What do you need to know about EPC?

EPC is a legal requirement for all properties in the UK which came into existence on April 2012, to be used as a part of Europe’s commitment to the Kyoto Agreement to help improve the Energy efficiency of residential and commercial buildings.

EPC tells you a rating from A (very efficient) to G (inefficient) about how energy efficient your building is. It lets the person who will use the building have an idea how much it will cost him to heat and light. The owner also gets an idea of heat, light and reduced carbon emissions of his house.

EPC is one part of the wide range of measures taken across Europe to control the carbon footprint, climate changing factors and to reduce the dependency on fossil fuels.

EPC also states what the energy efficiency ratings will be if improvements are made and highlights cost effective ways to achieve better efficiency. This certificate will also provide details on Green deal for more cost and energy efficient measures for property owners.

Why Get an EPC?

If you are likely to sell or rent out your residential or commercial property, you will need EPC before you give away any advertisement. The first page of the Energy Performance Certificate will be needed to be attached on your classified marketing materials. You must get your EPC made by an approved Domestic Energy Assessor before you market out your property for rent or sale. Domestic & General Heating is a fully accredited company providing commercial and residential EPC’s.

NEW EPC REGULATIONS

Keep in mind that from 2018 you will not be able to rent your property if it has an EPC rating of 38 or less (band F & G). Therefore start making changes to your home to meet the requirements.

DRAWBACKS OF EPC’s

Unfortunately as EPC’s don’t look that deep into how actually you are using your energy in the home, e.g. how many people live in the house, what temperature you prefer in rooms, how much hot water is required, it isn’t the most accurate tool for seeing how much you can save under such conditions.

For an additional level of detail, you should really get a Green Deal Assessment carried out on the property. What’s the difference? This looks at energy usage as well as the more general things covered in an EPC giving you a much more accurate picture of your home’s energy efficiency.

EPC’S AND GREEN DEAL ASSESSMENTS

EPC is a requirement to fulfil the Green Deal, but since its launch EPC has been modified a bit by the government meaning that older EPCs are no longer valid for new Green Deals so you will have to go for a new one.

So if you are needing an EPC anyway, you might as well pay that little bit extra and get yourself a Green Deal Assessment. A Green Deal Assessment lets you discuss your home with a trained advisor, and looks at things like electricity bills, behavioral advice, and of course the finance packages and grants available to you. For that extra few pounds it is really worthwhile. 

Cold Proof your home for better heating

It makes sense to keep the precious heat where it’s needed the most and where it should be, make your home more efficient and environment friendly by following these simple tips for cold proofing;

Check out for Gaps, Draughts and Leaks:

Get all your little holes and openings filled in your house that let out warm air. This is an easy and cost effective step as all you have to do is find the draught and fill them. Either track down the holes in daylight if you see through the walls. As for the difficult ones with the help of an incense stick track down the suspected draught area, if you find smoke moving that’s your point, get it filled. Opt for draught excluders if you can’t work out your way through insulation.

Insulate your home:

No matter how efficient and up to mark your heating system is, it still won’t keep you warm and run economically unless your home is properly insulated. This case is true for old properties that are rarely insulated to the best modern standards. Weak insulation allows the heat to escape and cold air to enter, making your home cold and uncomfortable. Reviewing your insulation is a vital step for anyone wishing to improve energy efficiency.

Get your radiators bled:

Bleeding the radiators helps in removing trapped air and gases. Trapped air is one of the most commonly encountered problems in central heating systems that cause poor water flow and make the system work in a less efficient manner leading to higher energy bills.

How do you check whether your radiators need bleeding or not?

Simply place your hand on the radiator to check the temperature and then place your hand downwards. If the top is cold and the lower half is cold, then this is a sure sign of air being stuck in the radiator which definitely requires bleeding. Get a Gas Safe Registered engineer to check your radiators.

Check for Gas Safety:

We usually forget to keep a check on Gas Safety issues on our appliances, it’s important to be extra safe, as malfunctions in gas appliances can be fatal, hire in a Gas Safe registered engineer to have a look at your appliances, opt for carbon monoxide sensors and alarms for a better and safer heating experience. This is important to detect problems before they get out of hand and require expensive repairs. Simple routine checkups are usually inexpensive but they save you thousands of pounds in a long run as you get to know the problems at an earlier stage.

Keep a Check on your boiler:

The boiler we use accounts for around 55% of our energy spending per year, so the maintenance of your boiler is well worth before winter starts. A full boiler service not only helps your boiler run efficiently, decreases your heating costs but also prolongs the life of the boiler system.

For an efficient heating you need to understand the boiler, take out its manual and go through it. Get to know about its settings and functions, understand its timing mechanism so that you can efficiently spend energy when needed without wasting it.

Why A-rated boilers are the best

A Rated boilers are the most efficient and cost effective boilers available in the market these days, here are some points in detail why these boilers are the best;

Cost Effective:

A-rated boilers save you more money as compared to other boilers in addition they use lesser energy. So we can say lesser the energy we use, lesser the money we spend. Another way of saying that would be the less energy you waste heating your house (by using an inefficient system) the less money you spend heating your home.

A-rated boilers have an efficiency rating of 90 – 95%, making them the most energy efficient heating systems available in the market today.

Save you space:

Most homes in UK have old systems installed in them, people usually don’t bother replacing their older systems instead they change the boilers. Old boilers in addition to being old are dangerous, inefficient, consume more energy and take more space.

Modern A-rated boilers are efficient in every aspect, from having the ability to produce more heat, use lesser energy and take almost no space in your house, eventually making more space for you to live in.

A-rated boilers are Greener:

A rated boilers tend to use less energy making you cut the carbon footprint. According to the Energy Saving Trust having an A rated boiler system is one of the main steps toward reducing carbon dioxide emissions.

Convert more fuel to energy

If you have an inefficient central heating system, you may be losing energy anywhere in between the system. You will be using more fuel to produce the same amount of heat produced from an efficient system.

Reduction in fuel bills

When you use lesser energy to produce more heat, you are saving more fuel which eventually means reduction in your fuel bills.

You have more control

A Rated boiler and modern heating systems are more adaptable and easily programmable with the help of programmable thermostats and radiator valves. You can program your boiler the way you want it, making your home cozy and warm according to your requirement. You can also distribute your heat towards the rooms with the help of automatic radiator valves providing heat only to those rooms which are occupied rather than heating empty rooms.

These boilers come with a guarantee

Getting in a new boiler gives you a peace of mind and assurance of heat when and wherever it is required, because you know a new boiler will not let you down unlike old boilers. Mostly new A-rated boilers come with a guarantee for even more peace of mind.

You could get paid for your old boiler

Getting a new A-rated boiler simply means saving yourself from unwanted carbon emissions, as it is better for you and your family plus it’s better for the environment as well.

You can easily get paid if you have a boiler that is 10 years old as you will most likely qualify for a replacement, however if you own a boiler that is not efficient enough regardless of the time it is with you, you will qualify for a replacement as well.

If you are thinking that it will cost you something? No it will not, Affordable Warmth is a government initiative in collaboration with the “Big Six” companies which place an obligation to help those in need.

Eventually lowering your fuel costs and doing what’s right for the environment.

A Guide to Central Heating Systems

The output you require dictates what size of boiler is suitable for your residence, which is usually measured in terms of radiators and hot water cylinders. It was common in the past to have big sized boilers for heating houses which caused a staggering drain on Energy as well as finance so carefully select a good heating system for your house with a bit of research.

Mainly there are three types of residential gas central heating systems.

•     Combination Boiler systems
•         Gravity Fed Systems
•          High-Pressure Systems

All three of these systems provide heat to or heat central heating radiators in similar ways, the difference is in the way boiler operates at water pressure.

Combination Boiler System

Also known as a combi boiler, this type of boiler works by providing hot water directly without the need for a hot water tank or even a water tank. Supply water inside the boiler directly as you need it, Hot water is then provided instantly when you turn on the hot water tap. Combi boilers work in such a way that the boiler fires up and heats the water coming through the pipes, making it more efficient.

The major downside of combi boilers is that they aren’t suitable where hot water is needed in multiple outlets for example you require hot water in two taps or showers at the same time, combi boilers won’t be suitable in such a situation

In order to have a hot water flow the combi boiler’s output needs to be in the range of 25-30kW where a system boiler requires 15-20kW.

If in the future you are planning to go green and you opt for Solar Energy, such boilers won’t cope with solar systems as they need a hot water storage.

Gravity Fed Systems

Gravity fed systems were one of the most common heating systems in the UK, they are less common now and not that much in use as combi boilers and high pressure systems have replaced them.

Many older homes in UK still use gravity fed systems as owners find it more efficient to upgrade the boiler only rather than baring the expense of changing the whole heating system.

Cons of a gravity fed system include weak water pressure for hot and cold taps as the pressure depends on gravity.  Flats which don’t have lofts for water tanks, shower water in such situations can be poor unless you are using a shower pump.

High pressure systems

These types of systems operate at mains water pressure and use a hot water storage system. Also known as mains pressure systems, if you require hot water at a forceful pressure then this is the right system for you.

The main downside of these systems is that they tend to be more expensive to run and to install, as you have an additional expense of a hot water tank.

There are a lot of complications in the installation of high pressure systems like notifying the building control, hiring of certified installers who are required for setting up high pressure systems and annual maintenance for safety reasons

Pressure and flow only depends on your mains pressure.

The best boiler suitable to you depends on your hot water demand and lifestyle. Combi Boilers are more suitable for small homes as multiple hot water usage is impossible with combi boilers. For larger families living in a rather bigger house a standard boiler will do the job perfectly. A combi boiler provides you with both heat and hot water, it saves space and suits small houses a lot. 50 % of new boiler installations are combi boilers making it the best choice of people living in UK. 

Heating Industry and New Energy Efficiency Laws

In September 2015 a new law regarding energy related products is due to come which will have a large impact on the boiler industry called as the Energy related Products directive. The ErP is the part of the European Union Legislation which has an aim to bring a 34% reduce in carbon emissions by 2020 and further decrease it by 80% in 2050.

The ECO design directive EuP (Energy Using products directive) was replaced by the new energy-related products directive in 2009. The older directive covered products like computers, washing machines and microwave ovens. The new ErP-Directive not only covers products using energy but also those that are energy related and do not use energy directly such as water saving taps and showerheads. The goal of ErP is to save energy through the supply chain, from the design stage to production, transport, packaging and further on.

ErP sets out a minimum standard of requirements for the efficiency of heating and hot water systems. Manufactures will no longer be allowed to design or manufacture products that do not meet the energy efficiency standards.

The new Directive will hopefully lead to a changing trend in the building and heating industries and encourage consumers to go for the most efficient boiler for their residence. Customers can easily compare the efficiency of different products by a new energy labelling system that will come in effect.

Heating manufactures have long recognized the need for better and more efficient products and have started working to implement these measures and have started designing more efficient boilers for the future concerns.

A lot of innovation has been seen in the area of boiler modulation and development in the past years. Boiler modulation is the ability of a boiler to reduce its maximum output to its minimum output.

Advances have also been made with smart temperature controls, which has led to householders having a much greater degree of control over their heating systems. Preprogramming a boiler to intelligent thermostat control provides the ability to make huge increases in energy efficiency savings and we expect this technology to continue to develop and improve.

With this directive, the European Union regulator has managed to lay the groundwork for measures affecting a broad range of EuP and ErP. The goal is the reduction of energy along the supply chain from the design stage throughout production, transport, packaging and so on.

Products that comply with this directive are easily recognized by carrying the CE marking. In this case, the CE mark covers product safety and energy efficiency requirements.

As the new Energy-related Products Directive is almost here, the heating industry seems well-prepared for the resulting changes. 

Should I Replace My Conventional Boiler with a Combi Boiler

If you have just moved in a new house, with a broken boiler or older than 12 years, then a replacement might be in order.  

Is it worth the hassle?

First of all it is important to have a look at what kind of a heating system you have? And will a combi boiler make any difference?

When we talk about ‘normal systems’ we generally refer to a conventional heat only boiler, which consists of two cold water tanks usually adjusted somewhere in the loft and a hot water tank that is found in the airing cupboard.

A system boiler is very much like a heat-only boiler, except you don’t require the feed and expansion cold-water tanks in the loft.

A combi boiler works by providing hot water directly without the need for a hot water tank or even a water tank. Supply water directly according to your requirement, the hot water is also instantly supplied on turning the tap on. Combi boilers work in such a way that the boiler fires up and heats the water coming through pipes, making it more efficient.

Why Install a Combi Boiler?

Here are some of the reasons why people prefer installing a combi boiler

Saves space

You can get rid of water tanks and free a lot of space, Combi boilers are popular in flats and small houses.

Combi boilers save you energy

With regular boilers, hot water is usually produced twice a day regardless if it is used or not in this case you are wasting a lot of energy and hot water as the boiler fires up to produce hot water. Combi boilers provide you with hot water when you need it whenever you turn the tap or shower on.

It is worth mentioning that Combi boilers are one of the most efficient boilers, these boilers can save 80% of your energy bills easily.

Combi boilers are suitable for small hot water demands

If you require hot water in multiple outlets, for example you need hot water in two taps at the same time, then the combi boiler won’t be suitable.

When should you install a Combi boiler?

In theory you can get your boiler changed anytime of the year, but it is recommended that you do it during the general refurbishment phase. A lot of extra costs like running new pipes under floors, adding new radiators will be minimalized during the refurbishment time as your house will most probably me opened apart.

Try to install as much insulation as you could whilst getting a new heating system installed during the refurbishment period. Better insulation lowers gas demands as heat takes time to leave the house.

It is a good idea to get a boiler installed in the summers as boiler prices are low and there isn’t much workload on plumbers during that time of the year.

CONDENSING COMBI BOILERS

All boilers available nowadays for domestic usage are standard combi boilers – any boiler you get whether it is a combi, heat only or a system boiler they are condensing by default. Condensing boilers are the most highly efficient boilers you can get from the market with an efficiency of 90% or even more. Condensing boiler reuse the waste heat flue gas to pre heat the cold water going into the boiler.

A condensing combi boiler (like all condensing boilers) will have an additional condensing pipe that allows the condensed vapors to be drained away as the boiler is working.

So is it worth swapping to a Combi Boiler?

Certainly if you live in a small house and you are short of space, combi boilers is the best answer to all your heating questions.

If you have just moved to a new house and you are carrying out refurbishment then getting a new combi boiler installed is ideal.

If you are tight on budget it could be the perfect time to get financed by government warmth schemes like the Green deal and ECO.

Do you qualify for a free Heating Grant?

Free Boiler & Heating Criteria

Heating grants are easily available for the replacement of inefficient, broken down boilers and heating systems to certain people who meet the criteria under the Free Boiler Replacement scheme and affordable warmth obligation. This type of obligation provides support to low income earning consumers that are vulnerable to living in cold residences which include the elderly, disabled and families. These Grants usually cover the whole cost and don’t have to be paid back.

Who qualifies for an ECO Grant?

To qualify for an ECO grant you must own or privately rent a property. Permissions will be required by landlord if you are living in a rented out house. A person residing in housing associations or councils will not be eligible for the grant.

If the boiler that you already have isn’t working properly, is old, has a poor quality or you are just not sure if you meet the qualifying criteria for a new boiler.

If you are entitled to pension tax credit or Child tax credit and your household income is less than £15,860 you will qualify automatically for a free boiler replacement grant and even free insulation. 

Your present boiler must be 10 years old as well for you to qualify.

If you don’t fall under Pension tax credit or Child tax credit you can still be eligible for a free boiler 

replacement as well as insulation if you are entitled to the following:

You can qualify if you receive:

·         Income support

·         Income based job seekers allowance

·         Income related employment and support allowance

You can also qualify if you receive one of the following:

·        

•       Disabled Child premium
•         Disability premium
•       Pension premium
•            Employment support

Following criteria’s relating to child are also required for a free boiler grant

·        

•       If you have a child under the age of 16
•             Have a child under 20 who is in full time education but not university going

You can qualify for free boiler grant if you receive Tax Credit, and if you fulfill on the following criteria,

·        

•       Your age is over 60 years old
•             You receive disabled worker element
•             You have a child under the age of 16 years
•             You have a child having full time education but isn’t university going

Get the most out of your heating, with lower bills

Winters are here and the weather’s gotten unbearably cold. You have done almost everything to beat it but if that isn’t working then it’s time to cope up with these tips below to cosy you up this winter.

Get to know your boiler well

Honestly, many of us don’t understand how our boilers work and are oblivious of the functionalities of those sets of buttons, settings and programs

For an efficient heating you need to understand the boiler, take out its manual and go through it. Get to know about its settings and functions, understand its timing mechanism so that you can efficiently spend energy when needed without wasting it.

Understand the thermostat

Yes, its true, turning down your thermostat by one degree can save you about £55 a year! But before doing that take a moment out to understand how your thermostat works.

The thermostat is usually placed in the living rooms or hallways, and to make it function effectively it should have enough air around it to let it breathe. Make sure your thermostat isn’t covered by doors, closets  nor facing the wall so that you can properly gauge the temperature.

Suppose your thermostat is set to 20◦C, once the temperature around it has reached 20◦C it will send a message to the boiler to turn off. Eventually the heat generating will stop in other rooms. Similarly if the thermostat is positioned in a well-insulated place the other cold rooms might not get as warm as the room with the thermostat, or conversely if the thermostat is situated in a cold area the other rooms might get extra heated as the thermostat in the cold area will take time to reach 20◦C.

Start to set off your temperature at 18◦C, gradually increase it by one degree until its comfortable enough to sit inside. Unfortunately if you feel chilly with a temperature of 21◦C then consider replacing your insulation.

Program yourself

It is absolutely useless to keep your heating ON while you are asleep, but then its no fun waking up on a cold morning  or return home from work to a cold house. That’s why its essential to understand the boiler programming functions. Properly adjusting the program means you can set to turn ON and OFF your boiler automatically.

Consider your family’s routine to make the most out of this feature. Program your boiler an hour before the earliest riser in your family and set it off half an hour before everyone leaves for work. Similarly set it ON an hour before you come back from work so that you can have a nice comfy, cosy feeling on arrival.

This self-programming will eventually save you a considerable amount of energy and money in comparison with leaving the heating ON for the whole day or simply turning it off before you leave for work.

Adjust your valves

Boilers and thermostats work together to provide heat through your radiators which then spread heat around the room. Adjust your valves accordingly, open them up when you have entered the room and lower them till you are comfortable enough.

You also have an option to Zone around the heating in your house, implying to keep the valves open in the living rooms or lounges and turn the valves low in rarely used rooms to make the most of your heating efficiently.

Invest in Heating

Energy Efficiency is a big issue nowadays and we all have to deal with it personally, If you own a boiler for ten years or longer then its time for an upgrade. By upgrading your boiler you can save around 50% on your heating bills.

Boiler replacements aren’t cheap enough they cost around an average of £900 plus installation charges. If you cant afford a replacement consider investing on other heating components, get valves installed on radiators around your house which may cost around £150.  Think about upgrading your boiler controls so that you can make the most out of your heating efficiency.

Is it worth investing in a new boiler?

If you own an old boiler or are constrained to using electric heaters, which put a staggering burden on your bills. You can economize your spending by opting for a new boiler installation instead. Modern gas heating boilers are better energy/ heat efficient and heat your home on lower running costs compared to old boilers and electric heaters.

Here are some of the problems people face with old boilers and electric heaters which are detailed below

Problems with old boilers 

If you possess an old boiler which is out of date but still works, you are probably wasting energy and therefore money. There can be a number of reasons, For example if your boiler cylinder does not have a thermostat or has a broken thermostat, it will be impossible to control the temperature which will cause extensive heating eventually resulting in scalding.

If you have an old boiler with a gravity fed hot water cylinder it can be really slow to re-heat the whole cylinder causing slow heating using double the energy which is going in waste.

Old heating systems usually don’t come with room thermostats so you are basically heating the whole house rather than the rooms you want to be heated so eventually you are wasting energy and money to heat those rooms which don’t need to be heated.

In Efficient Electric Heaters

Many people turn off their central heating systems and switch to electric heaters in order to save money by using electric heaters in specific rooms rather than heating the whole house through central heating, in fact they are spending more electricity to heat a single room. Electric heaters are cheap to buy and provide a good source of heat BUT what people do not realize is that as soon as you switch off the electric heater the room temperature comes back to normal in no time, they are not particularly effective in maintaining a constant room temperature.

Boilers with Programmable controls and their Benefits

Replacing an old styled heavy weight boiler can save you about £300 yearly says the Energy Savings Trust. Modern Programmable boilers are very much efficient because they are able to re-use some of the energy which they produce. Programmable controls make it easy for users to direct which parts of the house they need to be warm eventually saving you money and energy which was wasted through heating unoccupied rooms by old boilers.

Modern programmable controls make it easy for you to measure the warmth of the room and adjust the temperature as you wish it to be.

Easily operated boilers make it easy for users to program the boilers to work only when there are people in the house or room, You can even schedule your boiler to work on specific dates with specific temperature for each specific room, which eventually will save you a lot of energy and money that you won’t be wasting by heating places that aren’t required to.

So it is clear that getting a new modern boiler is undoubtedly a very good decision for you to save money and energy.

Is Your boiler heater working well?

Is your boiler efficient enough? Is your heater boiler working well?

Domestic and General heating provides energy efficient heating solutions to your home and commercial properties which help in reducing your heating bills.

If you are in need of Energy Efficient boilers or Solar PV systems, Domestic and General heating can provide you with a one stop source for the latest in energy efficient heating systems from the leading brands in the market.

If your boiler isn’t working well and you are planning to get your boiler serviced or considering to get your heating system changed in the future – we would love to help. We offer very cost effective and energy efficient central heating systems and boiler heater systems for your home. We offer local boiler servicing and maintenance at very competitive rates.

Give us a call now to have one of our heating experts talk to you and guide you in the best cost effective and energy efficient options for your home, Or if you are living anywhere in the West Midlands and need to get  your boiler replaced feel free to call us on   08000 786 075

we will be glad to assist you!