As the winter months approach and the cost of heating your home crosses your mind you may be wondering how to ensure you use your central heating in the most efficient way.

These thoughts are totally justified and affirmed by the Energy Saving Trust as they suggest that using the controls on your central heating system correctly could save you up to 17% on your fuel bills.

However, you may have many questions regarding the operation of your central heating system and how the controls work to ensure you get the most from your boiler and central heating. But don’t worry, advice is at hand and detailed below are a number of useful tips that you can follow to get the most from your central heating system (specifically if you have radiators installed).

Programmer control

A programmer control ensures that you have control over when the heating comes on and goes off in your home. Therefore, it is your decision to decide when you need heating and when you don’t. By having a programmer control it means that you can vary when you want the heating to come on to suit you.

Many people set the heating to come on in the morning, have it off during the day when they are at work and then set it to come on the evening when they get home. By using these controls you can decide how early the boiler needs to come on to achieve your desired temperature. The programmer control used with in conjunction the thermostat control can make a central heating system as efficient as possible.

Thermostat control

Thermostat controls are devices that allow you to have control over the preferred temperature you require within your home. You could have one thermostat control that controls the temperature in the whole house or thermostat controls in each room so that you can regulate the temperature in each room. The principle of the thermostat control is that it will ensure a constant temperature in your home and you won’t be turning the central heating on and off, therefore creating additional start-up and cool-down costs each time you do this.

Last winter we experienced one of the coldest winters on record with temperatures 5.0 °C below average. If we have another cold winter this year then leaving your central heating system on and regulating the temperature through the thermostat will work out cheaper for you in the long-run and maintain a consistent temperature in your home.

It is important to decide what temperature to set the thermostat to. It is recommended by the Energy Saving Trust that the ideal temperature for a living room is 21 °C and a bedroom 18 °C and remember, by reducing the temperature in your home by just 1 °C you could potentially save up to 10% on your energy costs.

Cylinder thermostat control

If your home still uses a hot water tank then it is useful to have a cylinder thermostat control which will regulate the temperature of the hot water. This type of thermostat will need to be attached to your hot water tank and can ensure the hot water doesn’t go above 60 °C which is the most economical and efficient temperature.

Thermostatic radiator valves

Thermostatic radiator valves again allow the temperature to be controlled in each room however the temperature is controlled by regulating the flow of water your radiators receive. Therefore, when your room temperature is at the correct level you can turn down the flow of water to it. This is a good way to heat underused rooms in your home to moderate and reduce damp and condensation while ensuring the most well used rooms in your home get more heat.

If you currently don’t have any of these controls then it is worth considering implementing them in your home to become more energy efficient.

Guest Article by Sarah Wain

Over the past few weeks and months we have witnessed energy companies increasing their gas and electricity prices and combined with the increased cost of buying food, petrol and wages not rising; we are concerned that heating our homes will become a huge expense over the coming winter months.

When you look at the facts on heating your home they can make worrying reading. Currently, it is known that older people are suffering the most when it comes to affording to heat their homes with 3.5 million older people living in fuel poverty (people who have to spend one tenth of their income on their energy bill). Also, with the government reducing the winter fuel allowance this year for the elderly, paying the energy bill can seem like one big expense and headache for everybody.

However, there are things that you can do to plan for the winter months and try to reduce your energy bill. You need to look at your home and calculate where you can save money. The first thing that you need to do is decide whether you have any heat loss and how this can be fixed.

In simple terms heat loss means losing heat from your home into the outside environment. It is thought that at present about a third of all the heat that is produced in a home in the UK is lost through such areas as the roof, walls and ceilings and in monetary terms it is assumed that £1 out of every £3 spent on heating is wasted.

Losing heat matters because you are paying for that energy which is just being wasted and therefore you are not getting value for money. It also means that you will need more energy and therefore the energy suppliers will put further strain on the environment in providing this.

There are many ways to ensure your home doesn’t lose heat and ways to plan ahead to reduce your energy bills over the winter months. Why not carry out an energy audit of your home? There are many online tools to help you and these are a great way to see how you can improve the energy efficiency of your home. Energy audits will provide you with a detailed checklist and way to evaluate your home to identify and prioritise energy efficiency.

You could also look to the Energy Saving Trust (EST) who can advise you on energy efficiency matters. At present the EST recommend that home owners take steps to reduce heat loss and in turn cut their energy bills. These steps with their percentage saving on your energy bill include replacing an old boiler with a new boiler (up to 25% saving), ensure your home has double-glazing (up to 17% saving), installing roof insulation (up to 15% saving).

Implementing these steps along with looking at the way you use gas and electricity in your home will help you ensure you become as energy efficient as possible and ready for those winter fuel bills.

Guest Article by Sarah Wain

British gas joins the other energy suppliers and increases the cost of energy bills – so how do you prepare for these price hikes?

This week British Gas announced that it was increasing the cost of gas by 18% and electricity by 16% in a move that follows E.ON, Scottish Power, Scottish and Southern Energy (SSE) and Npower who have already announced a rise in their energy prices. This means that the average British Gas customer is likely to see their annual dual energy bills increase by £190. It is predicted that EDF will follow suit and announce price increases imminently, meaning all of the top six energy suppliers will have increased their prices this year leaving the majority of energy consumers hit in the pocket from these price hikes.

It seems like when one energy company decides to increase prices then the rest of the companies follow suit. The price rises in some camps are being blamed on economic uncertainty in these recessional times and this uncertainty affecting the wholesale price of energy. However, TheEnergyShop.com has recently stated that fuel prices for domestic suppliers have fallen by 8% since March 2011 due to the slow growth in the economy. This sends out mixed and confusing messages to customers leading to anger and frustration over the reasons for increasing costs and customers shrinking household expenditure. However, one thing that is certain is that these all-time high fuel costs are unfortunately here to stay.

So is there anything that you should be doing to compensate for these higher bills? The answer is yes and this is what I recommend:

Firstly, it is recommended that you speak to your existing energy supplier and look to see whether you are on the right tariff for how your household uses energy. Your energy supplier will obviously want to keep you as a customer but they have a duty of care to provide you with the information that you require to make an informed decision about your energy supply. You can also gauge valuable information about your energy usage to understand the best product for you. For example, don’t always assume that dual fuel is cheaper as you should compare the cost of getting your gas and electricity from other companies to double-check your past assumptions.

Secondly, you should also consider switching to a fixed tariff rate based against your existing payment plan. These fixed tariff rates usually tie you in for 18 months to 2 years but will mean that you won’t be affected by any additional price rises. If you want to fix your energy prices then it is important that you act now as many cheaper fixed rates are disappearing and are being replaced by more expensive ones. Have a look to see whether your energy supplier offers online tariffs as these can be cheaper than standard rates. Also, it is recommended that you pay for your energy supply on a monthly direct debit as many companies will offer you a discount of up to 10% when paying by this method.

Finally, if fixed pricing isn’t for you then you should wait until all price rises among the energy suppliers are determined and find the one that offers you the best value for money and switch to them.

Guest Article by Sarah Wain

Energyshare was launched by British Gas in May this year and is one of the best certified green energy options on the market for customers.

Developed in partnership with River Cottage whose aim is to change the way that we source, generate and use energy, the Energyshare concept is hoping to get customers thinking about where their energy supply comes from and to be more environmentally aware. So, if you’re energy conscious and looking for an energy supply that comes from 100% British renewable sources then British Gas Energyshare could be the tariff for you.

Not only does British Gas Energyshare tariff promise customers fuel from 100% British renewable sources it also promises additional benefits to the environment and UK communities.

The environmental benefits include British Gas ensuring that for each unit of electricity used on this tariff that 100% renewable electricity will be put back into the grid. As for communities, they will benefit as British Gas will contribute £10 per year for each customer who is signed up to the package to support community renewable energy projects and British Gas aims to contribute over £15 million to support these projects over the next few years. Customers will also be given some control over this community spend as they will have the opportunity to decide which projects and causes are the most worthy of this investment. Worthy projects currently underway with the support of Energyshare include projects to install solar panels and create wind farms in local communities.

If this doesn’t tempt you to switch to Energyshare then you may be surprised to learn that Energyshare comes at the same price as British Gas’s standard tariff, so you won’t be paying any more for your energy supply. The tariff is also available for both gas and electricity for residential and business customers and when you move to this tariff you will also be given a free energy saving appliance such as an eco-kettle.

With British Gas being the biggest energy supplier supplying over 6 million customers in Britain, Energyshare can only be a good thing for the continual development of UK renewable energy sources and renewable energy projects. If however, you are concerned about whether this tariff delivers on its promises then you will be safe in the knowledge that Energyshare is independently certified and meets Ofgem’s Green Supply Guidelines. Therefore, you can be sure that by choosing this tariff that you are making a real difference to the environment and that results will be measured and improved upon year after year.

Guest Article by Sarah Wain

Are you thinking about switching to an online account for your gas and electricity? British Gas supplies gas and electricity to over 16 million customers in the UK, that’s a lot of gas boilers fired up and even more light bulbs switched on!

British Gas Online Account