Electric Heating Systems

Expenditure on fuel is a major item in your household budget, and most of the money goes in heating the air and water. Sadly you only receive the benefit of part of the energy you pay for as most of the heat is lost through wall, doors, windows and the roof. In a poorly insulated house about three quarters of the heat is lost in this way. This loss is not inevitable and half the cost of heating is possible if you properly optimise your central heating.

It is inevitable that some air will get into the central heating system, and it is essential for it to be removed. A small amount of air will move into one of the radiators and cause it to be cool at the top. A large amount of trapped air can seriously restrict the flow of water and so cut off heat to several radiators. Even worse, air will encourage corrosion and the by-products are hydrogen gas and rust in the radiators and black sludge throughout the system. Remove air and gas from the radiators as a matter of routine.

There is no point in wasting heat when you are not around the house, but it is often false economy to switch the system off on cold days. It usually saves fuel in the long run too keep the house at 50 degrees Fahrenheit, and this means running the system the thermostats at a low setting during mid winter nights. Make sure the water heater thermostat is at the setting recommended in the instruction manual. You may damage the water heater is the return water is too cool.

You must make sure that you have the water heater services regularly. Never wait for trouble to occur before calling in a heating engineer. Have a regular service contract with a firm you can trust and this will give you the protection of a detailed examination plus any necessary repair work at least once a year. Of course, if something goes seriously wrong then you will have to ask for help immediately. Dangers to look out for are serious overheating accompanied by loud knocking or a hissing sound, and also water leaking from pipes or valves. In the case of leaking radiator joints, try to tighten the nuts with two spanners before calling for a plumber or qualified heating engineer.