As the spring and summer seasons approach, now is a great time to begin to consider updating your home heating system. With the cost-of-living crisis still affecting us all, it is important to ensure your home has the most efficient heating solution to help save you as much money as possible on your annual heating bills.
Leading heating technology manufacturer Grant has been providing innovative heating solutions to homes for more than 45 years. The company has always prided itself on supplying reliable, affordable, forward-thinking home heating technologies which enable customers to achieve optimum efficiencies, save money on annual heating bills and lower their carbon footprints. The team at Grant understands the importance of choosing the right heating system for each individual home to suit the requirements of the homeowner.
With approximately 680,000 residential homes in Ireland currently heated by oil, many homeowners are unaware of how to tell if their boiler is inefficient. Homeowners are also questioning how they can make their home more sustainable without the high retrofit costs associated with installing renewable technology like a heat pump.
Grant has outlined some tips on what to look out for that could indicate your home heating is not operating efficiently and how upgrading your old oil boiler can futureproof your home and make it more efficient.
Signs your home heating is not operating as it should
- Heating bills are increasing without explanation.
- Your radiators are taking much longer to heat up, with cold patches.
- Your boiler is frequently breaking down.
- Regular changes in the noises your boiler makes, eg humming, clunking or banging.
- Your boiler is leaking.
Tip: It is important to note, that before you look for a new boiler, you should have your plumber check that there isn’t a sludge build-up in your system, which would require a power flush to remove this for warranty and efficiency thereafter.
Upgrading your boiler to future-proof your home
Considering an upgrade to a high-efficiency condensing boiler, such as the award-winning Grant Vortex HVO biofuel-ready condensing boiler, can help to improve efficiency and save money. Depending on the age and make of your current boiler, upgrading to a Grant Vortex could help you save more than 27 per cent on your annual home heating bill – depending on the age and make of the boiler – and reduce your carbon emissions.
In recent years the Grant Vortex range has been advanced to be compatible with HVO biofuel (Hydrotreated Vegetable Oil) and in turn provides a sustainable way to heat existing homes for future proofing properties. HVO biofuel is a renewable green alternative to 100 per cent kerosene which is manufactured from 100 per cent renewable and sustainable waste derived raw materials and certified via the International Sustainability and Carbon Certification (ISCC) scheme.
The use of 100 per cent HVO biofuel or a percentage blend of HVO with kerosene can significantly reduce carbon emissions and its use in home heating would enable rural and hard to heat homes in Ireland to transition to a renewable green alternative from 100 per cent kerosene at an affordable cost and minimum disruption to home lives.
Recent research by The Alliance for Zero Carbon Heating has also shown that using a 20 per cent HVO biofuel blend could have the same effect in reducing carbon emissions as retrofitting more than 160,000 homes in Ireland with a heat pump.
Heat pumps, which use electricity, are a perfect solution for new builds as the minimised heat loss of these homes now perfectly matches this medium temperature technology. Retrofits however can be more difficult because the layout, construction and existing heating design of older buildings traditionally incorporated high temperature heating systems.
To prepare a building for heat pump installation, the costs can be tens of thousands of euro as the building fabric needs to be upgraded along with increased air tightness. This is before considering the actual cost of purchasing a new heat pump and cylinder or upgrading to underfloor heating or larger radiators, if required. A deep retrofit can include employing builders, carpenters, plumbers, electricians, painters, insulation fitters, window and door fitters and the whole process can become very costly and disruptive for a homeowner.
All Grant Vortex boilers can be easily converted to run on HVO biofuel by making a slight modification to the boiler. These modifications can be carried out by a service engineer during an annual service. This flexibility enables homeowners to reduce their carbon footprint without the financial and logistical challenges of deep retrofitting.
By adopting these innovative solutions, homeowners can reduce their environmental impact while enjoying efficient, affordable and future-ready heating systems.
If you are planning to upgrade your heating system, speak to your local plumber who can size and specify the best suited boiler for your home.
Visit www.grant.ie for more information on Grant’s range of innovative heating solutions. Follow Grant on Facebook @GrantIRL, Instagram @Grant_IRL and YouTube @GrantEngineeringIE.
Think Heating. Think Grant.
