| How can I save on my heating costs? | Wed 20th August 2008 |
Just because your heating system is old it doesn't mean that you have to spend lots of money completely replacing the boiler, pipework and infrastructure with an energy efficient heating system.
Although this might be a good idea over the medium term, for instance the installation of a condensing boiler will save around 10% off your fuel bill, it is far better to improve the efficiency of the what you have. Here, you can save typically 20% to 30%+ off the amount of fuel you use and consequently even more off your fuel bill.
For example, say you are a small business employing a few people. You might be in some old-ish offices that have radiators and a basic gas or oil fired central heating system. Your heating bill last year was £3,700 and this year with the price rises it will be £5,180. If you put in a new condensing type boiler this will improve your fuel usage by 10%, saving £518 per annum. The cost of putting in the new boiler is £1,500 for the boiler and another £500 for it to be fitted. Total cost of £2,000, which means it will take (at current prices) around four years to get your money back.
If however, you were to install a HeatingSave system at a cost of around £820, your savings could be 30% if you have a 24 hour clock and don't work Saturdays or Sundays. Here for an outlay of £850 you save £1,554, a payback of just over six and a half months - clearly a better way on how I can save on my heating costs.
Of course, if you have the spare cash, do both. In the long term as energy price increases outstrip inflation it's bound to be a good investment.