It’s official. The clocks have gone back, and winter has arrived! As temperatures plummet and the heavy duvets are pulled from hot presses across the country, many homeowners are firing their boilers up to discover inefficiencies and breakdowns in their home heating systems.
These issues can be spotted through abnormally high home heating bills and fuel consumption rates, homes which take too long to heat up and are difficult to maintain a comfortable temperature, and unreliable systems which leave families out in the cold when they need them most.
Seeking efficient home heating systems is of utmost importance to local homeowners who are closely examining their household expenditures as well as their families’ environmental footprints.
With over 40 years’ experience and expertise heating homes across Ireland with their highly efficient, reliable and affordable heating technologies, the experts at Grant have outlined some of the ways you can ensure your home is winter-ready this year:
1.Schedule a regular boiler check
Take care of your boiler with regular boiler checks to make sure your heating system is working at optimal efficiency. Get into the habit of scheduling an annual boiler service with your local installer. We are approaching the busiest time of year for boiler installers and plumbers, so taking a proactive approach to ensuring your boiler is operating properly will ensure your home stays warm all winter long.
2. Insulate your home
Ensure your home is insulated. In addition to the obvious areas worth checking and topping up if required like walls and roof spaces, checking for draughts and ‘thermal leaks’ around doors, windows, and cracks in walls and floors can help prevent heat loss and ensure your home heats up faster and stays warm for longer.
3. Consider thermostat adjustments
Making even small adjustments on your thermostat can make economic efficiencies during the most demanding time of year for your heating system. Try turning your thermostat down just one degree to help you save up to 10% a year on your home heating bills or install a smart thermostat like a Nest or Hive for maximum control of your heating system. Many of these technologies enable you to set heating schedules and temperature-controlled zones within your home as well as being able to monitor or control your home’s temperature from outside the house, ensuring you always come home to a comfortable and cosy house.
4. Upgrade your current system
If your oil boiler is over ten years old, then it won’t deliver the same efficiency as newer models. Modern condensing oil boilers like the Grant Vortex, which is available in 63 different models and outputs from 12kW to 70kW, can help make immediate efficiencies and save you up to 25% on your annual home heating bills.
For the third year running the Grant Vortex Pro Utility range has received a Which? Best Buy, making Grant the only boiler brand in Ireland and the UK to be awarded a Which? Best Buy in 2017, 2018 and 2019. In its recent oil boiler survey, Which? once again acknowledged the excellent build, reliability and performance qualities of Grant boilers.
5. Combine heating technologies for maximum efficiency
As homes age, it is common for a home heating system to become out of date or for elements of it to be swapped out and upgraded as they break down, resulting in a mismatched and poorly planned heating system. It is important to approach the heating of your home in a complete manner, examining your main heating source, hot water cylinders and heat emitters to determine what system would work best for the construction type and layout of your home as well as the unique requirements of your family to optimise efficiency and cost savings.
Grant’s pre-plumbed hot water cylinders which are designed to complement oil and renewable systems alike have been developed to the highest specifications and are designed to deliver maximum heat transfer and recovery by working seamlessly with one or more technologies.
When considering upgrading radiators and other heat emitters in your home, the Grant Uflex underfloor heating is perfect for creating an ambient warmth under tile and hard wood flooring and Grant Afinia aluminium radiators offer a stylish option designed to suit a range of installations and include 6 – 20 panels as either standard or vertical radiators. Grant Solo fan convector radiators can also help boost efficiencies as they deliver faster rates of convection than traditional radiators and are an excellent addition for hard-to-heat areas of the home like large rooms with high ceilings with an added boost and ability to regulate their own heat output.
The Grant range of heat emitters perfectly complements existing heating systems and can highlight the outstanding performance and efficiency of a home heating system fueled by a Grant Vortex condensing oil boiler or Grant Aerona3 air source heat pump.
Grant’s full range of innovative heating products are available from plumbing and heating merchants throughout Ireland. Click here for more information. You can also follow Grant on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
If you are undertaking a deep retrofitting project you can also contact the Grant team on 05791 20089 to discuss multiple package solutions for your project and have your heating requirements designed, specified and supplied under one roof.
Think Heating. Think Grant.
