A heating expert shared a simple tip which could help you save money and reduce bills by 25%.
Peter Brown says a dirty heating system could increase your bills and you can either clean the rust yourself or hire someone to filter out the "sludge".
The engineering lecturer, who has been teaching in Glasgow for a decade, suggests using a £15 inflatable draught excluder for an unused chimney to help raise the indoor temperature.
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He also recommends radiator foil, which costs around £7, to reflect heat back into the room. According to Peter, lowering your thermostat by just one degree could result in a 10% saving on your bill.
The faculty director of engineering at Glasgow Kelvin College said: "It's not just the expensive things that keep your heating costs down.
"If you're losing heat through your windows and can't afford double glazing, closing trickle vents and buying draught excluders can be just as effective.
"Underfloor insulation can be costly but cans of spray foam can be bought for a fiver and work successfully to fill the gaps letting out all of your heat.
"Carpets are usually more effective at keeping the heat in than wooden floors, but laying a carpet if you don't already have one will not necessarily be more cost effective.
"An unused chimney can be plugged with an inflatable draught excluder, or you could pay a bit extra to get it professionally capped."
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Peter says paying attention to your radiators can save you a lot on your bills.
"Investing in a roll of radiator reflecting foil is cheap and they are generally helpful at reflecting the heat back into the room," he added.
"Paying attention to the TRVs, which are the thermostatic valves controlling the temperature at the side of your radiator, is also important."
He continued: "Set the temperature in each room depending on how hot you want it – there's no need for your spare bedroom to be constantly heated, and generally sleeping areas don't need to be as warm as living areas.
"Bleeding your radiators regularly is also a sure way to save some cash.
"Every one degree drop in temperature roughly correlates to a 10% saving on your bill – aim to heat living areas to 21 degrees and bedrooms to 18."
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If you're looking to fork out loads of money, he recommends making sure you'll see a return on your investment within five years.
He revealed: "Take a look at the boiler itself, because it's very old, generally it will be insufficient, so forking out on a new condensing boiler will likely pay back fast.
"Fuel prices have gone down a bit so you should be able to pay it back in five years.
"Wall cavity insulation has the quickest pay back time of anything, but you may not be able to install it in a period property, so the houses that need it the most may not get approved.
"Heating controls may also be a nifty investment as they can help heat your house by zone. Although it may set you back by £500-£1,000 depending on the size of your house."
With all these changes you could save around 15% on your heating bills, he concluded.
* This article was crafted with the help of an AI tool, which speeds up Daily Star's editorial research. An editor reviewed this content before it was published. You can report any errors to [email protected]
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