After a scorching bank holiday weekend, it seems that the summer is finally around the corner. While you’re soaking up some vitamin D and hunting out your favourite swim shorts, it’s time for our heating systems to take a well-deserved break. Even though we all have our fingers crossed for an instantaneous summer heatwave, it’s likely we’ll still need some additional heating on the last leg of the run up to summer — especially on cool evenings when the sun drops behind the clouds. To ensure you’re covered when the sunshine fades, and to keep your heating system in good shape for next winter, follow these simple summer heating tips and consider the advantages of occasional heating with an electric panel heater…
Summer Savings
It’s no secret that running a house full of heating appliances can cost a fortune on your monthly energy bills. In the winter this is obviously unavoidable but throughout the summer, there are savings to be made. While we’re not promising four-figure sums, little by little, small alterations to your heating system can eventually add up. To ensure you’re not spending more than you need to this summer, follow these simple steps...
Adjust your comfort & economy temperatures
If you haven’t made any recent changes to your heating system, chances are it’s still set up for winter use — with high comfort temperatures ready and waiting to shut out the cold. For summer, high temperature settings aren’t needed and although it’s unlikely your heating system will kick in on a hot summer’s day, it’s worth dialling down your heater modes just in case.
Comfort and economy settings and can be adjusted on most thermostats. If your winter comfort temperature is set to 21°C, taking it down to 18°C is all that’s required to ensure your heaters won’t kick in and provide additional heating on top of the warmth already provided by the summer sun.
Economy temperatures are typically used for background heating in less frequented rooms, or for when it isn’t cold enough to warrant a higher temperature. To make sure your heaters aren’t wasting money and energy on warming empty rooms, it might be worth recalibrating your economy temperature too.
Delay your heating system’s start time
One of the best things about summer is that you don’t have to wake up to freezing cold temperatures and dark, dreary mornings. Instead, we’re greeted with glorious sunshine and clear skies. In the dead of winter, setting your heating to come on before you wake up is essential. For the summer, this is no longer necessary. Although it’s unlikely to be a Majorcan 21°C the minute you wake up, it’ll probably be cool enough for your heating to kick in. For the sake of a few minutes’ worth of heating before the sun fully shines, it isn’t worth pre-heating your entire home and wasting money in the process.
To avoid this, we recommend playing with your heater programming and delaying the time your heaters first switch on. If your home is bathed in early morning sunlight, you might want to keep your heating off altogether until the temperature drops late in the evening. If you’re in the shade in the morning, you could reprogram your heating to get rid of any lingering early chills, then set it to turn off when the summer sun is high in the sky.
Turn your heating off altogether
For the height of summer, if last weekend was anything to go by, you might not need your heating at all. If this is the case, there’s no harm in turning your system off for the summer. For electric heating systems, this is simply a case of switching your electric radiators off at the wall.
For central heating users, this can be tricky depending on the type of boiler you have. Some wet heating systems have a “standby” mode that permits hot water for the rest of your home but bypasses your heating, while some boilers need to be left constantly running. To get around this, you could set your heaters to anti-frost mode, which only turns your heating on when the temperature drops so far that your pipes are at risk of freezing.
If you do turn your heating off over the summer, we recommend turning it back on periodically to ensure everything is still functioning — especially with central heating, where various moving components like valves are at risk of seizing and breaking. Bear in mind that discovering a problem in summer is much easier than discovering one in winter when you need your heating the most…
Consider a panel heater for top-up heating
Lightweight, portable, and easy to DIY install, the Ecostrad Eco is a fine example of a panel heater — providing advanced 24/7 programming, easy-to-use controls, and rapid convection heating. For bursts of heat on chilly summer nights, the Ecostrad Eco is ideal.
If you find yourself getting cold in the evenings, it’s tempting to crank up your heating and get warm. For central heating systems, this has the unfortunate side effect of heating your entire home for the sake of one room. For portable, occasional heating that runs independently from your primary heating system, an electric panel heater is the way to go.
Suitable for both wall-mounted and freestanding installation, the Eco comes into its own as a portable heater. Simply attach the provided feet and move the Eco around your home to ensure you stay warm — heat your living room one minute and the conservatory the next. For permanent use, the Eco can be screwed to a mounting bracket and hung from the wall with ease. There’s no lengthy set-up process and the heater simply plugs into the nearest available wall socket.
The Eco is designed to supplement your existing heating system, providing quick and effective top-up heat without the need to warm your entire home. We don’t recommend you rely on the Eco for continual use throughout the winter, but for the summer months, the Eco is invaluable. Pick it up, plug it in, and stay up late past sunset in total comfort. When winter comes back around, you’ll have a secondary heating system ready and waiting — perfect for guest rooms, occasional heating, and portable use for home offices or workspaces.
We understand that you don’t want to dwell on the remnants of winter throughout the warmer months — but with a few simple tweaks, you can save money on your heating bills and ensure your heating system is in good condition for the start of the cold season. For the meantime, to keep warm on crisp summer evenings without heating your whole home, opt for a low-cost, versatile electric panel heater and keep it safe for whenever you need on-demand, supplementary heating in the future.
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