Month: March 2019

How To Improve the Energy Efficiency of Baxi Boilers

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With energy prices seeming to be constantly on the rise, homeowners are always on the lookout for ways of saving money through lower energy bills. Fortunately, one of the best ways of cutting energy is by taking steps to make a Baxi boiler more energy efficient. While Baxi already produces some of the most energy efficient boilers on the market, homeowners can always take further steps to help improve the environment and save them money on their next energy bill. Energy saving tips can range from the simple, like fitting pipes with insulation, to the extreme, like getting a brand new boiler installed. This article will look at just a few of the measures homeowners can take to make their boiler systems more energy efficient and thus cut their energy bills at the end of the month.

Use Room Thermostats

Installing a room thermostat is a great way of being able to control the temperature in individual rooms. Having better control over a homes temperature will go a long way in cutting down on wasted energy. Room thermostats can save consumers about 70 a year and they will go a long way towards protecting the environment. Once the room thermostats are installed, homeowners should turn down the temperature until it is warm enough to still be comfortable. Turning down the temperature just one degree can make a world of difference, and could save families 65 a year.

Hot Water Cylinder

Similarly, most UK families keep the temperature of their hot water cylinders up too high, which is not only wasting energy, but costing consumers more in higher energy bills. The ideal temperature for a hot water cylinder is 60 degrees Celsius, which is more than hot enough to still be comfortable for most homeowners. Water that is kept any hotter than this is not only wasteful, but it runs the risk of scalding human skin it comes into contact with. To make the hot water cylinder even more efficient, the main tank should have a tank jacket wrapped around it. Additionally, any pipes around the tank that are exposed should be insulated. Insulation will not only improve energy efficiency, it will also help the system last longer and perform better. The total cost for the tank jacket and insulation should cost no more than 30, while it could save families 60 a year in lower energy bills.

New Boiler

While all of the above recommendations are good and cheap to follow, by far the best thing people can do in order to cut their energy bills and improve their homes efficiency is to invest in a new energy efficient boiler. It is usually fairly easy to determine if a boiler is in need of replacing. Older boilers usually have a pilot light which burns continuously. The pilot light itself is not only wasteful, but these older boilers also have much lower efficiency ratings overall. Newer boilers have pilot lights which light automatically whenever the boiler is put into use, meaning that less gas is wasted when it is not actually being used by the homes occupants. In fact, the newer energy efficient models have an efficiency rating of up to 90 per cent. From a consumer standpoint, this increased efficiency could translate into an annual savings of over 300, not to mention a household that is much gentler on the environment. Of course, the main disadvantage of getting a new boiler installed is that they are very expensive, often running into the thousands of pounds. However, compared to the savings possible, a new boiler may be worth the investment. Furthermore, grants and trusts have been set up that can help the most disadvantaged improve their homes energy efficiency thus saving them money.

Many consumers are seeking to improve their households energy efficiency for a variety of reasons, ranging from wanting to save money on energy bills to trying to do some good for the planet. One of the best ways of cutting down on carbon emissions is by improving a houses current Baxi boiler system. By taking the measures listed above, whether that means buying a new energy efficient boiler or simply reducing a homes temperature by just one degree, homeowners will be doing their part to make the planet a little greener and their utility bills a little lighter.

Save Money and Conserve Energy at the Same Time

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Energy conservation is of great interest at the moment. It is pretty obvious that energy and water conservation are an issue that affects everyone of us. Also, it is a salient point that energy conservation is perfectly possible practice in your own home.

Before we list some tips to help with your energy conservation, lets list a selection of the inspirational ways that energy conservation has been defined:

* Energy conservation is protecting the earth.
* Energy conservation is our duty to our children.
* Energy Conservation is usually the quickest and most economical method of reducing your energy costs.
* Energy conservation is doing anything you are able to that results in the use of less energy.
* Energy conservation is mostly about modifying habits and understanding.
* Energy conservation is the practice of optimising the way you use energy in order to achieve increased energy output for just the same energy consumption.
* Energy Conservation is important for lots of reasons; economic, social and environmental.
* Energy conservation is an important area where people of almost any age can have an immediate, helpful impact on the earth.
* Energy conservation isnt something that need only be practiced in the workplace.
* Energy conservation is perhaps the most practical way of both decreasing the problem of greenhouse emissions and cutting costs to the consumer.
* Energy conservation is advantageous to the national economy.

If energy conservation is so wonderful, why aren’t we doing more of it?.
Governments really want to improve our record on energy conservation, and a good method they may use to obtain sizable energy conservation improvements is to increase the cost of energy sources. Currently, energy conservation is fairly cost efficient with a fairly quick payback time and reasonable investment. As heads of state increase fuel prices, the fairly quick payback time gets even shorter and the cost advantages even greater.

Consumer awareness today concerning energy conservation is massively greater than it was twenty years ago, but it still isn’t enough. Indeed, improving awareness of energy problems is becoming signficantly more urgent because our gas and electric consumption is developing much quicker than our capacity to generate energy.

What should we do?
It is clear that there are a good few people worried about the cost of staying warm this winter.
Remember that heating and pumping water can sometimes be a big portion of your power bill. The price of gas still increasing and heating oil is not reducing in price either.

So, what steps can you take to help save some of your hard earned cash and help the environment?

The most important tip is to switch things off when you aren’t using them. Television, music center, room lights etc. Don’t even leave things on ‘standby’, it still uses power without cause.

Most power is used by heating, so changing the temperatures on your thermostat is the biggest energy conservation measure you should take.
It is also worth checking the air filters on your heating and cooling system every month.
Facny a cup of coffee? Use microwave ovens instead of hotplates or kettles for heating water.

Changing your heating system? Select energy-efficient equipment when you buy new heating and cooling equipment.

If you are considering buying a gas fire, opt for an efficient flueless design. With the most recent hi-tech designs, absolutely no energy is wasted and lost up the chimney as it is with a normal flued gas fire. Because of this all the heat generated heats your house. This means reduced fuel costs and much improved energy efficiency. They are also far better for the environment, as the most modern gas technology means the fire actually cleans the air it uses.

In conclusion, energy conservation is the sum total of a lot of small things that produce a significant impact.

If you make enough of those small changes, energy efficiency and energy conservation are a win-win combination.

Gas and Electricity Suppliers Predict Energy Price Rises

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RWE npower, one of the main gas and electricity suppliers in the UK, recently predicted a rise in energy bills of up to 20 percent by the year 2020. This is concerning most energy suppliers, as consumers tend to think that the majority of profits from their energy bills are going into the company’s pockets. In fact, companies typically control about 16 percent of your energy bill, so they don’t have a lot of say in how high your bills rise.

The main reason RWE claims energy bills will be increasing to an average of 1,487 per year by 2020 is because of government subsidies and taxes that promote clean energy and renewable power. Obviously, RWE has a stake in the matter, but even when gas is phased out as an energy source, our current electricity suppliers will likely own the main power stations that produce whatever types of renewable energy power the grid at that time. Any company in this position would want to look to the future, and it’s smart that you take the same steps as a consumer.

“Why” Is Not The Most Important Question

Gas companies, politicians, government agencies, and environmental groups almost universally agree that the price of a power bill is going to be increasing over the next five to ten years. Clearly, that is not the issue at stake for each of these groups and their own interest in the price rises they’re interested in promoting the solutions they feel best to our energy dilemma. Yet for the consumer, the ultimate goal is likely the lowest possible power bill, so for you, the reasons for the increase are much less important than ways to counter it and bring down your bill.

Can Prices Decrease In The Long Term?

The goal of many clean energy initiatives is to help prices decrease, or at least remain stable, over the long term relative to the price of gas. Since worldwide gas prices are rising, a fact that nobody can dispute and the government attributes the forecasted price rises to, power bills would be very expensive if we continued to rely on the current power mix. As such, it’s almost inevitable that price rises in the short term would be necessary to pay for the switch to clean energy, but hopefully, they will decrease again in the long run as energy costs less to generate and can be found for free through solar and wind power, for instance.

Keeping Your Power Bills Down Will Help

To help pay for your power bill in the short term, keeping your consumption of power down is a good strategy. There are lots of energy-saving strategies you can use to decrease your reliance upon the energy grid, including everything from switching lightbulbs to repainting your roof. You can take advantage of Green Deal assessments that provide customised suggestions based on your household. Some programmes exist to help you pay for an energy-efficient boiler, give you discounts on your heating bills if you are at risk of fuel poverty, and so on.

Individual Sustainable Energy Might Be The Way Of The Future