January is a lean month as we recover from the excesses of December. Even for those who planned to cut down on utility costs in the new year, the January cold snap means you’ve likely had to have your heating on full tilt to counter the drop in temperature.
The low temperatures also highlight how well or badly your current heating set-up works.
If your system uses a gas or oil boiler, an annual service is imperative to ensure it’s operating optimally and safely, says Derek Davis of Bord Gáis Energy.
“A combustion check will make sure you’re getting the right efficiency,” he says. “A healthy, efficient boiler will save you money.”
If you have an oil boiler, be sure to book the services of a member of Oftec, a trade association for liquid fuel heating equipment manufacturers and training providers, Davis advises.
Radiate heat
If you have a radiator system, is it heating all your rooms efficiently? If you suspect some of the heaters may need attention, you should vent them to remove air from the system – also referred to as bleeding – using a key that you can buy in a DIY shop. If this doesn’t remedy the problem, flag it when booking a boiler service to ensure the service technician logs the problem and reviews each radiator in each room when they visit your home. This will carry an additional cost.
[ Are electric radiators more energy-efficient than heat-pumps?Opens in new window ]
A cold radiator that doesn’t improve with bleeding is likely to be blocked by years of sediment, explains John Valentine, general manager of Kildare-based Crystal Air Renewable Energy. “Visible rust is an indicator that the radiators are disintegrating. If the radiators are 25 or 30 years old, they’re probably coming to the end of their usable life. They may still work but the efficiency isn’t there,” Valentine says.
It may be necessary to install a new boiler, says Davis. However, adding a new boiler to an old system may not have the desired effect of improving efficiency, he says, in which case you may need a whole new system.
Storage heaters
The technology and therefore the efficiency of electric panel and electric storage heaters, usually found in apartments, has vastly improved, says Valentine, and older models can be swapped out for new ones with little disruption.
And when it comes to heating an apartment, “you may only have one external wall and you likely have neighbours above and below you, so there is little heat loss through the floor or ceiling”, he says.
However, deeper retrofits are tricky in such homes, says Valentine, as you will need the consent of the block management to install a heat pump cooling aspect on your balcony.
Infrared heaters
Infrared heaters offer a new way to heat your home. They come in large canvas-like formats that can hang on the wall like a painting or mounted on the ceiling. They provide almost instant warmth but are expensive to operate on an ongoing basis, so the general counsel is to use them as a secondary form of heating within a home.
“Infrared heaters are silent and, unlike convection heating, don’t blow up dust or cause your skin to dry out,” says Johnnie Briggs of Electric Radiators Direct. “The directional heat is only about a quarter the intensity of the type of heaters you experience in pub gardens and patios.
“You can suspend the infrared heater from a ceiling. It won’t sit flush with the ceiling but will drop down slightly and is only recommended for ceiling heights of 2.7m and over. On a wall, hang the panel at head heights, as you might an artwork.”
Open flue
If your home has open chimneys that are not in use, a quick-fix solution to reduce heat loss and cross draughts is a flue balloon, which is sold at most DIY shops.
If you use the chimney as an open fire where the heat is uncontrolled, consider installing a fire door, says Valentine, “which helps to control the burn rate of your open fire and can be used in conjunction with an existing back boiler to increase its output”.
To have a door installed you will need the supplier to first conduct a chimney survey, with costs payable upfront, and you may need to install an artificial flue to ensure safety measures are adhered to.
Heat pump
Heat pump technology is the principal long-term solution to heat loss that is readily available in Ireland. However, if you are going to invest in it, you will also likely need to upgrade insulation levels within the home. This can be costly and disruptive.
The process should start with a room-by-room heat loss calculation. Once you know what requirement of heat you need in each room, you can see the output of the existing radiators and amend accordingly, Valentine says.
“If switching from oil or gas [to a heat pump], you will experience a drop in the water temperature in the radiators, dropping from 70 degrees to 45 degrees,” and you “no longer have just warm radiators, but at a warm room”, says Valentine.
For example, at 75 degrees a 5kW heat pump – a size suited to a three-bed semi of about 100sq m – will consume 2,200 watts. At a temperature of 45 degrees, the same device will consume 880 watts. The bigger the heat pump you need, the more electricity you’ll use and the more expensive it will be to run.
[ The debate: Is a heat pump a good investment for your home?Opens in new window ]
Before committing to any professional recommendations when it comes to the right heating solution for your home, you should do your research and review the efficiency of the method by checking the Energy Production Register for Energy Labelling, says Marco Grippa, programme manager for heating decarbonisation at the Brussels-based Environmental Coalition on Standards.
Choose a brand with a physical presence, an official footprint in the country, advises Matthew Pitt of Electric Ireland, so that you have after-sales service nearby, and ask for a list of registered installers.
Insulation
Of course, the better insulated your home is, the less you have to spend on heating. Valentine tracks his heating bills in an Excel spreadsheet. Following a deep retrofit, his 1980s bungalow outside Naas is now A2-Ber rated. Last November, he spent €134, or consumed 635kW hours of electricity, on space and hot water heating combined. Of that, 391 units were at a 26c day rate, while 244 were at a 13c night rate.
[ Our house is still cold after installing external insulation. What can we do?Opens in new window ]
Heat pump technologies have advanced so that some can run at temperatures closer to those of traditional boilers. But, Valentine says, the higher temperature models will cost slightly more to run.
Cost
With heat pump solutions, the initial purchase cost is often the issue, says David Sabbadin of the European Environmental Bureau. “They cost on average about 2.5 times more than oil or gas,” he says.
It is also crucial to determine how much such a technology costs to operate, Sabbadin says, adding that there are online tools to help determine consumption but they provide only approximate figures. “You need a professional to take responsibility. You need someone who is going to estimate your bill and suggest savings,” he advises.
The problem is that despite its efficiency, a heat pump is run for a longer period of time daily. To really get a sense of what your future bills will be, you will need to pay for a house energy report, says Pitt.
“It consumes electricity constantly. Therefore, for it to run at the most efficient it can, the property needs to be well insulated,” Pitt says. Those insulation costs are significant. And that’s before you factor in the disruption to home life, and the planning and time required to make it happen.
Service providers
Pitt recommends using the SEAI’s One-Stop Shop service to find professionals who can advise you on the best heating solutions for your home. Service providers have been financially vetted by the SEAI so homeowners can rest assured they are in safe hands.
“Homeowners can have increased confidence completing works through an SEAI-registered One-Stop Shop as each provider must have a quality management system in place which works towards ensuring competent and reputable companies are contracted to complete energy efficiency works on a home,” says Helen Williams of the Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland.
“However, we always recommend homeowners carry out their own due diligence, get references and ensure they are happy with their chosen One-Stop Shop, as the contract is between them and their chosen contractor.”
There are 21 SEAI-registered providers, which doesn’t sound like much until you factor in that this list includes companies with nationwide representation such as Bord Gáis, Electric Ireland Superhomes and SSE Airtricity.
Each provider will have their own timelines in relation to carrying out home energy assessments and scheduling works, says Williams.
[ How can I find out how energy efficient my home is?Opens in new window ]
“Typically, a One-Stop Shop service provider will respond to initial enquiries within one to two working days. On average, it takes three to four weeks for an initial home energy assessment to be carried out,” she says.
“Following the assessment and subsequent agreement between the customer and the provider on the works to be carried out, it can take six to eight weeks to schedule the works. This is dependent on the size of the property and the level of works being carried out on the property. For comparison, this is similar to the sort of timeline for any other major works in a home such as an attic conversion or a major kitchen upgrade.”
The first thing a professional will do is run a heat loss indicator (HLI) test to determine the current rate of loss from your home. Its results will give you an idea whether the house is suitable for a heat pump. It will also help create a menu of actions you can take to reduce heat loss, and an indication of the costs involved in each of those steps, Pitt explains.
There is a cost involved in conducting a HLI test, but it maps out the problems and allows the professional to tailor solutions to your home based on its build type, age and location.
Homes built since 2011 do not need a HLI assessment to qualify for a grant of up to €6,500 to lessen the cost of a heat pump, which usually range from €12,500 to €14,000, says Pitt. This cost will depend on the size of the house.
Whether you have the money to invest in such deep upgrades or not, Valentine advises that you change your electricity supplier every year so that you can avail of the best rates on offer. “Retention bonuses won’t give you as low a rate as changing supplier, particularly if you’re putting in a heat pump,” he says.
Energy consumption
If installing in a heat pump it will consume more electricity, however, the additional investment in improving insulation levels within the property will mean the requirement to heat it to the previous levels is removed.
The first thing to do is track your current consumption, Valentine says. If you have a smart meter, as 1.8 million households in the country do, according to ESB Networks, you can download the usage data, he says. “You can upload the data to energypal.ie to visualise your usage and it will also provide you with the cheapest energy rate on the market. If there is no change in your usage profile, this will work for you.”
Look at your historical usage, Valentine adds, “and then consider your motivations for changing. These vary. Many making the change want to reduce carbon emissions, take advantage of the grants available or find a cheaper way of heating their home, but that can only be achieved after significant capital investment.”
