Saving on Heating Costs: Practical Tips

Saving on Heating Costs: Practical Tips

Saving on heating costs is more relevant than ever and will continue to be so. Heating is already expensive and is likely to get even more expensive soon, but heating costs can also be saved through clever room management. They make up the bulk of the energy consumed in the household, and we can save around a quarter of heating costs simply by having tighter, drier rooms with the correct temperature setting and an optimized heating system. Regardless of whether you are a homeowner or a renter, you can save heating costs and reduce energy consumption with simple measures. Here you will find numerous tips to help you minimize your energy costs.

Set the thermostat to the optimal temperature

Most heaters are equipped with a thermostat that automatically regulates the temperature in the living spaces. You can use the thermostat to set the desired room temperature. The lower it is, the more costs you save. Every degree less lowers the Energy consumption by approximately 6 percent. You will notice that on your next heating bill.

Choose the appropriate thermostat setting and to reach the correct temperature:

• Level 1 stands for 12 degrees
• Level 2 stands for 16 degrees
• Level 3 stands for 20 degrees
• Level 4 stands for 24 degrees
• Level 5 stands for 28 degrees

In the living room, children's room, bathroom, and other living areas, 20 to 23 degrees is generally common for a pleasant indoor climate, while 17 to 18 degrees is usually sufficient for bedrooms, hallways, and toilets, and 19 degrees is enough in the kitchen.

Rooms that you barely use can even be heated to 16 degrees. To avoid mold growth, you should not set the temperature any lower.

The environment of the thermostat can adversely affect the temperature sensor. If the thermostat is located in a recess or behind a piece of furniture, heat can build up and the thermostat will switch off earlier. This results in the desired temperature not being reached. Therefore, a free environment with ambient room air is crucial for correct operation.

Digital room temperature controllers are able to save up to 10 percent on heating costs. Programmable thermostats, which allow you to set the exact target temperature for specific times, are advantageous. This saves additional heating costs and is easy on the wallet.

When the heating system is serviced, the function of the thermostats should be checked. Manual thermostats have a lifespan of about 15 years. Regular heating inspections should therefore not be underestimated.

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Keep doors to less heated rooms closed

If you want to save costs and energy during the heating season, you must keep the interior doors of the heated rooms closed. Otherwise, the heat will escape into the colder areas of the apartment or house. This will activate the higher-set thermostat to maintain the selected room temperature. This drives up the heating bill.

Keep radiators clear during the heating season

If your apartment does not have underfloor heating and you want to use heating energy as efficiently as possible, you should Radiator ideally always visible be. Open the curtains and do not place any furniture in front of the radiators. This is the only way for the heat to distribute evenly throughout the room. While radiator covers may look nice, they tend to have a negative impact on your heating bill. In addition, you should ensure that the radiators are always clean, as dirt and dust also reduce their efficiency.

Bleed the radiators to make better use of the heating potential

To improve the performance of the heating system, it is recommended, to bleed the radiators at least once a year. There are special bleed keys for this, which you can purchase at a reasonable price from a specialist retailer. If there is air in the radiators, the thermal energy generated is used inefficiently because it cannot circulate in the room. To prevent this, the radiators should be bled regularly.

Keeping the radiators clean

Regular cleaning of radiators can help save energy costs. A layer of dust and dirt on the radiators acts like an insulating layer and thus reduces the heat emission into the room. For hard-to-reach areas, there are special brushes that help clean them thoroughly. By thoroughly cleaning the radiators, one can fully utilize the potential of the heating system and save energy costs.

Save energy by lowering the heating at night

Setting a nighttime setback for the heating system can help reduce the heating bill. It is beneficial to lower the temperature one hour before going to bed in order to save additional energy. After all, even when you lower the temperature, it takes a while before it becomes noticeably cooler. Therefore, by using a nighttime setback, you can save both costs and energy.

Lower water temperature

Most people shower at temperatures corresponding to body temperature of 37° Celsius, while others prefer to shower at higher temperatures that can reach up to 43° Celsius. For this reason, one might be tempted to set the heating system's hot water temperature to 50° Celsius to save costs. However, it is important that the heating system's hot water temperature should not drop below 60° Celsius in order to minimize the risk of Legionella infections.

Install water-saving devices

There are various tools that can help save warm water while showering. These include Water-saving shower heads, water-saving turbines, and digital water meters. Compared to conventional shower heads, which consume about 12 to 15 liters per minute, water-saving shower heads require only about 6 to 7 liters per minute. This can further help save heating energy and thus reduce costs. With a 10-minute shower, about 30 cents in heating energy can be saved in this way. In a 3-person household, using water-saving devices can save 200 to 300 euros per year.

Dehumidify rooms

Moisture is considered precarious in many ways: the health of residents suffers from potential mold as well as the building structure, and damp rooms also increase heating costs. How humid rooms are can be seen from the condensation that forms on the windowpanes. This water can be wiped away with cloths, which of course must be dried outside the room, otherwise they will ultimately release the humidity back into the room. In this way, the windowpanes would fulfill a useful condenser function.

In any case, drying out rooms by heating them is a costly process; ventilation is considered much more efficient. The old rule that brief, five-minute cross-ventilation makes much more sense than leaving a window tilted open all day, still applies. During shock ventilation, the heating should of course be turned down (naturally a few minutes before opening the windows). It is pointless to heat a room while letting colder air in at the same time, and secondly, much more importantly, radiators are generally located under the windows, which means that warm air rising from them would naturally obstruct the ventilation. In winter, such measures require discipline, but they keep the rooms dry and thus significantly lower heating costs, while also preventing mold growth.

Caution with antique furniture and delicate wooden musical instruments: these should rooms ventilated by opening windows wide in winter must be removed or covered in any case, because the cold air is often very dry and can cause the wood to crack at the latest when the room is heated again. Good ventilation saves around five percent on heating costs.

Insulating heating pipes

Homeowners can implement further measures to reduce heating costs. To make your heating system more efficient, you can insulate the heating pipes, if this has not already been done. Insulating the pipes prevents heat from being lost. and the potential of the heating system is used more effectively. It is important that the insulation of the pipes is at least as thick as the pipe diameter to ensure adequate thermal insulation. Such a measure can be carried out without major and costly renovation work.

Insulate radiator recesses

Radiator recesses in exterior walls are frequently found in older buildings and are usually not yet insulated. Due to the reduced wall thickness and the high temperature of the radiator on the inside of the wall, heat loss is particularly high. This results in up to 15 euros of heating energy being lost per square metre of radiator recess per year. In order to keep the radiator in its previous location, you can High-performance insulation materials such as polyurethane boards or aerogel blankets be used.

It is important that the thermal insulation is connected airtight to the wall on all sides, to prevent the formation of mold. An aluminum foil facing on the insulation reflects heat radiation back into the room and can provide additional savings. Depending on the material, the costs for this range between 50 and 80 euros per square meter.

A more energy-efficient option is to relocate the radiator and fill the radiator recess with mineral insulation or aerated concrete. If the facade is going to be renovated in the foreseeable future, it could be more advantageous to insulate the exterior wall from the outside. Before making any major investments, it is recommended to consult an energy expert and create an energy budget. This will allow you to proceed strategically and invest effectively in your property.

Sealing of windows and doors

Leaky windows or exterior doors cause unpleasant drafts and heat loss in the apartment. To check whether your windows and doors are sealed, you can perform a simple paper test. Clamp the paper between the window frame and the window sash and try to pull it out while the window is closed. If that is not possible, the window is sealed at that point. Perform the test at multiple locations. As a rule, for windows, it is sufficient to replace the seal or adjust the window sashes. For apartment or house doors with an open door gap, a seal—a so-called cold blocker—can be retrofitted. If you have an entryway, make sure that it is also sealed.

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