If you have to turn your thermostat on higher than you’d like just to feel the benefit, you may need to balance your radiator. This simple method improves your heating’s efficiency
Slash your energy bills and keep your home warm with this four-step tutorial. With Ofgem’s energy price cap increasing again in January 2025, the average dual fuel household paying by direct debit will see their annual bill go up from £1,717 a year to £1,738 – an increase of £21. As a result, many cash-strapped Brits are already reluctant to crank the thermostat up, and risk their house getting too cold during. Ironically, this can lead to problems with mould and frozen pipes, which can be expensive to repair. It’s also important to remember that while gadgets like heated blankets and mini heaters can help provide a little boost of warmth, they aren’t total replacements for central heating.
Balancing your radiators could therefore be the key in keeping your home warm without breaking the bank. This method helps ensures that hot water from your boiler reaches all of the radiators in your home, and guarantee that every radiator heats up at the same speed.
“Unbalanced heating systems can lead to some radiators not heating up properly, resulting in parts of your home feeling cooler,” The Radiator Centre states. “When this happens, you might think you need to turn up the thermostat, however, this will cause the other rooms to be too warm and use too much energy. Ultimately, you’ll have an inefficient use of energy and higher heating costs.”
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If you notice that some rooms in your home get hotter than others, or that your thermostat needs to be up a lot higher than the temperature you’re reaching for – it’s time to balance your radiator. Taking to TikTok, an energy expert at Heatable demonstrated how to do so in four easy steps. Firstly, find an adjustable spanner (if you don’t have one, you can pick them up from Toolstation for less than £10). Then, find the radiator in your home that is nearest to your boiler.
“Step three: Take the cap off the lock shield and turn the radiator fully off,” the pro added. “Then we’re gonna just pack it open anti clockwise, about a quarter of a turn.” Repeat the simple process with all of your radiators around the house, remembering that the further away you get from the boiler, the more open the valve needs to be. “It may be that [the radiator furthest from the boiler] needs to be fully open,” Heatable concluded.
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