We found some intelligent and budget friendly ways to help you save money on your heating bills. These innovative products and devices won’t involve a costly retrofit project or complicated installations. Nevertheless, fewer nights may be spent shivering under multiple jumpers in a cold room as a result! Start reducing energy costs with these simple interventions available on the market now. Read on for ideas.  

Ways To Improve Central Heating System Efficiency

If you have a central heating system, there could be some simple, affordable, and easy-to-install ways to improve your system’s efficiency.  

The Scalemaster Heat Optimiser

This simple energy-saving additive could save you up to 15% on your heating costs. The Scalemaster Heat Optimiser can be added to any wet-based central heating system. The additive comes in a 500ml bottle that can provide effective treatment for a 100 litre (10 rad) system. The additive is the result of recent research in fluid heat transfer technologies. It has resulted in the development of a super-efficient additive for heating systems. As a bonus, the bottles are also made from 50% recycled plastic, which makes this a sustainable purchase in more ways than one.  

How Heat-Saving Additives Work

The SCALEMASTER Heat Optimizer improves the efficiency of your heating system with an  advanced formula. Here’s a step-by-step process that explains how:

• Due to the surface tension of water and imperfections in materials inside heating systems, optimal thermal contact is not made
• When dosed, Scalemaster Heat Optimiser changes the surface tension of the water whilst remaining non-corrosive
• This makes the fluid “wetter” than ordinary water. This “wetter” fluid can then access all the imperfections within heating systems easier, improving the system’s thermal performance by reaching a greater surface area
• This increases the thermal contact, which improves heat transfer rate and efficiency, resulting in rooms reaching temperature quicker and staying warmer for longer
• Lower return water temperatures allow boilers to condensate more efficiently and recover more latent heat. Less fuel is then used to maintain the set temperature

In short, this additive improves the heating capacity of water in your central heating system by improving the heat transfer between heat exchange surfaces.  It also lubricates the system for maximum performance.  

Tower Magnetic Filters

The efficiency of your central heating system can also be affected by waste material, debris or blockage. A Tower magnetic filter is a device you can connect to your central heating system to collect the sludge (Iron Oxide) circulating in your central heating system before it can damage your boiler. In a nutshell, it removes iron, nickel and cobalt particles in the water. These are available in ¾” & 1” versions. Installing this device could save up to 6% per annum, thus reducing your home’s carbon footprint. In addition, it also provides consistent protection for your boiler by keeping it clear of sludge.  

How Does Sludge Get into Your Central Heating System?

• A central heating system is made up of several different metals: ferrous (can rust), and non-ferrous (cannot rust)
• The metal components in central heating systems are vulnerable to corrosion. Sometimes these metals break down, and little particles break away, forming Iron Oxide
• These particles can block a boiler’s heat exchanger, or boiler pump or cause cold spots on radiators. For example, if your radiators are cold at the bottom and warm at the top, it indicates the presence of sludge in the heating system

 

How Does A Tower Magnetic Filter Work?

A Tower magnetic filter has a very efficient operating mechanism. A baffle built into the filter first slows down the flow of water. Then, powerful magnets extract debris that will otherwise freely circulate through your heating system, leading to sludge build-up over time. The sludge can then reduce your boiler’s efficiency, cause parts to fail or even make it fail entirely.  

Benefits of using a Tower magnetic filter

• Faster heating – Without sludge, your boiler works to its best capability. One of the main reasons for a boiler’s reduced efficiency is sludge build-up, a problem that is easily eliminated with a magnetic filter
• Reduced heating bills – When your boiler works less to generate the heat you need, you immediately realise savings in the form of a lowered electricity bill. Savings of 6% can be achieved
• Eco-friendly – A sludge-free system will use less energy than a system compromised by sludge. Efficient heating then allows for a reduced carbon footprint
• Helps avoid repairs – The most significant benefit of using a magnetic filter is the fact that a magnetic filter can help prevent costly repairs

 

Corrosion Inhibitor Fluid

Another product will help you optimise your heating system even further. Add Scalemaster Corrosion Inhibitor Fluid to the central heating system to prevent the production of sludge, in addition to the installation of a magnetic filter as an excellent precautionary measure. It also prevents corrosion and hard water limescale precipitation. Therefore, it is essential to protect hot water heating systems from damage while maintaining operational efficiency. You can get it in a 500ml bottle.  

How to Use Corrosion Inhibitor Fluid

• Use a minimum dosage of 500ml per 100 litres of system water (up to 10 radiators)
• This treats up to a 100-litre (10 radiators) system
• It is compatible with aluminium
• No problems occur through overdosing (up to double dose) or mixing Scalemaster products

 

Consumer-Friendly Smart Home Heating Solutions

Invest in a complete SMART HOME system

Consider investing in a fully integrated Smart Home Energy System. Look for a ‘buildable system’ – That allows you to start with a room thermostat and add radiator thermostats to individual rooms when you are ready. One that can be adapted and evolved over time. A smart and iconic design that fits seamlessly into the home, WISER has five key components:

1. The heat hub
2. The wiser plug
3. The room thermostat is the central temperature control
4. and the radiator thermostats replace original thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to allow the home to be divided into zones and heated more efficiently
5. The supporting app

 

The Wiser Smart Room Thermostat

A smart thermostat automatically switches on your central heating when a drop in air temperature is detected. You will be able to maintain a set temperature in each room this way. By setting heating schedules for each room individually according to your lifestyle, smart thermostats can reduce costs by preventing energy wastage.

What makes it SMART?

• A Smart device allows you to control your heating remotely from your smartphone or internet-connected tablet device. So do not waste a penny overheating your home, with the added convenience of heating control from anywhere in the world
• In larger households, different family members have different heating needs. It can be tricky to cater for everyone using conventional systems. A smart system allows you to adjust the temperature in each and every room. For example, keep babies at a safe temperature and help elderly family members stay comfortable without overheating the rest of the home

The Wiser Smart Thermostats can be added to rooms with radiator thermostats as a convenient way to view and change the room temperature. It also works with all Wiser kits as part of a larger branded thermostat and heating system.  

The Wiser Smart Radiator Thermostat

The Smart Radiator Thermostat is another option for radiator systems that can save you up to 19% in energy usage*. It comes in a discrete unobtrusive design. A small-but-mighty addition to your home heating that enhances energy efficiency. Smart radiator thermostats are the latest trend in Smart Home Heating Controls. The “smart” element to the radiator thermostat is the built-in technology providing remote control of your heating system via a Home App. Increase, decrease and schedule individual room temperatures for maximum comfort. Only use the energy you need in the place you need it. The Wiser Smart Radiator Thermostat is an example. Here are some of the benefits of using a smart system:

• It contains multiple sensors for pinpoint accuracy that can be controlled straight from the app. This allows full control of your home heating anywhere in the world on your connected mobile device and much more
• Alternatively, you can dictate usage with voice control via Amazon Alexa or Google Assistant
• These come as standard multi-room kits or are available as individual add-ons so that you can add more zones to your home over time
• Control your home heating via your heating app so you will never waste a penny while you are away from home should you forget to schedule your heating off or are delayed from returning home

 

The Wiser Smart Electrical Plug

Use a smart plug when aiming for more efficient control of your electrical appliances. In addition, a smart plug gives you an instant status check on your appliances. Would you like to schedule the hall lamp to come on before you get home? Or turn off the bedroom lights last night. Smart systems free you from the ‘did I switch that off?’ panic at the door with the easy status check of a plugged-in appliance. You can even cook tonight’s dinner from afar! Smart plugs are here to make life easier. With the Wiser Plug system, you can do the following with the associated Wiser Home app:

• Add up to 10 smart plugs to any system
• Enable remote scheduling of all your home electrical appliances
• Monitor and control your electrical devices, all from the app.
• This plug also works seamlessly alongside all other Smart Thermostat & Multi-room Kits from the Wiser Range. It has a built-in signal range extender that boosts the signal to all Wiser devices.

 

Download The Wiser Smart Home App

The Wiser Home App controls all the Wiser products listed above. It just means you now can manage your appliances and home heating system from anywhere in the house, garden, office, or even the world. With it, you have literally got heating and hot water control at your fingertips. Is it getting chilly? Two clicks, and you can give your rooms a little boost as it overrides your regular heating schedule. But there’s more to saving money on the spot – you also get insights now that there is data available regarding your home energy usage. This means you can plan or project how much energy you may use long-term. Want to save even more money? You can open the Insights and Heat Report to check your energy consumption to help pop a few pennies away for a rainy day. It functions seamlessly with Wiser Smart Thermostats and is available to download for iPhone and Android in the app store.  

Ready To Save Some Money On Your Energy Bills?

A Quick Shopping list

• Scalemaster Heat Optimiser
• Tower magnetic filter
• Scalemaster Corrosion Inhibitor Fluid
• The Wiser Smart Thermostats
• The Wiser Smart Radiator Thermostat
• Wiser Plug

Stop by our Heating and Plumbing sections to catch an overview of the accessories and brands available for any other DIY  energy-saving improvements or home heating solutions. This is worth investing in. Did you know, The Sustainable Energy Authority of Ireland (SEAI) offers grants of €700.00 for heating control upgrades to your home. To find out more, click here  

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