Air can build up in radiators that prevents them from heating up properly. A radiator bleed key is an extremely cheap and easy way to fix this yourself.
Simply go around each radiator, find the bleed point and use the radiator bleed key to release the air. Turn the key to open the bleed point and the moment liquid instead of air is released, tighten the key again.
The more air that is released, the better your radiator will perform in future.
Radiator Bleed Key on Amazon.co.uk
Switching off radiators in rooms when they aren’t in use can help but it can be very uncomfortable climbing into a cold bed.
Water from the tap is not likely to be hot enough however boiling water from the kettle is likely to be too hot so let is cool down for a few minutes before adding it to a hot water bottle.
If you have a temperature controlled kettle, you don’t want the water to exceed 42 degrees centigrade.
Do you already have a hot water bottle? You can check if it needs replaced by looking for a daisy wheel (it is called a daisy wheel because it looks like a flower) with the year it was manufactured stamped in the middle of the daisy and month is indicated by the petals. For safety, hot water bottles should be replaced every 3 years.
Hot Water Bottles on Amazon.co.uk
If you are not using your chimney, stop drafts with a draft excluder. These can take the form of balloons that can be pushed up your chimney or covers that cover over the mouth. According to the Energy Saving Trust, these can save £90 a year.
Chimney draft excluders on Amazon.co.uk
There are now a new range of very smart thermostats that can take advantage of smart phones and the internet to determine things like what the weather is like and if you are coming home to help control your heating and save you money. Savings of 30% are not unusual so its not surprising these new smart thermostats are a big hit.
It is less of a question of if they will pay for themselves and start saving you money but when.
This is the company founded by "father of the iPod" Tony Fadell after he left Apple. The design of this device is excellent and the company was recently bought by Google for $3bn. With amazing looks and strong software support this is a great piece of kit. It can detect when you are at home and can adjust your heating accordingly. Later Nest went on to develop a smoke alarm which also has proximity sensors to work with your thermostat to determine when you are at home.
The Nest doesn’t control temperature on a room by room basis and it does not control hot water temperature though those thermostats that do come at a price. It does however have the best user interface and software support.
Nest Thermostats on Amazon.co.uk