UK households can make their home feel hotter and save hundreds of pounds on energy bills with four easy radiator tricks. Mistakes include not bleeding your radiators and radiators not being balanced, putting furniture in front of radiators and more.
Jess Steele, heating technology expert at BestHeating, said: “A quick and easy job that will improve the efficiency of your radiators is bleeding them to release trapped air. Check for cold spots at the top of a radiator to allow hot water to circulate freely which can lower bills by around £130 a year.”
Jess, from BestHeating, explained: “When some radiators are hot, and others remain cold it may be a balancing issue where the hot water is not evenly distributed across the system.” To fix it, you need to adjust the lockshield valve on each radiator, which is usually found at the bottom on the opposite end to the thermostatic radiator valve (TRV).
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“This will reduce their flow and allow more hot water to reach the colder radiators,” Jess added. “This requires a small adjustment and testing over time to balance the heat.” Joanna Flowers, a British Gas service and repair engineer, said: “Putting your sofa in front of a radiator will absorb heat that could be warming the rest of the room.”
Other mistakes could be not using reflective foil. Emily Seymour, energy editor at Which?, said: “Adding foil behind radiators will make sure their heat is reflected back into the room and reduce the rate of heat loss, and is especially helpful when they are mounted on uninsulated external walls.”
Ian Palmer-Smith, supplier and heating service director at Domestic & General, says the boiler should be set to 70 degrees and the water side to 60. British Gas, OVO, EDF, EON and Octopus customers can do this and boost the efficiency of your boiler by up to 15 per cent.