1 November 2018
There are certain things you can do to make sure your home stays warmer, this winter, and to try to avoid any nasty surprises that always seem to happen at the worst time of the year. No one wants to be left without hot water or heating in the cold British winter, so make sure your home is prepared this winter.
Bleed Your Radiators
When air gets into the radiators, this can cause air bubbles that will get trapped in the system. When air bubbles get trapped in the radiators, this stops hot water from circulating properly, which means your radiators won”t be heating the house as it should. Bleeding the radiators releases the air bubbles to improve the heat circulation. This should be done regularly, but you can usually tell when they need to be bled by feeling the temperature of the radiator; if it”s still quite cold at the top, it will need bleeding.
Don”t Freeze Your Pipes
A lot of people will generally turn off the heating whilst they”re out of the house, as they think it will save them energy, and money. Whilst this may be true, it can also turn into bigger problems if your pipes end up freezing. Leaving your heating on low whilst you”re out will avoid coming home to any frozen, burst pipes.
Check Your Boiler
No one wants to suddenly be without heating or hot water during the coldest time of the year, so carrying out checks on your boiler earlier can avoid these types of surprises. To be completely sure that everything is running smoothly, it is a good idea to bring in a professional to carry out a boiler service check. The engineer will be able to carry out a full inspection of your boiler to ensure it is working efficiently.
Install a Smart Thermostat
Installing a smart thermostat, such as Nest, is a great way to keep your home warm this winter whilst saving energy and money. It allows you to set the heating to come and certain times of the day, and also allows you to control the heating from your phone so, if you”re out and about and have forgotten to leave the heating on you can easily turn this on from wherever you are. The Nest thermostat will also learn what temperatures you like, and will turn the temperature down whilst you”re away, so you are only using energy when it is needed.
Upgrade Your Boiler
If you have a boiler that is over 10 years old, it may be time to think about replacing it with a new model. Having an old boiler can mean that you may start to run into unwanted issues, which may cost more to repair than it would to replace, and it”s typical that something would go wrong when we need our boiler the most. Looking into this before the winter months get here can mean that you”ll avoid being without a boiler when it”s the coldest time of year. Upgrading to a new and more efficient boiler will also more than likely save you money.
Wrap Up
There are, of course, ways in which you can keep warmer in your home this winter, without having to spend any money at all, such as:
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Using your curtains - closing your curtains at night can act as an extra layer of insulation, and can prevent any possible draughts coming from the windows.
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Wrap up - Throw on a jumper and some fluffy socks before reaching for the heating.
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Move your rooms around - If you have furniture in front of the radiators, it may be worth rearranging your rooms, if possible, to let the heat circulate the room better.
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Don”t put clothes on the radiators - There”s nothing nicer, in the winter, than putting on clothes that have just been on the radiator, but drying your clothes on the radiators can block the heat from heating up the room. Try and dry them on a clothing rack instead.
