TEMPERATURES still aren’t quite at a comfortable level, so plenty of homes have the radiators on full whack throughout the day.
But one boiler expert has revealed that there’s a crucial step you have to take before you turn the heating up, so you can keep your energy costs down.
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Myles Robinson is an energy expert from Boiler Central and he’s reminding households to bleed their radiators.
If you don’t bleed your radiators, it could stop them from running properly – and if they’re not running properly they could be hiking your energy bills.
That’s not what Brits want as bills are already expected to rise another £693 in just a few weeks time when the energy price cap goes up.
Neglecting to bleed your radiators could stop them being as efficient as they need to be, and it means you could end up wasting energy heating nothing.
They might develop cold spots, where air gets trapped inside.
Miles said: “Radiators with trapped air fail to circulate heat properly, meaning you pay full price for heating without getting the right amount of warmth in return.
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“Your heating system will also use more energy to compensate, driving up energy costs.”
You’ll need a radiator key or a flat-blade screwdriver to make the simple improvement, but it’s an easy enough fix that will mean your home is warm once more and your costs are kept down.
How do I know if my radiator needs bleeding?
There are a few ways to tell if your radiators need bleeding.
They may be taking longer than usual to heat up, or you might hear gurgling noises.
A good way to check if your radiator needs bleeding is to see if there are cold patches at the top but it’s warm at the bottom.
If that’s the case you’ll need to bleed the radiator to let the hot water to circulate freely which means it reaches the top again.
Miles revealed exactly what you need to do to bleed your radiator as well.
How to bleed a radiator
Miles said: “Before anything, you need to find out which radiators in your home need bleeding, as it’s important not to perform the procedure on a radiator that doesn’t need it.”
If you try and bleed a radiator that doesn’t have any trapped air to release, water will spill from it quickly – that could lower your boiler’s water pressure and upset the whole system, bringing more costs with it.
Make a careful note of the radiators that need bleeding during a check.
Miles said: “A good tip is to put post-it notes or stickers on the malfunctioning radiators, so you can be sure which ones to start on.”
Then you’ll need to turn your heating off and lay down some towels to protect against water escaping.
“It’s impossible to avoid water spillage when you bleed your radiators,” the boiler expert explained, “You need to let at least some water to drip out from your radiator so that you can tell when the trapped air has fully escaped.”
What you’ll need to do next is take your radiator key or flat-headed screwdriver and attach the end of the key to the square slit in the centre of the valve.
Turn the radiator key slowly anti-clockwise, if you hear a hissing sound, it means the trapped air is escaping – once this stops, close the valve to stop water coming out.
Check the pressure on your boiler
As Miles explained, bleeding your radiators always involves some loss of water, but you’ll need to check your boiler pressure as soon as you finish to make sure it’s still at a safe level.
Otherwise he said: “Your heating system will become inefficient and use a lot of energy trying to heat your house, driving up your heating bills -the very thing you were trying to avoid by bleeding your radiators!”
To check your boiler’s pressure, look for the water pressure gauge which is usually located on the front of your boiler.
If you have a hydraulic gauge, the indicator needle will fall below one if there’s not enough water pressure.
If you have a digital gauge, you should see a flashing reading if the water pressure is too high or low.
How else can I reduce my energy bill?
There’s other simple hacks you can do to reduce your energy bill.
Turning down the heat that’s blasted out your radiators can help curb costs too.
Simply turning your thermostat down by one notch can help lower your bills by £80 a year.
And keeping it at a steady temperature will save even more too.
You should also make sure you turn household appliances off and not leave them on standby as doing this could needlessly add as much as £35 onto your bill.
But if measures in your own home aren’t enough, there’s still time to apply for government schemes that are designed to help you foot rising energy costs.
You could get up to £300 to help cover the cost of your energy bills with Winter Fuel Payments, for example.
You have to be an eligible pensioner to get the help – and payments depend on your age and if you claim certain benefits.
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