Feb 03
Natural floorboards shrink and expand with the seasons. This means the best time to fill the emerging floorboard gaps are when they are at their largest.
Through the past months central heating systems may have caused traditional floorboards to shrink opening up wide gaps. These gaps can let cold draughts intrude into rooms making them cold and uncomfortable as well as increasing heating bills.
Now, when the gaps are at their largest is the best time to fill them. DIY gap fillers like papier mache and glue are not able to withstand the movement of the wood and will eventually drop through the gaps. As DraughtEx is very flexible it will expand and contract within the floorboard gap leaving you with peace of mind for years to come.
The same flexible properties also allow an easy installation in a wide range of gaps. Old Victorian houses often have wooden floorboards with strongly varying gaps. Our three different versions of DraughtEx will allow you to cover a gap range of 1-11mm width. Please feel free to contact us if you would like to receive more information or visit our website www.draughtex.co.uk
Jan 17
Figures released by the government show that the new Green Deal, which is due to start in October, will cause a big drop in the number of homes having loft insulation.
It is estimated that the number of lofts being insulated will fall to only 70,000 a year, whereas the climate change targets are 2 million. Cavity wall installations are likely to drop from 510,00 per year to only 170,000 whereas the target is 1.4million.
At the moment there are government schemes which subsidise the costs of insulation, but under the Green Deal these subsidies for most people will go, and a loan will replace them which will enable the homeowner to pay for the up-front costs using the savings made on their heating bills.
It is unclear how the apparent gap in take up will be solved and in December the government’s official independent advisors warned that the scheme was looking like only reaching 2-3 million households instead of the targeted 14 million.
You can find more information about the Green Deal from the Department of Energy & Climate Change’s website.
Dec 19
The party season is here! So as a last minute check and to avoid a hefty energy bill in the New Year, Honeywell is encouraging homeowners to push the ‘Party’ button on their thermostats!
The Party button manages the heating for you at a low level when entertaining in the home - heat can be lost due to doors left being open and guests stepping outside for a cigarette break, or the heating simply being left on unnecessarily for prolonged periods of time. Pushing the party button avoids over consumption and reduces a homeowner’s heating bills, which as exactly why Honeywell developed the function.
Everyone should be energy smart and push the Party button to save money on heating bills this Christmas, especially in the current energy squeeze…
To find out more about Honeywell’s wireless heating and zone heating control systems project click here.
Nov 29
Is a geothermal heating for you?
We have a great project page on ground source heat pumps which gives loads of information on what they are and how they work and how they can be beneficial.
But if you are considering the major change of installing one in your garden you need to be aware of a several things. As your garden will need to have a certain amount of digging done in it, you will definately need to be able to get a digger in, so access is key. Once the equipment is installed though, it needs very little maintenance.
Another consideration is if you are trying to tie it in to an extisting heating system. The ground source heat pump works best with low heat systems such as underfloor heating, not trying to heat radiators on a conventional system.
Ground source heating works best and saves you most when you are looking at replacing electric, LPG or solid fuel such as coal. The Energy Saving Trust estimate that your annual savings could be in the region of £480 if you use electric heaters, £200 if you use solid fuel and £180 if you use oil.
If you would like to receive free no obligation quotes for installers of ground source heat pumps and geothermal heating you can go to our Find a Trademan page.
Oct 21
Following on from Wednesday’s blog post about heating your home and saving money this winter, Neweys Online, one of the UK’s leading online electrical wholesalers have announced that they have slashed their prices on selected products in heating ranges from Newlec and Dimplex.
Both are well known brands with both trade and retail customers so the promotion provides everyone with a great opportunity to reduce the costs of heating their homes and offices.
With prices starting from as little as £10.59 and up to 30% off the regular retail price on a range of heating products including convection heaters, fan heaters (upright and wall mounted), warm air curtains and over door heaters anyone looking to add to their current heating solutions will find a considerable saving .
To view the full discounted range at NeweysOnline click here
