Heating: how to optimise your heating without spending
How can you optimise your heating at home and at work during the winter season? Here is a list of tips to follow each day: practical suggestions to keep warm, spend less and be more environmentally friendly.
1 –Program when it is switched on and off
Programming when the heating will be switched on and off avoids having to keep it on all day and at the same time enables you to warm rooms so that they are ready when you want to use them.
2 –Release air
When winter comes round it is a good idea to release any air from inside radiators, by opening the valve positioned at the side. This procedure should also be carried out if heat is not distributed evenly across the surface of the radiators.
3 –Keep radiators free and unencumbered
To improve their efficiency, it is advisable to keep radiators free from items such as clothes, towels, socks or other laundry: this allows the heat to spread more easily.
4 –Do not place the sofa near the radiators
It is certainly cosy to have your sofa near the radiators, but this will create a barrier effect and hinder the spread and circulation of heat. It is recommended that the sofa be placed a few metres away from the radiators.
5 –Use insulating aluminium sheets
In order to optimize heating, sheets of insulating aluminium can be placed between the wall and the radiator, so that the heat is reflected towards the room rather than towards the walls.
6 –Use draft excluders
Whether they are made of material, cotton or filled with sand, draft excluders always help to stop cold air getting in. Position them along the lower edges of doors and windows.
7 –Focus on heat insulation
By installing double glazing, checking that all the frames and fastenings of doors and windows are in good condition and checking that every entrance is well insulated, considerable savings can be made on heating bills.
8 –Use curtains
When it’s sunny, the curtains can be left open, but when it’s dark they should be drawn: in this way, the heat which comes in during the day can be kept in overnight, without it being dispersed through the windows.
9 –Keep the heat in
In order to keep the heat in, the heat insulation capacity of the walls should be increased, by using materials such as plaster or polyester. In detached homes it is important to insulate the roof well too.
10 –Maintain blinds and shutters
If blinds and shutters are not in good condition, it is advisable to replace them in order to keep rooms warmer.
11 –Do not set the temperature too high
The temperature inside the house should be set between 18 and 20 degrees C. Higher temperatures cause the air to become dry and will make your bills more expensive.
Translated by Joanne Beckwith
