Keeping your home warm doesn't necessarily mean turning your heating up. Small changes to how you use your heating system can reduce wasted energy, improve comfort and potentially lower your energy bills.
From adjusting your thermostat and radiator controls to improving insulation and maintaining your boiler, there are several straightforward ways to make your home heating more efficient.
Here are our practical home heating tips for getting more from your heating system.
1. Turn Your Thermostat Down Slightly
Reducing your room thermostat by just 1°C can reduce the amount of energy your heating system uses without making a significant difference to how comfortable your home feels.
The ideal temperature varies between households, but many people find somewhere around 18°C to 21°C comfortable.
Rather than making large temperature changes, try reducing your thermostat gradually and find the lowest temperature at which your home remains comfortable.
Older people, young children and anyone with certain health conditions may need their home to be warmer, so comfort and wellbeing should always come first.
2. Use Your Heating Controls Properly
There's little benefit in heating an empty home for hours at a time.
Modern heating controls allow you to schedule when your central heating switches on and off, helping ensure your home is warm when you need it without unnecessarily heating it when you're away or asleep.
Depending on your heating system, you may be able to use:
- Programmable thermostats
- Smart thermostats
- Heating schedules
- Individual heating zones
- Smartphone controls
- Weather compensation
- Smart radiator controls
A smart thermostat can be particularly useful if your routine changes regularly, as many systems allow you to adjust your heating remotely.
3. Make Better Use of Thermostatic Radiator Valves
Thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) allow you to control the temperature of individual rooms.
Instead of heating every room to the same temperature, you can reduce the heat in spaces that aren't used as frequently.
For example, you might want your living room warmer during the evening while maintaining a lower temperature in a spare bedroom.
Using TRVs effectively can help avoid wasting energy heating rooms unnecessarily.
However, avoid turning radiators completely off in rooms that are prone to damp or condensation. Maintaining some background heat can help manage moisture during colder weather.
4. Consider Upgrading an Older Boiler
If your boiler is old, unreliable or inefficient, replacing it with a modern boiler could reduce the amount of energy required to heat your home.
Modern condensing boilers recover heat that would otherwise be lost through the flue, making them considerably more efficient than many older heating systems.
Other signs that it may be worth considering a new boiler include:
- Increasingly frequent repairs
- Rising heating costs
- Difficulty obtaining replacement parts
- Uneven heating
- Poor hot water performance
- An ageing boiler approaching the end of its expected service life
The potential saving will depend on your existing boiler, property, heating controls and energy usage.
Use our boiler savings calculator to estimate how upgrading your existing boiler could affect your heating costs:
APG Domestic Services installs modern combi, system and regular boilers, including systems from leading manufacturers such as Worcester Bosch and ATAG.
5. Draught-Proof Your Home
Even an efficient heating system will struggle if heat is constantly escaping from your property.
Check for unwanted draughts around:
- External doors
- Windows
- Letterboxes
- Loft hatches
- Floorboards
- Pipework penetrations
- Unused chimneys
Simple draught-proofing measures can reduce heat loss and make rooms feel more comfortable.
Be careful not to block intentional ventilation such as air bricks, extractor systems or other ventilation required for your property or heating appliances.
6. Don't Turn Your Thermostat Up to Heat Your Home Faster
Turning your room thermostat to a much higher temperature doesn't normally make your home heat up faster.
Your thermostat tells the heating system the temperature you're trying to achieve. Setting it significantly higher simply means the heating may continue running for longer.
If your normal comfortable temperature is 20°C, setting the thermostat to 25°C won't necessarily get you to 20°C any quicker.
If your property regularly takes a long time to warm up, there may be another issue worth investigating, such as:
- Incorrect boiler settings
- Poor insulation
- Undersized radiators
- Air trapped in radiators
- Poor heating-system balancing
- Sludge within the system
- Inefficient heating controls
7. Check Your Boiler Flow Temperature
If you have a modern condensing boiler, the central-heating flow temperature can affect its efficiency.
This is different from the temperature shown on your room thermostat.
Many boilers are configured with relatively high flow temperatures. Depending on your heating system and property, reducing the flow temperature may allow a condensing boiler to operate more efficiently.
The optimum setting depends on your boiler, radiators, insulation and outside temperature. Setting it too low can mean your property takes too long to warm up or doesn't reach the required temperature.
If you're unsure which settings are appropriate for your heating system, ask a qualified heating engineer.
8. Insulate Your Hot Water Cylinder
If your heating system uses a hot water cylinder, make sure it is properly insulated.
A well-insulated cylinder retains heat for longer, reducing the amount of energy needed to keep your hot water at the required temperature.
If you have an older cylinder with a separate insulation jacket, check that the jacket fits correctly and provides adequate insulation.
Modern cylinders usually incorporate insulation within the cylinder itself and therefore don't require an additional jacket.
9. Don't Block Your Radiators
Radiators need adequate airflow to distribute heat effectively around a room.
Large furniture placed directly in front of a radiator can restrict that airflow and prevent heat circulating properly.
Where possible:
- Avoid placing sofas directly against radiators
- Don't cover radiators with long curtains
- Avoid drying large amounts of clothing directly on radiators
- Keep the surrounding area reasonably clear
This allows more of the heat produced by your heating system to circulate into the room.
10. Bleed Cold Radiators
If a radiator is cold at the top but warm at the bottom, trapped air may be preventing hot water from circulating throughout it.
Bleeding the radiator can release this trapped air and restore normal operation.
If radiators regularly need bleeding, however, there could be an underlying issue with your heating system that should be investigated.
A radiator that's cold at the bottom can indicate a different problem, such as a build-up of sludge within the heating system.
11. Have Your Heating System Balanced
If some rooms become very warm while others struggle to reach the required temperature, your heating system may need balancing.
Hydraulic balancing adjusts the flow of hot water through individual radiators so that heat is distributed more evenly around your home.
A properly balanced system can:
- Improve comfort
- Reduce cold rooms
- Improve radiator performance
- Help the heating system operate more effectively
This is particularly worth considering following the installation of a new boiler, new radiators or other significant changes to the heating system.
12. Improve Your Home's Insulation
Reducing heat loss is one of the most effective ways to improve the overall energy efficiency of a property.
Depending on your home, improvements could include:
- Loft insulation
- Cavity wall insulation
- Solid wall insulation
- Floor insulation
- Double or triple glazing
- Insulated doors
The less heat your property loses, the less work your boiler has to do to maintain a comfortable temperature.
13. Use Heating Schedules Instead of Leaving the Heating on Continuously
For most homes, scheduling the heating around when it's actually required is more efficient than maintaining a high temperature around the clock.
For example, you could programme your heating to operate before you wake up and again before you return home.
Properties vary considerably, however, and homes with heat pumps, significant thermal mass or specialist heating systems can require a different approach.
Your heating controls should therefore be configured around both your lifestyle and the type of heating system installed.
14. Have Your Boiler Serviced Annually
An annual boiler service helps ensure your boiler is operating safely and correctly.
During a professional boiler service, a Gas Safe registered engineer can inspect the appliance, check important components and identify developing problems before they potentially become more serious.
Regular servicing can help:
- Maintain safe operation
- Identify developing faults
- Maintain reliable performance
- Reduce the likelihood of unexpected breakdowns
- Support manufacturer warranty requirements
- Help ensure the boiler is operating correctly
Servicing shouldn't be viewed as a guaranteed way to reduce your energy bills, but keeping your boiler properly maintained is an important part of looking after your heating system.
Is Your Heating System Working Efficiently?
If your home takes too long to warm up, some radiators remain cold or your heating bills appear unusually high, the problem may not simply be how often you use your heating.
An inefficient boiler, poorly balanced radiators, inadequate heating controls or problems within the central heating system can all affect performance.
APG Domestic Services has provided professional heating services throughout Lancashire for more than 25 years. Our Gas Safe registered engineers can help with:
- Boiler servicing
- Boiler repairs
- New boiler installation
- Boiler replacement
- Heating controls
- Radiator problems
- Central heating improvements
We cover Preston, Bamber Bridge, Leyland, Chorley, Penwortham, Fulwood, Blackburn, Blackpool, Fleetwood, Poulton-le-Fylde, Lytham, Southport, Garstang, Longton, Tarleton, Rufford and surrounding areas.
Need Help With Your Heating?
Whether your boiler needs servicing, your heating isn't performing as it should or you're considering replacing an older boiler, APG Domestic Services can help.
Call 01772 697166 to speak to our team or request a quotation for your heating requirements.