Read these myth busters and find out if the energy “saving tips” you’re using are actually working!
Boiler Energy Saving Myth Busters
MYTH 1: Leaving the ceiling or electric fan on will help keep the room cool
TRUTH: Fans help keep people cool, but not the rooms, as it works by helping air circulate better and blowing out breeze which feels cool to the skin – even though the room temperature is the same. Leaving a fan on when the room is empty will not benefit anyone. On the other hand, attic fans can actually draw cooler air from outside into your home while blowing trapped hot air out. It can help with energy efficiency, but only if the air outside is cooler.
MYTH: Turning up the thermostat will make it faster to heat your home.
TRUTH: Thermostats tell your heating system to turn on until a specified temperature is reached. Once that temperature is reached, the thermostat will tell your heating system to turn off. Turning up the temperature is like pressing your floor’s number in an elevator to make it go faster: it feels like its helping, but its not. You can also be potentially wasting energy here if you forget to reset the temperature. Set the thermostat to the ideal temperature, and if you have an old one, consider getting a more efficient new one that can help you save more energy.
MYTH: Leaving the hot water heater on all the time will save energy.
TRUTH: Your boiler will store hot water for you that you can use throughout the day. You can heat your water for a couple of hours each day, which should last all day as long as your tank has a reliable insulating jacket. If you have a combi boiler, it will heat water on demand. Also, most new washers, dryers, dishwasher and electric shower can heat the water themselves, so they don’t need the supply of hot water from your tank.
MYTH: Leaving your heating on all day will save you more energy and money.
TRUTH: Do not pay for heating if you are not using it. Even if you adjust the thermostat lower, your boiler will keep working to get the house in that temperature, costing you money. Get a programmable central heating and an efficient thermostat so you can set your timer and when you need your heating system on or off. You can schedule it to turn on 30 minutes before you arrive home so that your house if comfortable by the time you get in, and 30 minutes before you leave your home as you can still use the remaining heat as you get ready.
MYTH: Its cheaper to stay in one room and use an electric heater or gas fire.
TRUTH: While you may think that staying in one room next to a room heater is cheaper than turning on your central heating system, this is usually incorrect. Electricity and bottled gas are more expensive than gas per unit from your mains. Room heaters that run on either gas or electricity will easily rack up the energy used even for just a few hours, and using your central heating with the radiators turned low in rooms that are not being used will turn out to be cheaper.
Here are other myth busters on energy saving for your other appliances:
- MYTH: Leave the lights on because it takes more electricity to turn them off and back on. — Remember that if a light bulb is on, its using electricity; if its of, it isn’t.
- MYTH: Phone and laptop chargers don’t use electricity if they are not connected to a device. — Lots of devices such as laptops, TVs and game consoles continue to draw power when plugged in even if they are not in use. Switch or unplug devices from the wall to avoid using standby power.
- MYTH: Taking a shower and taking a bath use the same amount of water. — A 10 minute shower using a code compliant low flow shower head will use about 25 gallons of water, while a bath will use about 30 to 50 gallons.
Want to save more energy and install high efficient boilers and timers? Call RJ Gas today and prove these myth busters are correct.
