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Prepare and save on energy bills


Andy Kerr, founder at the energy experts at BOXT shares the ultimate checklist installers can share with homeowners to help prepare their homes and avoid unexpected summer bills


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lthough many homeowners think that warmer weather means that your heating system can be turned off and forgotten


about, it is still important to make sure things are running smoothly during the summer months. With the summer months being somewhat


unpredictable in the UK, you may still find yourself wanting to put the heating on occasionally so it’s important to ensure your boiler is performing efficiently. Summer is the ideal time to carry out a ‘heating audit’ to help you to keep your energy bills as low as possible and prepare your home for the winter ahead when you will be much more reliant on your boiler.”


Service your boiler


If you haven’t had your boiler in the last 12 months, we would recommend getting it done as soon as possible. Not only does an annual boiler service


ensure your manufacturer’s warranty remains valid, but it also provides you with the peace of mind that your heating system is working as it should be. Doing this in the spring and summer months may mean there is better availability of engineers, with fewer call-outs due to colder weather, and people less reliant on their heating systems. As a result, you may potentially also find some offer discounted rates. Once you have a service, the Gas Safe registered engineer will let you know if there is something wrong with your boiler. They’ll be able to spot an issue even before anything damaging to your system has happened.


Check if you have the best boiler type for your home


Depending on the efficiency rating of your current boiler and the type of home you live in, you could


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save over £500 a year on your energy bills simply by upgrading to a new A-rated boiler – without having to change the way you use it. The savings you see could be even greater if you add smart home technology like a Google Nest Learning Thermostat to help programme your boiler as efficiently as possible, which combined with an upgraded boiler could see savings of up to £700 per year on your energy bills! Stay on top of the temperature in your home Summer evenings can still be chilly, so if you do


still have your heating on, turn the temperature down by one degree. You could save over £100 a year on your energy bill without feeling much of a difference.


Don’t turn your boiler off


Whilst it may be tempting to switch your heating off and forget about it as soon as the weather improves, most modern heating systems benefit from being run for a short period of time quite regularly. If you plan to go on holiday during the spring or summer, it is acceptable to turn your boiler system off for a short period of time, but make sure that you run the system a few times during the summer months to ensure optimal boiler health.


Benefit from a smart meter


Installing a smart meter can help you better understand your energy usage, so you know when you’re using the most energy, and which appliances are the biggest culprits of driving up your energy bill. Once you know this, you can look at ways you can make small day-to-day changes to use less energy and keep your bills down.


Check your radiators


Checking your radiators should be one of the first things you do, and it’s probably the easiest. To start with, make sure you switch on all your radiators. Once your home is heated, you’ll then be able to (carefully) check your radiators for cold spots. Radiators can sometimes have air trapped in them, which prevents hot water from circulating properly, making the heating system less effective and efficient. Bleeding your radiators preventively at least once every year should prevent that problem.


Check your boiler pressure


Examining your boiler’s pressure level is a must as it will give you a good idea of what state your heating is in. If the gauge is in the red zone (too high or too low), then your hot water and heating might cut off and it could cause damage to the boiler. If the pressure is too low then you can top it up yourself, you just need to know which method your boiler uses for repressurising. If it’s too high, you can try bleeding your radiators to relieve some of the pressure in the system. If this doesn’t work or you are regularly experiencing high or low boiler pressure, then it’s worth getting an engineer out to take a look at what’s causing the problem.


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