Heating and Ventilation – Energy Saving Tips

Heating and Ventilation – Energy Saving Tips

Did you know that around three quarters of the energy required in the household is due to the heating account? 90% of all German households can save a lot of money when heating! Very often, more energy is consumed than is actually necessary. Find out in this article how you can ensure a good indoor climate through sensible heating and ventilation and save on heating costs at the same time.

A small difference that saves a lot of money

Incorrect heating causes not only high energy costs, but also high CO2 emissions. Around 70% of energy consumption and 60% of CO2 emissions in the living area are due to heating.

By adapting the heating to your needs, e.g. by night reduction, you can save up to € 100 per year in heating costs. In addition, by automatically controlling your radiators, you reduce CO2 emissions by around 425 kg per year.

You are making an elementary contribution to achieving the federal government’s CO2 reduction target for 2030

Optimized heating and ventilation can save as much energy in your own four walls as, for example, by not taking a flight.

With every degree less, you can save around six percent on energy costs! Since a drop of one or two degrees is not immediately noticeable during the day, it can be worth grabbing a thick sweater, especially when working while sitting, and thereby save on energy costs.

Furniture or thick curtains in front of radiators can also be responsible for insufficient heat being released into the room. Disruptive factors that can increase your heating costs by an immense (and unnecessary) 20 percent during a heating period. And last but not least, the regular venting of radiators also helps to reduce energy and heating costs.

Proper heating

 

Not every room has to be heated the same amount.

It is better to adapt the room temperature to the respective function of the room, depending on your personal sensitivity to heat. 18 degrees is usually sufficient for the bedroom. In the living room you like it warmer. 21 to 22 degrees are appropriate here, while 20 degrees can be endured in the kitchen.

You can also achieve great potential savings in heating costs by lowering the temperature when you are away for a long time or overnight. When you leave your house or apartment during the day, you should turn down the heating, but not switch it off completely. Because it costs far more energy and money to heat up a cold apartment to a comfortable temperature than to temporarily lower the room temperature.

At night, lower the temperature to 15 to 17 degrees. Using thermostats with automatic temperature control, you can set the temperature reduction once or repeatedly as required and adapt it to your living situation.

Sensible heating – energy saving tips

 

Adjust the heating depending on the time of day

Heat only when necessary. During your absence during the day or at night, your heating does not have to run on “normal level”. In these cases it is sufficient to let the heating run at 15 °C.

Turn down the temperature at night. You should turn the heating down, but not turn it off completely. Because it costs far more energy and money to heat up a cold apartment to a comfortable temperature than to temporarily lower the room temperature.

Tip: A room always heats up at the same rate. It doesn’t matter whether you set the controller to level 3 or level 5. With a higher setting, you only use more energy and cause higher heating costs.

Do not set the room temperature too high

During the day, pay attention to how warm it is in your home and whether you can turn down your heating a little as a test. If you have the opportunity to turn down the temperature of your heater by one degree, try it for a day.

If you can do this permanently, you save a lot of energy and money. Most likely, after a few days, you won’t even notice that it’s a degree cooler. You just get used to it.

In order to be pleasantly warm and to heat properly, the following temperatures apply as energy-efficient guidelines:

• Kitchen: 18 °C – 20 °C (stove and refrigerator also heat up!)
• Living room, children’s room and study: 20 ° – 22 °C
• Bathroom: 22°C – 23°C
• Bedroom and hallway: 15°C – 17°C

Close the shutters or curtains at night

In this way you can reduce the heat loss that occurs through the windows by around 20 percent. Cold penetrates your living space through the windows. With the external roller blinds or internal blinds down, the heat stays in the room and the cold air outside.

If there are curtains in front of your radiators: Do not draw the curtains, otherwise the heat cannot radiate into the room. In principle, radiators should always be freely accessible and unobstructed.

Bleed the heater

If you hear gurgling noises coming from your radiators, it’s time to bleed the radiators again. Because too much air reduces the heating power and increases your heating costs. Ideally, you should bleed your radiators before the start of the heating season and more often if necessary.

Regular venting can reduce energy consumption by up to 15%. In a detached house, this can quickly mean savings of more than € 60 per year on heating costs or more than € 30 in apartments!

Dress warmer at home during the colder months
A pair of thicker socks and a sweater and you can turn down your heating a bit.

Conclusion

You lower your CO2 emissions, which is very beneficial for our climate. In addition, you save yourself a lot of money. If you turn your heating down by one degree, for example, you can save up to 115 euros a year. You can even save up to 240 euros per year with forced ventilation (the values apply to the gas heating of a living space of 150 square meters). In comparison: If you leave the window in the tilted position instead, a large part of the heating heat goes directly outside without being used.

When it comes to your next heating bill, we hope that our heating tips will help you save money and improve your environmental footprint.