For both property owners and tenants, it’s a vexing issue – heating. Most of your energy costs are determined by the heating system. Fortunately, there are simple tips to help you heat more cheaply in the future. In the following article, we will tell you what measures you can take in everyday life, when it is worthwhile to convert the heating system and whether a smart home system can also help you with heating. These simple tips will reduce your heating costs.
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1. Proper heating behavior helps to reduce your heating costs
There are some tricks to help you reduce your heating costs even with a stove or pot-bellied stove in the older building. With the following tips you can save energy costs effectively even in the deepest winter:
- Use the thermostat properly
- Do not open windows
- Do not put furniture in front of the heater
- Close curtains and keep blinds down
- Vent the heating
1.1. Use the thermostats properly
Be sure to heat as efficiently as possible and do not use your thermostat lightly. If a room cools down significantly, you will need even more heat later. However, you can easily use a programmable thermostat.
1.2. Do not open the window
Through permanently opened windows, your apartment cools down and the expensive heat is quickly lost. Especially in winter you should keep your windows as closed as possible. The best way to replace the used air is through shock vents – several times a day and only for a few minutes. This is best done by making sure you get through by opening an opposite window.
1.3. Do not place furniture in front of the heater
There are often nasty surprises when it came to heating costs.
Furniture that is directly in front of your heater or curtains that obscure the heating system provide a poorer heat distribution. Therefore, it is important that your radiators are as free as possible. Statistics conclude that up to 15 percent of the heating heat cannot be used properly due to such a heat increase.
However, there is a simple trick you can use to improve heat distribution with aluminiumfoil. Simply attach them to the wall behind your heater and the heat distribution will be improved.
Get help from a grant specialist to make your homes more energy efficient through heating and insulation grants. Many of them can help a homeowner apply for a central heating grant under the government backed funding scheme.
1.4. Close shutters, curtains or blinds to reduce your heating costs
With a roller shutter or blinds, you can insulate your rooms to ensure that the heat does not escape. Insulating thick curtains almost as good. However, you should not keep your curtains and roller shutters permanently closed as this will encourage mold formation at the window.
1.6. Venting the heating
Air in the radiator not only causes a disturbing gulping, but can also significantly affect the heating performance. Especially at the beginning of the heating season, a venting of your radiators is advisable. You can do this by turning on the vent valve on the side of the heater. In the case of a rental apartment, however, the landlord should take care of this, as heating water must then be refilled. Otherwise, the pressure drops and the heating no longer works properly.
A room temperature of about 20 degrees Celsius ensures an optimal night sleep. By heating at night, you can not only save heating costs, but also improve your sleep quality
2. Will a new system reduce your heating costs?
The purchase of a new heating system involves high costs and is not an easy decision. However, there are a few factorsthat draw your attention to the fact that a new heating system is the better solution. These include:
- High emission levels
- High repair costs
- Clearly visible damage
- Inefficient heating
- High heating costs
2.1. High emission levels
A very clear indication that your boiler is outdated are correspondingly high exhaust emissions. However, this can be due not only to age, but also to a wrong setting of the heating system. The heating expert is usually responsible for determining the exhaust gas values. This can determine where the causes of high emission values lie and weigh up with you whether the purchase of a new heating system makes sense.
2.2. High repair costs
The older a radiator is, the more frequently it usually also occurs damagethat requires repair. With low repair costs, you don’t have to worry about purchasing a new heating system. If you incur three-digit amounts every year,however, you can get away with a new heating system at a lower price.
2.3. Clearly visible damage
In case of obvious damage such as rust or even leaks to your heating system, it is not only simple damage, but real safety defects. You should not read these for long and fix them as soon as possible. A nine-year purchase is usually the better choice.
2.4. Inefficient heating
Increased temperature in the heating cellar may indicate that you are heating inefficiently. If the temperature in your unheated boiler room is constantly moving above 20 degrees Celsius,this is an indication of an inefficient heating systemthat causes unnecessary costs. Your boiler may releasetoo much energy to the immediate environment. In the long run, a new purchase may save you a lot of money.
2.5. High heating costs
Another indication that your technology is outdated can be consistently high costs for heating and heating water. Simulate a comparable consumption with newer heating technology to find out if you can save heating costs.
You can recognise it is time to replace your boiler, by the fact that repairs are piling up, there are hardly any spare parts, the flame no longer burns blue, your house is only very slowly warmed or no longer warm at all, increased boiler disturbances occur, your consumption and that your boiler is older than 20 years.
3. Smart home systems are considered good means to reduce heating costs
For many smart heating systems, there are apps for your smartphone.
Purchasing an intelligent heating control system can help to significantly reduce your heating costs. Whether infrared heating, gas heating or electric heating – many systems benefit from smart thermostats. Fortunately, you do not have to replace the entire heating system, only the thermostats.
Once the new heating control is installed, you will start optimizing your heating phases directly. For example, the temperature is automatically lowered by a few degrees when no resident is at home. Many of these smart controls are now also controllable with apps.
The cost depends on how comprehensively you want to carry out the modernization. With modern systems, however, it can also become significantly more expensive.
4. When building a house, you can strongly influence your future heating behaviour
If you want to heat as cheaply as possible in the future, it is important to pay special attention to some factors when building a house. These include:
- The orientation of the house towards the south – the more windows point to the south, the more you save a
- The windows and exterior facade must be equipped with good and efficient insulation
- Use as renewable energies as possible, such as photovoltaics and solar thermal energy
- Installing modern heating systems
If you take these factors into account when building a house, you can effectively save on heating costs.
