Foresight Design & Planning

Heating Tips

A well serviced oil boiler can have a substantial impact on your heating bill. By servicing your boiler regularly you could increase the efficiency of your boiler by up to 10%, saving up to €150 per year. It is recommended that you service your boiler at least once a year to maintain its maximum efficiency.

A boiler bought about 15 years ago would have had an efficiency of around 80% and after wear and tear, currently would have an efficiency of about 70% or less. By replacing your old boiler with a new condensing oil boiler you would be increasing the efficiency up to 90% plus, whilst making significant fuel savings.

Combining solar panel collectors with wood burning stoves will provide you with an ideal annual renewable energy heating solution.

You can obtain a grant to replace your boiler and upgrade the heating controls from Sustainable Energy Authority Ireland.

By turning down room thermostats by at least 1 degree C. can reduce annual space heating consumption by 10% with an equivalent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

Open fire places are a direct outlet for more than 70% of heating energy. Energy saving interventions can be as simple as using a chimney balloon inserted into the flue and simply removing before lighting, to installing a room sealed stove.

Use the timer on hot water immersion heaters.

Wood is a renewable fuel and does not have the effect of producing the harmful greenhouse gas emissions of fossil fuels. Instead of coal, throw a log onto the fire.

Lighting Tips

Daylight provides a free source of light, and provides a healthier indoor environment. It makes good sense to furnish your home so that activities that take a lot of light are located beside windows. For example locating your study desk under a window, combined with using a desk lamp instead of the main room lighting can both save on artificial lighting and make for a more comfortable environment.

Draw curtains and blinds fully to expose the maximum amount of glazing to the room as possible. Avoid the use of net curtains.

By keeping your windows clean especially roof windows will maximise daylight potential to light your building.

A well worn tip, but still effective today as twenty years ago, turn off lighting in rooms that are vacant.

Select the appropriate light bulb wattage that suits both the room size and usage.

By using light coloured paints with high sheen finish will help you make the best use of natural daylight and decreases the dependency on artificial lighting. By using these light paint tones having higher reflective properties rather than darker paints will help you draw light from brighter rooms into the darker areas, for example hallways utility rooms etc.

Lighting can account for up to 12% of a domestic buildings energy usage.