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Archive for May 24th, 2009

Caring for the environment – your central heating

Due to the increasing scarcity of natural resources such as gas, oil, and coal, the cost of heating the average family home has skyrocketed in recent years. Thankfully, there are several ways in which you can reduce your central heating bills, and many of them require very little in the way of effort or initial expenditure.

The simplest way of bringing down your central heating bill is to reduce the temperature in each room by a barely noticeable one degree centigrade by adjusting your thermostat. Although you might not think that this would save you that much money, in reality this action alone can bring down your heating bills by up to ten percent.

The majority of radiators built within the last ten to fifteen years are fitted with a little device known as a TRV, or Thermostatic Radiator Valve. When installed correctly, these devices have the potential to give you total control over the temperature of each and every room in your house.

Without the aid of TRVs, you are left in a situation where you only have one temperature control for the whole house, which is less than ideal from a comfort or a fuel efficiency point of view, as some rooms will heat up more easily than others, creating imbalances. You might also want certain rooms such as the bathroom to be warmer than others. It is infinitely preferable to install thermostatic radiator valves in every room, so you can adjust the temperature in each room independently.

Unvented, or ‘Pressurised’ cylinders, are a great way of storing your domestic hot water, as they bypass the common problem of low water pressure in the shower and the hot taps. It also removes the need for a second cold water tank in the loft. This is achieved by utilising a pressure control valve and a refilling cylinder to ensure a constant pressure within the tank.

If your radiators don’t seem to be working properly, and are cold at the top and hot at the bottom, then you may well need to bleed some of the excess air out of them using a radiator key, which can be cheaply obtained from most DIY stores.

You should put some newspaper below the bleeding valve, and wear clothes that you don’t really care about when you do this, as dirty water from the heating system can tend to spurt out in the process. Also, it is vital that you turn off the central heating before you attempt to bleed the radiators, for safety reasons.

British Gas is the nation’s favourite cheap gas and electricity supplier, boiler cover, and energy efficiency advisor

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/caring-for-the-environment-your-central-heating-933315.html

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Central heating boilers – a brief guide

Before choosing a new boiler for your home, you should first assess what your heating and hot water needs are, and how much space in your home you are prepared to give over to it.
There are four main types of boiler currently available – the open vented boiler, the system boiler, the combi boiler and the back boiler.

Back boilers, hidden behind a chimney, are installed in a lot of older homes, and while they are not as efficient as modern combi or system boilers, they do provide a reliable source of hot water to a number of simultaneous outlets. Although it is not recommended that you buy this type unless it is a replacement for a similar unit, modern back boilers are a lot more efficient than older ones.

In the past, the open vent boiler has been the most popular central heating system in the UK. It requires two tanks in the loft and one in the airing cupboard, so it is very space-intensive. The advantages of having such a bulky setup are that you don’t need to heat up the water in advance, and it can serve several hot water sources at once while keeping the heating on. However, you can still run out of hot water if you use it too quickly, and keeping a constant water pressure can be a problem.

Combination, or combi boilers have become the best selling boiler type in the UK in recent years for several reasons. They are small and economical, and provide an instant, endless supply of fresh hot water without the need for heating a tank.

They are not without their drawbacks, however, as they can only supply hot water to one outlet at a time, and they cannot supply hot water and central heating simultaneously, which could leave you feeling a bit cold when you get out of the shower.

If you have a small house or flat with only one bathroom, then a combination boiler is probably the best option, but if you require more flexibility and hot water capacity, then you might be better looking elsewhere.

British Gas are Europe’s leading experts in boilers. By replacing your old boiler with an energy efficient condensing boiler, along with heating controls, you could benefit even more from out low gas and electricity prices.

Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/home-improvement-articles/central-heating-boilers-a-brief-guide-933323.html

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