It is topical in the current moment to fear energy prices, and rightly so. They’re well on the rise and are set to hit everyone across the country, particularly those in the countryside. While the weather is still fading from summer to autumn, most people’s heating isn’t on, yet.  

If you’re reading this close to publishing, there is still time to take some steps to save money in the long run and make your home more environmentally friendly. Look at four ways to make your home more energy efficient and save money. 

1. New Boiler

2. Loft Insulation 

3. External Wall Insulation

4. Get A Smart Metre

Get A New Boiler

Getting a new boiler isn’t a small investment. With the increase in prices, spending more money isn’t too appealing. However, if you want to save money in the long run, investing in a new boiler is an excellent long-term investment. There are three main types of boiler that you want to consider investing in. 

A combi boiler, short for combination boiler, is the most common boiler type in the UK. The benefits of it are that it provides instant heating and hot water on demand. This is more environmentally friendly as you only pay for the water you use. There is no need to heat up large volumes of water at once, making it very efficient. 

Combi boilers come in various sizes to match your house's size. They are recommended for houses for low demand for hot water. 

System boilers are suited for houses with a higher demand for hot water. They heat up a set amount of water and store it hot. The benefit of this for the household is that you can have a higher flow rate of hot water, meaning that more than one source of hot water can be used. 

It is more efficient when producing large volumes of hot water than a combi boiler. This is why it is better to have a system boiler if you have a larger property that regularly demands a lot of hot water. 

The final type of boiler is a heat only boiler. They’re not too dissimilar to a system boiler with the main difference being that the central heating pump and expansion vessel are external to the boiler unit. Overall, they tend to be smaller in size but allow you to use more than one hot tap at the same time. 

Loft Insulation 

Without loft insulation, you can lose up to a quarter of your heat through your roof if it is not insulated. It is a simple and long-term investment that will benefit your house for many years once it is added.

As the cost of energy increases, the amount you will save also increases. The only requirements for installing insulation are that there is good access to the loft and there is no dampness. Loft insulation is a great one-time solution to permanently increase your home's energy efficiency for a long time. 

External Wall Insulation

When a house is built, wall insulation is not always the first thought in the builder’s mind. A house built with a solid wall is inefficient at keeping the heat in. Approximately a third of the heat in your home is lost through the walls. 

There is the obvious benefit that adding wall insulation will save you money, but it is also an opportunity to add an aesthetic change to the outside of your home. 

Fitting wall insulation is a straightforward process. You secure insulation boards to the outside of your home, add mesh to reinforce the boards, and apply a base coat. After the base coat dries, you can add whatever decorative finish you wish while saving on your energy bills. 

In addition to saving energy, adding wall insulation can add value to the price of your home, increase soundproofing and protect the house more from dampness. 

It is worth mentioning that adding wall insulation is an expensive process. Ideally, you can get some funding to assist with the costs involved. It is a significant investment, but as highlighted, many benefits exist. 

Installed a Smart Meter

There are two types of intelligent meters available. An old and a new version. The two versions are “SMETS 1” and “SMETS 2”. The SMETS 1 is the older and more common variety, but SMETS 2s are the ones being installed. SMETS stands for “Smart Metering Equipment Technical Specification”. 

The benefits of a smart meter are abundant. Especially in the case of the SMETS 2, it brings many helpful details and controls. 

Smart meters allow for automatic meter readings, meaning you no longer need to take a picture and send it to your energy provider. It is all handled by the smart meter. Your supplier will be able to send you automatic information on your gas and electric usage.

With this automatic information collection, estimated charges are no longer needed. When you have a smart meter installed, you only pay for what you use. 

A modern data display is another benefit that an intelligent meter brings. You get an in-home display that allows you to monitor costs and usage across all home areas. Once you know where the high-energy usages are, you can start saving money on these high-usage areas.

Author: This article was written by Towy Valley Heating, a boiler service in South Wales. Feel free to check out more articles from CAD Details blog.