Building Tips

Commercial Buildings

Use time switches and thermostats within your premises to stop unnecessary use of heating and lighting.
Switch off the lights - A 100w bulb could cost up to £50 per year if left on constantly, why not consider movement detectors in areas such as toilets, meeting rooms and kitchens so that the lights only switch on when the area is in use.
A constantly dripping tap could cost your business about £400 per year - Make sure you turn off taps fully and get drips fixed.
Save 8% on your company's heating bill - Turn the thermostat down one degree. If you don’t have a thermostat, have one fitted!
You could save monthly on your utility bill by making sure your air conditioning system is cleaned and serviced regularly.
Keeping your filters and coils clean can lower your air conditioner's energy consumption by 5%-15%

Domestic Properties

Run your heating regularly, at least once per month, even in the summer to keep it running efficiently and avoid common part seizure.
Ensure all gas appliances are serviced annually for safety and efficiency purposes.
Install a carbon monoxide detector within your home - this could potentially save your life!

FAQs

Air Conditioning

How does air conditioning work?

Air Conditioning Advice

What is R22 phase out?

The good news for customers is that most R22 equipment currently on site is more than 10 years old and probably near to replacement or costing a lot to keep running with repairs.

The ban on the use of virgin HCFC refrigerant including R22 can into force on 31st December 2009.

It remains legal to use reclaimed R22 for servicing and maintenance until 31st December 2014. After this date the following options would need to be considered:

There are 3 main options for customers:

Replace existing equipment with new, more energy efficient equipment.
Keep existing equipment and retrofit the refrigeration circuits with an alternative refrigerant.
Keep existing equipment operating on recycled R22 up to the EU illegal deadline.

Start planning the HCFC phase out now. This will ensure you have time to consider the most appropriate options and will enable you to minimise the cost implications. It will also give you more time to properly budget for any investments required.

Gas

Boiler Types - Which Boiler do I need?

Where to fit a Carbon Monoxide Alarm

Increasing Boiler Reliability and Efficiency

What are the benefits of regular boiler servicing?

Regular annual gas boiler servicing is essential for safety, energy efficiency and ensuring you get the most life out of your boiler.

Lack of service can result in by-products of the burnt gas building up inside the boiler, not only causing a safety issue but also gradually reducing the efficiency of the boiler.

Gas is very expensive and a 5% reduction in efficiency will lead to a large increase in your annual gas bill, costing more than a boiler service.

Vital parts can seize due to inactivity during the summer months.

Plumbing

Why use water treatment in a heating system?

The efficiency of a heating system can be hugely reduced with the build up of scale and sludge and the efficiency can be reduced by 6% in just 3 weeks without the correct treatment.

New legislation states that for new and existing dwellings the following provisions must be carried out as a minimum:

central heating systems should be thoroughly cleaned and flushed before installing a new boiler.
A chemical water treatment should be added to the primary circuit on final filling to control corrosion and the formation of sludge/scale.

Chemical water treatment maintains the energy efficiency of a central heating system and extends the systems life, reduces fuel bills by improving the efficiency and also reduce ongoing maintenance costs by reducing system defects.

There are different solutions for water treatment which are:

Inhibitors and protectors - to prevent corrosion and lime scale
Cleaners and sludge removers - to remove contaminants and sludge.
Noise Silencers - to dissolve precipitated lime scale and corrosion products on heat -exchanger surfaces
Internal leak sealers - to prevent weeping joints.
System filters - to remove magnetic and non magnetic debris from heating systems.
Scale inhibitors - to reduce, prevent and remove hard lime scale for hard water areas.
Condensate Neutralisers - To neutralise the acidity of condensate from condensing boilers.