented cylinders from manufacturers as Gledhill, Joule and RM cylinders.

How to Save Money via Water Saving Methods

1. Dual Flushing Toilet Types

The dual flush toilet has been around for a while, and it works on a very simple premise. Depending on what kind of waste you want to flush away, you press a different button, which uses a different amount of water.
 
It’s widely known that the dual flush toilet saves quite a lot of water because it actually results in lower water usage over time. The environmental protection agency suggests that it’s possible to save some 4000 gallons of water every year in a household that uses these kinds of toilets. That’s a good way to cut down on water costs.
 
Dual flush toilets are a staple in the modern household - nearly every toilet installed in the last 20 years across new builds uses a dual flush system. When you pair this with other water-saving methods like regular checking of the flapper valve and investing in a low-flow toilet (the kind which uses gravity or pressure over water to push waste through the pipes), it’s easy to save a lot of money. In many cases, you can get your existing toilet converted into a dual-flush option with ease.
 
Discover our range of dual flush buttons options here.

2. Fixing Small Water Leakages

In the grand scheme of things, you probably think that small water leakage isn’t that bad. After all, it’s just a tiny bit of water that might escape from the tap when you don’t turn it off properly, or it might simply just be a leaky faucet. Regardless of what the actual leakage is, it’s going to be a major drain on your water bill.
 
For this reason, it’s important to make sure that you fix all the small leaks around your home. It’s definitely going to help extend your energy efficiency and make sure that you don’t use as much water unnecessarily. Think about it; you’re not actually using any of that water; it’s just sitting there rolling down the drain. However, the water company doesn’t know any difference, so they’re just going to charge you for the excess.

Final Thoughts

So, getting energy-efficient appliances is often a case of modernising and upgrading. Things like kettles, microwaves, cookers, dishwashers, washing machines, and tumble dryers could all be replaced over time with more modern appliances. After all, many modern appliances like that are designed with energy efficiency in mind. They often have settings for eco-friendly usage.
 
When it comes to saving money, there are a lot of things that can be done with both the central heating system and the water. While a lot of newer builds have many of these upgrades already built in, older homes need to explore conversions to remain energy-efficient. Thankfully, quite a few energy-saving methods can be built directly on top of existing setups. Failing that, a trained professional will be able to help you upgrade for a minimal cost.
 
Naturally, when getting any replacements or upgrades to your heating system, make sure it’s done by trained professionals. You may have to pay a little bit of money to get it all set up, and it may be more money than you actually want to pay, but think of it as an investment. If you spend a lot on a brand-new boiler now, and then you save thousands of pounds over ten years, it’s worth doing. Making investments like this is the best way to save on your bills.

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Created On  3 Oct 2022 19:05  -  Permalink

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