The five minute task that can save you £300 on your energy bills and make your home heat up faster
A HEATING expert has shared a simple trick that will get your house hot quickly and save you hundreds a year.
The cold weather means most of us are still turning the heating on, but it turns out you could be throwing money down the drain.
The energy price cap increase has left us all out of pocket this year but your radiator could also be causing a problem.
Stephen Day from iHeat, revealed they may not be working as efficiently as they should.
The heating expert recommended a simple task to complete to make sure they are working properly and help save you money.
“A heating system that is running efficiently can save you as much as 20% off of your energy bills, meaning you could save over £300 just by doing some simple maintenance,” Stephen told the Express.
According to the heating pro, the easiest and cheapest way to ensure your radiators are working efficiently is by bleeding your radiators.
And all you need to complete the task is a 99p radiator valve key.
He explained: “Over time, air can become trapped in your home’s central heating system, preventing radiators from warming evenly.
“This causes cold spots and forces your boiler to work harder, consuming more energy to maintain the desired temperature. The result? Higher energy bills.
“This task often goes overlooked, but for less than the price of a cup of coffee, you can make sure you get your money’s worth every time you pop the heating on.
“The good news is that bleeding radiators is easy, even for those without technical expertise, and takes just minutes to do.”
To bleed your radiators, first turn off the heating and let the radiators cool down to avoid any risk of burns or leaks.
Once cool, locate the bleed valve, which can usually be found at the top of the radiator.
Insert the key into the valve and turn it slowly anti-clockwise. You’ll hear a hissing sound as trapped air escapes.
Once water starts to drip out, turn the key clockwise to close the valve.
5 ways to keep your house warm in winter
Property expert Joshua Houston shared his tips.
1. Curtains
“Windows are a common place for the outside cold to get into your home, this is because of small gaps that can let in air so always close your curtains as soon as it gets dark,” he said.
This simple method gives you an extra layer of warmth as it can provide a kind of “insulation” between your window and curtain.
2. Rugs
“Your floor is another area of your home where heat can be lost and can make your home feel chilly,” he continued. “You might notice on cold days, that your floor is not nice to walk on due to it freezing your feet.
“Add rugs to areas that don’t already have a carpet, this provides a layer of insulation between your bare floor and the room above.”
3. Check your insulation
Check your pipes, loft space, crawlspaces and underneath floorboards.
“Loose-fill insulation is very good for this, and is a more affordable type of insulation, with a big bag being able to be picked up for around £30,” Joshua explained.
4. Keep your internal doors closed
“Household members often gather in one room in the evening, and this is usually either the kitchen or living room,” Joshua said.
“This means you only have to heat a small area of your home, and closing the doors keeps the heat in and the cold out.”
5. Block drafts
Don’t forget to check cat flaps, chimneys and letterboxes, as they can let in cold air if they aren’t secure.
After bleeding the radiators, ensure your boiler is at the correct pressure level. You can usually find out what level of pressure it should be at in your boilers manual.
Another expert shared a simple trick to ensure radiators heat up quickly.
Lynsey Crombie, a cleaning expert also known as the Queen of Clean, has shared that the best way to clean radiators in just a matter of seconds.
She revealed you should “blast away trapped dust and debris” using one simple object in the home.
Taking to Facebook, Lynsey wrote: “Use your hair dryer to blow out trapped dust from those hard-to-reach spots.”
To begin turn the radiator completely off and place a towel underneath the radiator.
Then, use your hair dryer on cool air and a high airflow setting. Do not use a hot air setting to avoid damaging the radiator’s components.
You can then simply point the hair dryer at the fins, panels or vents in the radiator. Repeat until all the dirt and debris has been removed.
Once done, use a soft brush to clean out any dust that got onto the outside of the radiator and vacuum dust blown out of the radiator.