It's official, the cold weather is here. Nobody likes to feel cold at home, that's why it's very important to have the heating system ready when autumn arrives.
After many months without use, the heating system will start up again and as long as everything is working properly, it has to be prepared. It is always advisable, during the year, to carry out maintenance that helps to check the state of the boiler or radiators and prevent breakdowns.
Before the tune-up, you need to know what type of heating system you have. There are three most common systems. Gas boilers, oil boilers and electric radiators. All three rely on different energies.
If you want to know all the types of heating systems there are and which one is the most efficient, don't miss this post.
Tune up your boiler with these steps:
- Check that the boiler is plugged in and that the stopcock is open and not closed.
- Check that the boiler pressure is between 1.2 and 1.5 bar.
- If the pressure is lower, turn on the filler tap. Once the correct pressure has been achieved, leave the tap tightly closed.
Set up your radiators with the following steps:
- Turn the radiator drain snail and place a container underneath it to collect the water coming out.
- Turn the snail in the opposite direction. The radiator will expel a mixture of water and air. When only water comes out, close it, you're almost done!
- Now that this flushing is finished, check that the boiler pressure is between 1 and 1.5 bar and you are all set.
With these steps what we achieve is to eliminate all the air that remains in the radiators and allow the hot water to pass through evenly and heat up correctly.
You have to bear in mind that heating consumes a quarter of the total energy costs of a house. One of the news that has had more echo this year is the increase in the price of electricity, therefore, if your heating is electric, you will have to be careful and be more efficient in order not to see it reflected in your bill.
If you want to know how the new electricity tariff affects you, don't miss this post.
Three tips to be more efficient when turning on the heating:
- Adjust the thermostat to the right temperature: during the day, between 19ºC and 21ºC and during the night we do not need more than 15ºC and 17ºC to rest well.
- Each additional degree of temperature increases your energy consumption by 7%. Therefore, you should try to maintain a constant temperature.
- If you have an empty room, close the door and the radiator. This will avoid unnecessary costs.
- Install a smart thermostat to achieve greater efficiency and energy savings.
Tips for keeping the house warm without heating
As mentioned above, if you don't want heating to be a big expense in winter, you can try these tips to help you keep warm inside the house without having the heating on.
- Textiles keep the home warm. They may seem insignificant, but putting carpets, double curtains, choosing the right bed linen... can help to maintain up to one and a half degrees warmer temperatures in the home.
- On colder walls, you can put materials such as wood, fabric or cork to keep the heat in.
- Do not put anything on top of radiators when they are in operation, as this reduces their performance and increases consumption.
- 21 degrees. This is the recommended temperature to keep the house warm but without having to spend a lot of energy.
In Inmobiliaria Espígul we have more than 30 years of experience in the real estate and construction sector. Our newly built homes are equipped with the latest systems in order to achieve maximum energy efficiency and maximum internal comfort.
If what you want is to get an efficient house you can contact us at hola@espigul.com or call us on 972 220 110.