Tips for saving energy in the home

The benefits of saving energy

Making changes to improve energy efficiency is beneficial in various ways, with one of the main perks being saving money. By making your home more energy efficient, you reduce the amount of waste energy, which lowers overall energy usage and can make your energy bills cheaper.

Ways to make your heating system more efficient

There are many improvements you can make to your home to improve its heating efficiency. Some include making sure that your hot water cylinder is well insulated, bleeding your radiators, and incorporating smart controls to get the best out of your boiler’s performance.

Hot water cylinder insulation

Hot water cylinders store the water that has been heated up by your system boiler. There are four main types of hot water cylinder: direct, indirect, vented and unvented.

• Direct - Built in immersion heaters heat water directly and use the heaters to keep water hot.
• Indirect - Requires an external heat source (usually a boiler) to heat up water and keep it warm.
• Vented - Cylinders that are connected to and gets its main water supply from a cold-water tank rather than a main water supply.
• Unvented - It does not require a cold-water storage tank due to it being connected directly to the mains water supply. Can be connected anywhere in the home due to being fed by pressure instead of gravity.

Insulation is used to help keep the water hot without the system losing any heat so that energy doesn’t have to be continuously used to heat up water.

Cylinders can be insulated using a jacket and Energy Saving Trust guidelines say that the jacket should be at least 80mm thick. The benefits of a jacket include:

Keeping your hot water cylinder insulated will provide faster heating hot water without using as much energy.

Bleeding radiators

Bleeding the radiators in your home can make your home more energy efficient as it releases trapped air in the system. As a result, once bled, the system requires less energy when operating at peak performance as there is nothing impeding energy intake.

Our guide to bleeding radiators gives you a step-by-step guide into how you can keep your system operating at its best.

Using boiler heating controls

Boiler controls allow you to take charge of how heating is managed throughout your home, from scheduling times to considering outdoor weather and knowing when you’ll be on holiday and away from the property.. Glow-worm offers a variety of controls that provide additional flexibility, so your energy needs match your lifestyle.

There are several Glow-worm controls to choose from, each offering different features to suit your energy needs at home. Some of the most popular controls include:

You can easily regulate your heating, establish schedules for comfort, and monitor energy usage through the MiGo Link App when you have the MiGo Link internet gateway installed as part of your heating system.

Glow-worm controls allow you to prioritise what’s essential in your home, and each control offers different options; therefore, your personal preferences will determine the control you need for your home. Also, heating controls allow you to schedule your heating so that it turns on when you need it, so you don’t waste energy when you are not home.

However, another easy and effective way to make your home more efficient would be to simply turn down your thermostat, as this will make sure less energy is used in the home.

Also, make sure to keep on top of regularly servicing your boiler so you can prevent and identify any issues so that your boiler is working efficiently and safely.