Lowering Your Heating System’s Temperature Can Save You Money
Heated Discussions
When it comes to maintaining the ideal room temperature, people can have strong opinions. The concept of “low and slow” can lead to significant energy savings with modern gas boilers and heat pumps. The key is to ensure that the flow temperature of hot water used to heat up radiators is no hotter than 113 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit, which is different from the thermostat temperature that determines a room’s warmth.
Experts suggest that the ability to lower the flow temperature depends on your heating system’s design. Low flow temperatures work well with underfloor heating or water-based systems with large radiators. Additionally, the insulation in your home plays a role. For example, PassivHaus properties, built to extreme standards of energy efficiency, require little to no active heating. Setting a gas combi boiler’s flow temperature to 122 degrees or below can also help save money, as it allows the boiler to run in condensing mode, using less fuel overall.
Last autumn, the UK charity Nesta launched an online tool to help people lower their boiler’s flow temperature, which resulted in annual energy bill savings of £20 million and carbon savings totaling 37,000 tons.
Heating wars
However, putting these theories into practice can be challenging, especially when there are multiple people in a home. Consorting a mutually agreeable room temperature is not always easy, particularly because elderly people may naturally feel colder due to factors like lowered blood circulation. Additionally, research shows that women tend to feel the cold more than men.
Thermostats can become flashpoints of conflict, causing disputes within 100 homes, with some residents complaining about being too cold while others felt fine. Moreover, privacy-invading smart home systems can sometimes reveal problematic behavior, adding another layer of complexity to the situation. This suggests that giving people more control over their heating, with the help of a smart thermostat, can reduce the likelihood of an altercation, even though there are no guarantees.
Striking a balance
In conclusion, while achieving the ideal room temperature can be a battleground, it is important to keep in mind that people’s preferences around such matters tend to be “inelastic.” Therefore, it is possible to use low-cost measures like warm clothes or electrically heated garments to supplement room heating. Providing a fine-grained level of control over the heating system, perhaps with a smart thermostat, can lead to a reduction in conflicts over temperature preferences. However, it is important to acknowledge that people have different temperature tolerances, and finding a middle ground can sometimes be a challenge.
I have over 10 years of experience in the field of cryptocurrency and blockchain technology. I have attended numerous conferences and events around the world, and my work has been featured in major publications such as CoinDesk, Bitcoin Magazine, and Yahoo Finance.
