As heating bills are set to jump drastically this winter, households are doing everything they can to save extra cash - which includes turning off things they aren't using.
Many people have chose to keep their heating off for long periods of time, and turning off unused radiators. However, one expert has warned that shutting down the radiators may "drive up" bills, the Daily Record reports.
This is due to the fact that they use up more energy when turned back on again. Founder of Heatable, Ben Price, explained: "Turning off your heating in unused rooms by turning the radiator’s thermostatic radiator valve to zero or off can save you energy.
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"But it could also cost you more money because ultimately they’re always directly related. However, the caveat to this is that it depends on the age of your current boiler.
“If your boiler is an old G-rated and non-condensing boiler (typically sold before 2005), you will likely save money by turning off unused radiators.
“However, if you have a modern condensing boiler, they operate more efficiently at lower flow temperatures.”
Ben also noted that houses can identify if they have a modern condensing boiler by checking if there is a wipe pipe under the boiler. He said: "This is all due to the way modern condensing boiler technology works.
"Instead of heat being wasted and sent out by your flue pipe, it is recycled back into your central heating system. Since modern boilers operate at lower flower temperatures, reducing the flow temperature is an easy way to increase the efficiency of your heating.”
Ben has shown two ways to achieve more efficient heating. This includes:
using a modulating thermostat
increasing the radiator surface area
This in turn means that unused radiators should stay on, even if they aren't heating up the home. Ben added: “Not doing so will make your boiler have to work harder and burn more energy to reach the desired temperature of the radiators you have left on. This is all due to the fact that while the radiators are less hot, they are still able to heat your home to the desired temperature.
“So, the thing to remember is if you are not using radiators in unused rooms, you still want to leave them on in order to allow water to continue to flow through them."
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