The drop in temperatures these days forces us to intensify the use of heating and allocate a larger budget to this domestic consumption. How to reduce the energy bill is presented as a key task in the family economy. . Changing habits, banishing common mistakes, understanding what is contracted depending on the type of home or purchasing more efficient systems are the first step to prevent heating from burning a hole in your pocket. Gas boilers require adequate maintenance, since if it is poorly adjusted or with dirt in the exchangers, it loses performance and consumes more gas to produce the same heat. Hiring a tune-up service costs between 90 and 150 euros per year, “but it translates into savings of up to 15%,” says Endesa’s Customer Service Director for the Southern Zone, José Antonio Ranea. The temperature must be adjusted appropriately, since each degree higher increases the bill. One of the most common mistakes is to turn off the heating completely and then turn it on to maximum (25 degrees) to heat the house faster. “In winter, 21 degrees is enough to guarantee comfort,” says Ranea. He appeals to the “underrated” thermostat, as “the engine of savings and the brain of air conditioning.” “It must be well located and programmed to avoid unnecessary overheating,” he adds. The most modern ones are programmable and intelligent, which allows you to adapt the temperature to the actual hours of use and zone the home. If you have to renew the gas boiler – the useful life is usually 10 to 15 years – the most efficient thing is to choose a condensing one. Now, if the insulation of the home is poor, the changes will not be noticeable. In both gas and electric systems (radiators and stoves, underfloor heating, heat pumps…) it is important to achieve optimal air conditioning, «which requires locating points with poor insulation since they represent 45% of the cost,» says Ranea. This means replacing old windows, uninsulated blinds and poorly sealed blind boxes. Ranea advises «sealing cracks, installing weather stripping and improving enclosures, as well as checking doors that allow drafts to pass through or covers without thermal protection that force the heating to work for longer hours and at higher power.» The most complex part of controlling heating costs is understanding the bill and knowing how to adapt the power to actual consumption. Miguel Ferrer, founder of the start-up Dinamo, encourages «reviewing the gas contract and, in the case of electricity, the contracted power and the price per kilowatt hour», concepts that represent «30% to 70% respectively of the bill», according to the Endesa manager. Cristina Corchero, founder of the energy optimization platform Bamboo Energy, gives an example when it comes to electrical equipment: «For a small home with two people, it is enough to contract between 3 and 4.6 kW; with 100 square meters and four occupants, between 4.6 and 5.75 kW and for larger homes with six people, from 5.75 to 6.9 kW.»
Rate types
Another important aspect to reduce the cost of heating is the type of consumer. For forward-thinking and calm profiles, a good choice is the fixed rate, typical of the free market. According to Naturgy, it is a type of stable price per kWh that does not change with the hours of the day or with market volatility. A second option is the rate with time discrimination, more suitable for organized and practical people. According to Endesa, this rate divides the day into sections with different prices: cheaper off-peak hours (nights and weekends), intermediate prices and more expensive peak hours. This rate allows savings if energy consumption is concentrated in the most affordable ranges. The third type of rate offers a variable price indexed to the wholesale market, where the cost of the kWh changes every hour depending on what the real electricity market sets. It is usually hired by a restless and very informed consumer who checks the price of electricity almost daily and who is interested in understanding how this price is assigned. Corchero insists that “each one must be understood very well to find the one that best adapts to our type of life and consumption.” If the time has come to change the heating system, the most efficient equipment currently is aerothermal energy and heat pumps. Both gain followers. “In the last year we have doubled the number of people asking about their installation,” says Luis Muñoz, spokesperson for Natersys, which manufactures and installs aerothermal energy. These heaters reduce the energy bill between 30% and 60%, according to sector data, “because they take advantage of the energy in the air and only use electricity to make the system work,” concludes Muñoz.
