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Introducing an efficiency checklist for your home
This energy savings week, make sure you’re testing your home heating and cooling systems to maximise efficiency, save costs and cut carbon.
By Lee Adcock, Sustainability Director at Genuit
Following the recent cold snap, homes across the country are continuing to grapple with the consequences of high energy bills – with too many exposed to a harsh daily reality of inefficient homes and expensive bills.
The Government is committed to improving the energy efficiency and reducing carbon emissions as part of the Future Homes Standard, though to date much of their focus has been on new builds. The reality in the UK is that 80% of homes that are lived in today will still be inhabited in 20501. Therefore, there is a huge opportunity to retrofit our current systems and future proof homes.
At Genuit, our hope is for all homeowners to use this Energy Savings Week as an opportunity to test their heating and cooling systems. As the saying goes, prevention is better than cure, which is why a proactive approach to looking after the health of homes by implementing a programme of regular and planned maintenance, will help to improve efficiency, cut carbon and reduce the chance of breakdown. Our experts have put together a set of quick, easy wins that are good for pockets, as well as the planet.
There are a number of factors influencing a home’s efficiency, from property type and age to its insulation, and the appliances running. However, two key contributors, which are often overlooked are the quality of water and air coming into the home.
Water quality:
Independent data from ADEY and Delta EE has found that in the UK alone, there are 23 million boilers installed, and in the next year an average of 15% will breakdown. For 60% of them, the reason is poor water quality. A clean system is an efficient one, but research has shown that for heating systems four in ten (40%) boilers are either dirty or not protected with inhibitor.2
An inhibitor is a crucial component in maintaining a clean and efficient central heating system and works by preventing corrosion and limescale formation that will build up. For a homeowner, they’re most likely to notice the effects of sludge build-up in their heating system when their radiators aren’t getting as hot, or they have cold spots. While bleeding might fix the problem temporarily, it doesn’t treat the root cause, which is where an inhibitor comes in.
If left untreated, black iron-oxide sludge and other debris can build up in heating systems. Before long, this causes a deterioration in performance and ultimately, failure. Just as a car will run more efficiently on clean oil, clean water in a heating system is key to optimum performance, and a system deep clean, when carried out as part of a best practice approach, radiator heat output can increase by up to 47%3 as well as reducing the amount of gas used and carbon emissions, by up to 7%4
By preventing and removing this magnetic and non-magnetic debris, products such as ADEY’s MagnaClean magnetic filter have been proven to increase system efficiency, increase boiler life by up to seven years and reduce the overall energy consumption.
Ventilation:
Drafts around windows and doors are a clear sign that a home is not well-sealed. The inevitable heat loss means that a heating system is having to work harder, increasing energy consumption and ultimately bills. Poor insulation and ventilation can also lead to dampness and mould, leading to respiratory issues and other health problems. Not only can optimized ventilation enhance a home’s energy efficiency and lower costs – it should be a top priority to reduce potential negative health effects.
However, without the proper consideration of the right solutions for each individual home, the changes intended to improve energy efficiency can backfire. As energy efficiency requirements have increased, double-glazing and better insulation have become the norm – and dwellings have become more airtight. These go-to methods tend to tighten up the airflow in a building or home, as owners replace windows to manage heat loss or energy used for cooling. Whilst this reduces the heat loss. the result is unsatisfactory air quality indoors. But, this doesn’t have to be the case.
MVHR systems are an increasingly popular choice in homes and they take a whole house approach to ventilation, combining supply and extract ventilation in one system. The benefit of these solutions is that they can recover up to 95% of the heat from otherwise outgoing air5. The systems extract air from wet rooms (kitchens, bathrooms, utility spaces) via ducting, transferring the heat from that air to the fresh air being drawn into the building via a heat exchanger. The filtered, cleaned and pre-warmed air is then evenly distributed to habitable rooms, thus reducing household energy consumption and the demand on existing heating systems.
A best practice approach
With squeezed budgets, the push towards net zero and the ongoing cost of living crisis, the benefits of being able to take pre-emptive action before an issue becomes serious, are clear. At Genuit, we have called on our heating and ventilation experts at Domus and ADEY to put together a list of five simple checks for homeowners to complete this Energy Savings Week.
Checklist for homes:
Sources:
¹ https://ukgbc.org/news/ukgbc-responds-to-ccc-housing-report/
²Independent research by ADEY and Delta EE
³Research by ADEY based on a heating system being maintained following ADEY Best Practice®, against a corrosion filled system
4 Independent research carried out by KIWA Gastec based on average usage in the UK, saving is on gas usage only and does not include standing charges
5https://domusventilation.co.uk/products/product-type-overview-listing-2/
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