How to keep warm without turning up your heating

By JR | Blog

Are you worried it will cost you more to keep warm in electricity and heating, while you work from home again? But it doesn’t have to be this way – read on for our tips.

We have previously covered how to maximise your heating while at home, so here are our tips on other things you can do to keep warm at your desk, without tinkering with your boiler.

 

1. Keep warm with hot drinks

Put the kettle on and warm up with a hot drink. But don’t drink too much tea and coffee or else the caffeine might affect you! Try other hot drinks like herbal tea, hot chocolate or hot water with lemon. Or if you prefer savoury, try hot bouillon, hot Marmite / Bovril or soup. Plus, a hot mug will help keep your hands toasty!

 

2. Eat hot meals

Stews, soups, broths and other winter warmers are ideal for warming you up inside. They’ll also keep you going by sustaining your energy.

 

3. Grab a hot water bottle

A hot water bottle can really help your body temperature, especially if you’re stuck at your desk most of the day.

 

4. Keep your feet and head warm

Wear thick socks and insulated slippers to keep your feet warm. If your head gets cold or you’re a bit thin on top, wear a hat. Consider scarves and fingerless gloves too, if you need them.

Heat escapes easily from these extremities, so keeping them warm will keep your overall temperature up.

 

5. Layer up to keep warm

As with warming your extremities, keep the rest of your body toasty with extra layers. Think thermal vests, long-sleeved tops, jumpers and fleeces. By layering, if you do get warm, you can peel back one or two to regulate your temperature.

 

6. Go upstairs

Hot air rises, so if you have an upstairs, try to spend more time there. If you can, have your office upstairs. Or even move your TV to an upstairs room to be cosier and more comfortable in the winter evenings.

 

7. Keep moving

Get active to generate more body heat. Exercise is also good for you! Try to move every hour to move warm blood effectively around your body. This is especially helpful if you’re stuck at your desk, so you don’t get stiff or suffer from bad posture.

But you don’t have to do a full-on workout to keep warm. Just moving around for a few minutes will loosen up your muscles and warm you up. You could do some housework too – pushing the vacuum round is an excellent way to warm up!

If you’ve enjoyed our tips, why not sign up to our newsletter to receive more each month? And if you need help with your heating or to arrange a boiler service, contact us on info@stevensonheating.co.uk or request a callback.

Christmas Opening Times 2020-2021

By PaulS | Blog

We know that things can sometimes go wrong with your heating, when you least expect or need it to, so over this holiday period we will be open and available on the days given below, including by phone.

Just a couple of things to note:

1. Although we are open, quite a lot of staff are taking holidays, so we will be working with reduced numbers.

2. Our usual emergency engineer out-of-hours cover will be available every day, except the Public Holidays.

3. Days marked with an asterisk (*) may have slightly earlier closing times than normal.

* Opening & closing times may vary.

Working from home heating tips

By JR | Blog

With the winter months ahead, rising energy costs and many of us starting to work from home again, you might be worried your heating bills will go up. But there are ways to maximise your heating, keep warm and keep energy costs down. Read on for our top tips.

 

1. Keep your heating at a steady temperature

Adjust your thermostat down by one or two degrees to keep the temperature regulated. This is more efficient for keeping you warm and could reduced your energy bills by around £80 a year.

If you are out at any point, use the thermostat and timer to heat your home when it’s needed. Don’t keep it constantly very low, as this is not actually very efficient.

 

2. Add thermostats to every radiator

With a thermostatic radiator valve on each radiator, you can personalise the temperature in every room. Keep the thermostats turned up in rooms you use more frequently but turn them down in rooms you don’t.

The thermostats adjust the flow of water to your radiators, according to the temperature in the room. So, they ensure you’re not using more water or heat than needed.

 

3. Close internal doors

Keep heat in the rooms you want to stay warm by shutting the door. Similarly, close doors in rooms you don’t want to heat, to stop cooler air mixing and cooling the overall temperature down.

 

4. Use curtains and blinds

If you have curtains or blinds, use them. Curtains are especially helpful for keeping the heat in (or out in the summer!). As it’s getting darker much earlier, draw the curtains as soon as light starts to fade, to keep the room warm and prevent drafts.

 

5. Bleed your radiators

If you bleed your radiators regularly, it will help prevent cold spots developing. Your boiler will need to work harder if trapped air or sludge gets in the radiators, producing the cold spots. This makes your energy bills more expensive as well as not heating your room!

Regular radiator bleeding helps to keep your heating system clear, preventing damage as well as reducing your energy bills.

 

6. Keep vents and radiators clear

Don’t block your radiators or heating vents with furniture or laundry. The heat will go to them instead of your room! Move furniture away from radiators to allow the warm air to circulate and dry your wet laundry elsewhere.

If you don’t have a tumble dryer, a heated airer is efficient and inexpensive to run. This also prevents damp and mould building up, which can cause you other problems in your home.

 

7. Claim working-from-home tax relief

If you’re having to work from home because of Covid-19 or other reasons, you may be able to get £6 a week tax relief, which can help towards your energy bills. See the Government’s website for info on eligibility and how to claim.

 

8. Keep your boiler maintained

Of course, keeping your boiler in tip-top condition is the best way to make sure you have energy efficient heating for your home when you need it. Be sure to contact us to get your annual heating service booked in.

Why not consider one of our heating service plans? Our service plans will help you maintain your heating system and spread the cost of your annual service and any repairs.

We offer three levels of cover to suit your needs:

Basic Plan – ideal if your boiler is still under warranty

Standard Plan – covers for your annual service and labour costs

Advanced Plan – includes your annual service, labour and parts.

We can also assist you in specific add-ons for your household electrics and gas fires, as well as landlord options.

See our Service Plans page to find out more.

At Stevenson Heating, we are Gas Safe Registered heating installers. Contact us on info@stevensonheating.co.uk or request a callback to find out more or get a quote for improving your heating in your home.

Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week 2021

By JR | Blog

This week (22-28 November 2021) is Carbon Monoxide Awareness Week, an annual campaign run by United Against CO to raise awareness of the dangers of carbon monoxide.

Carbon monoxide poisoning can cause harmful health conditions and even kill – it’s often known as the silent killer!

 

Carbon monoxide poisoning symptoms

Do you know how to recognise the signs of carbon monoxide poisoning?

Dizziness, tiredness or confusion
Stomach pain, nausea or sickness
Difficulty breathing
Headaches
Collapsing or unconsciousness

Of course, these can also be symptoms of other illnesses, so make sure you get them checked out. If other household members experience the same or your symptoms ease outside, it could be because of carbon monoxide.

 

Use COMA to help you remember!

This year’s United Against CO carbon monoxide awareness campaign introduces four questions you can ask. So, use them to help decide whether symptoms you’re experiencing are from carbon monoxide poisoning:

Co-habitees – is anyone else in your home experiencing symptoms (including pets)?

Outdoors – do your symptoms improve when you’re outside?

Maintenance – are your cooking and heating appliances regularly maintained?

Alarm – do you have a carbon monoxide alarm?

Remember them using the acronym COMA!

This short video from the week’s launch gives you some useful advice:

And why not take this short quiz from the All Party Parliamentary Carbon Monoxide Group (APPCOG) to test your carbon monoxide awareness!

 

Prevention is best

Of course, the easiest way to ensure you don’t have a problem is to prevent it happening! Firstly, make sure you have an annual boiler and gas appliance service. And secondly, get a carbon monoxide alarm to protect your household.

If you have a gas fire as well, we can service both at the same time for you. And, this will save you money! We can also supply and fit audible carbon monoxide alarms (that make a noise if they detect a leak). They’re not expensive and last 10 years, so it makes sense to have one.

Get in touch or request a call back to book your boiler and gas appliance service or to buy a carbon monoxide alarm.

Water Softener Benefits

By JR | Blog

Do you have a water softener? If not you might want to consider one.

Are you fed up of hard water? Most of London and the South East has very hard water, so if you’re local to us and reading this, the chances are you do too. A water softener can help you overcome some of the issues with hard water. Read on to find out why…

What is hard water?

Hard water has a lot of dissolved minerals in it, generally magnesium and calcium. Over time, this causes scale to build up, which can cause problems with your pipework and appliances.

It also doesn’t look very nice. You’ve probably noticed the white build up around your taps, in your kettle or a dullness to some of your surfaces, especially glass and chrome.

Perhaps you’re used to getting rid of it with anti-limescale products or descaler. But have you considered a water softener? This will attach to your mains supply (usually under the kitchen sink) and soften the water as it comes into your home.

 

Having a water softener:

1. Reduces unsightly limescale build up in your pipes and taps
2. Doesn’t fur up your heating system
3. Improves the life of your appliances (kettles, washing machines)
4. Means shinier taps, bath/shower fittings and surfaces
5. Helps soap to lather more easily
6. Leaves your hair and skin softer
7. Reduces your energy bills

We can install a water softener for you. And if you already have one, we can supply the salt in block, tablet or granular form.

 

Water softener salt

We have three different types – block salt, tablet salt and granular salt.

Whatsmore, if you spend over £25 on salt, we will deliver it for free within a 3-mile radius of our West Wickham shop.

Give us a call on 020 8462 8822, email us or drop into our shop to place an order or top up your salt supplies.