PHAM NEWS | APRIL 2025 Energy SavingProducts
Finding the key to optimising heating system performance
Improving energy effi ciency is still the number one concern for homeowners in the UK, says Drayton’s Merlin Milner, who explains why optimising the performance of heating systems can off er a real return on investment.
R
ecent research found that almost 70% of homeowners in the UK are looking for ways to reduce the
amount of energy they use at home, but 43% think that to do so they’d have to make diffi cult lifestyle changes, and 41% think they’d have to sacrifi ce their comfort to do so. However, when it comes to
the ways in which homeowners are looking to save energy, the most common actions taken are to switch off lights in empty rooms (58%) and unplug unused chargers (47%) and other unused electrical items (46%). While this is good practice, the reality is it will make very little diff erence to their household energy bills. That is because according to DESNZ, lighting only accounts for roughly 3% of total household energy consumption in the UK, while appliances account for 15% and cooking accounts for 3%. The area in which UK
homeowners are consuming the most energy is space heating, which accounts for 61%, followed by hot water, which accounts for 17%. For those customers looking to really improve the energy effi ciency of their home, they would be better off focusing on making improvements to their heating habits instead. So how can heating engineers help them achieve this?
Improving controls While upgrading from an outdated thermostat and programmer to a best-practice thermostat can make savings of up to 12% according to BEAMA, this can be enhanced even further depending on the type of control installed, as opting for a smart control can off er an additional 6%. Research from BEAMA also
found that upgrading from basic heating controls to a multi- zone system, such as Wiser, can off er savings of up to 19% on energy bills. This sort of heating system allows homeowners to split their property into zones or individual rooms, customising the temperature and schedule in each room according to their individual needs. Not only does this reduce energy bills, but it also improves comfort according to the requirements of each member of the household and the rooms in use.
Merlin Milner Product owner for water-based systems at Drayton
Drayton’s TRV4 with automatic balancing will provide energy savings and ensure no cold spots in the home
Cutting consumption Plus, with the use of smart modes, often found in smart heating controls, further system effi ciency can be achieved. For instance, user data found that using Wiser’s smart modes typically reduced energy consumption by an average of 16%.
This is all achieved by
optimising the heating to minimise consumption. Away Mode prevents wasted energy by ensuring empty rooms – or an empty home – aren’t heated unnecessarily. Meanwhile, Eco Mode
combines optimum stop and weather compensation to study the thermal properties of the home and learns to switch the boiler off sooner than scheduled, whilst still maintaining the set point to reduce energy consumption without any disruption to the occupants’ comfort levels.
Lower fl ow temperatures Reducing fl ow temperatures can be a great way to reduce energy consumption and make the system more effi cient. Typically, during
commissioning boilers are set to a fl ow temperature of 80°C, however it is possible to run at a lower temperature while still delivering comfort levels to customers. According to Salford Energy House, lowering the fl ow temperature from 80°C to 60°C can reduce gas consumption by up to 9%, or a 12% reduction can be achieved by lowering the fl ow temperature to 55°C.
System balancing A well-balanced system is essential to the overall performance of a heating system. When not balanced, the radiators closest to the boiler receive a larger fl ow of hot water and heat up quickly, whereas the radiators further away from the boiler – perhaps upstairs or in the far corner of the property – receive a lower fl ow of hot water and therefore lead to cold spots forming around the home. This typically results in the homeowner cranking up the
heating in order to achieve their desired comfort level, which in turn means they end up consuming more energy to do so.
Good practice The practice of system balancing becomes even more important on heating systems where the fl ow temperature has been lowered. If not done, homeowners might struggle more than usual to heat rooms in their home to the desired levels. By taking the time to balance
the system heating engineers can ensure the system performs as expected and their customers don’t have to keep turning up the temperature to combat cold spots. Plus, there are now auto- balancing TRVs available that help make this process easier than ever. Auto-balancing valves
can ensure that radiators permanently receive the correct fl ow rate regardless of other TRVs opening and closing or changes to the system. Research has shown that this technology is proven to save on average 8.8% on energy costs whilst also preventing any cold spots around the home. It is clear that despite energy
costs slowly coming down, improving effi ciency and reducing energy consumption are still big priorities for many homeowners, so it is important that heating engineers and installers are armed with the knowledge of how they can help them achieve this. Not only will optimising
heating systems result in savings, but consequently it will also help to reduce carbon emissions from fossil-fuelled gas boilers, which is equally important as we try to make home heating more sustainable.
◼
phamnews.co.uk/425/26 19
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40
