Our top tips for saving money on heating this winter!

We hate to face up to it, but the fact is, winter is here! The clocks have gone back, Halloween has been and gone, and the temperatures are starting to drop lower and lower.

As you know, here at Cross Electrical we offer Thermal Insulation, Electrical Trace Heating, Frost Protection and Temperature Maintenance services to businesses and individuals up and down the country. We also supply underfloor heating services – which is one fantastic way to chop your energy bills in half for the winter!

The GREEN ELECTRIC MAT From Hemstedt with unilateral connection and i-sleeve (see more here) is the floor heating mat that provides economically efficient heating. Underfloor heating is also a luxury in the winter months, creating an ambient temperature and a pleasant warm floor underfoot. A luxury that saves you money and helps the environment – for us it’s a no brainer!

But what else can you do to save on your bills this winter...?

Put on a jumper!

Okay, this may sound silly, but it’s true! Most families have the heating on at 20 degrees centigrade all day, and wander about the house comfortably in a T-shirt. By turning down your thermostat by just one degree, to 19 degrees, you can shave £60 a year from your bill! If you feel cold just wear a few more layers, but you will barely notice the difference if your house is well insulated!

Be clever!

You can make sure that the central heating and hot water is off when you’re out for the day - whether that’s at work, school or visiting friends and family! By using your timer carefully and cleverly, so it comes on only when absolutely necessary, you can save a lot of money!

Turn off the radiators in rooms you don’t use, like a guest bedroom for example, and keep windows and doors closed if the heating is turned on.

Go old school

As well as wrapping up, why not buy a hot water bottle! These days you can pick one up for less than £4 and they can really help to keep you warm, especially in bed at night! As well as this, stock up on fleecy blankets and throws to keep you warm! You can buy lovely soft throws on the high street or in supermarkets for a fiver – which will save you a lot of money if it means turning your thermostat a bit more!

Be careful with your lights

Lighting accounts for 19% of the average household’s electricity bill. One no brainer is switching to energy-saving bulbs – which can knock over £55 a year off your bills!

Cut out your bad habits when it comes to having your lights on! Be vigilant in turning off lights when you’re going out, or if you’re not in a room.  Unplug appliances that have a light on when inactive. That includes the TV, DVD player and even your mobile phone charger.

Keep your heat in!

Don’t let heat you’re paying for slip out! Make sure that you draw the curtains or blinds at night and use draught-blockers for doors to maintain as much keep as possible!

These are but a few on the many tips that float around when it comes to keeping your and your home warm without facing huge winter energy bills! Do you have any other tips or tricks up your sleeves? We’d love to hear them so drop us a comment below or contact us on FB or Twitter!

What is Trace Heating?

With this month’s blog we are going back to basics, explaining exactly what Trace Heating is and what it is used for. As we are specialists in Trace Heating systems, we automatically assume that everyone knows exactly what it is and how is works, which is obviously not the case. So what is Trace Heating? Read on to find out...

What is Trace Heating?

Trace heating, known as Electric heat tracing, heat tape or surface heating, is a system used to maintain or raise the temperature of pipes and vessels. Trace heating takes the form of an electrical heating element run in physical contact along the length of a pipe. The pipe must then be covered with thermal insulation to retain heat losses from the pipe. Heat generated by the element then maintains the temperature of the pipe. Trace heating is used for many applications from protecting pipes from freezing, to maintaining a constant flow temperature in hot water systems, or to maintain process temperatures for piping that must transport substances that solidify at ambient temperatures.

When did Trace Heating come about?

Electric trace heating began in the 1930s but to begin with no dedicated equipment was available. Mineral insulated cables were run at high current densities to produce heat, and control equipment was adapted from other applications. Mineral-insulated resistance heating cables were introduced in the 1950s, and then parallel-type heating cables that could be cut to length in the field became available. Self-limiting thermoplastic cables were marketed in 1971.

So what is Trace Heating used for?

The most widespread pipe trace heating applications include:

Temperature maintenance

Road & Ramp Outdoor Surface Heating

Anti-condensation

Gulley and roof snow / ice protection

Frost protection and freeze prevention

Door / frame interface ice protection

Window de-misting

Pond freeze protection

Soil warming

Anti-cavitation purpose

Here at Cross Electrical, we’ve been controlling the temperature for industries for over 40 years, so why compromise? Call us today on -01159722050

Heating throughout history

Fire had been the original and obvious source for home heating for throughout history and until recent times was the only source for home heating. With this being said, the manner in fire has been used for heating has changed greatly.

In the Skara Brae site in Orkney, Scotland (3180 BCE-2500 BCE) the homes contained a square hearth in the center for both eating and cooking. This standard heating unit with a hearth in the center of the room and a smoke hole overhead, continued in some parts of the world up until the Middle Ages, but in the Roman world great improvements were made. The upper class Roman had a hypocaust heating system. In this system, the floor was raised several feet off the ground on tile pillars, and fires were then built underneath the floors, becoming the first known case of radiant heating.[i]

The fireplace as we know it today first came around in the 1200’s. During these times they were likely to smoke up a room due to the lack of chimneys. This impracticality meant that fireplaces themselves were often built more for aesthetic reasons over practical uses.

The radiator was obviously a huge improvement in heating a room when it was invented in 1855. Hot water or steam was used to heat individual rooms, but with simplistic thermostats often meant it was difficult to get the temperature right where it was wanted. There have been stories from the 1800’s of people having to open the windows in winter when a room have overheated.

The furnace was introduced in the late Victorian period, where a central unit could heat an entire building. By the middle of the 20th century, Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning systems had been introduced throughout the western world.

Cross Electrical (Nottingham) Ltd specialises in the design, manufacture, supply and install electrical trace heating systems incorporating a thermal insulation division. Our fully qualified service and installation engineers provide both a national and international coverage for all types of application within industry and commerce.

HERE AT CROSSELECTRICAL WE ARE THE CONTROLLERS OF TEMPERATURE!

Call us today on - +44 (0)115 937 5121

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[i] http://timourrashed.com/ancient-methods-heating-home/