With householders keen to minimise energy consumption in the current energy landscape, installers have an increasingly important role to play in educating customers on how to drive efficiency of their heating system. Jonathan Kidner, Product Engineer at Alpha, explores two straightforward ways to help users maximise the performance of their gas boiler now.
Master heating controls
There have been a wide range of energy saving tips put forward by the media, politicians, consumer champions and other commentators during the energy price rises – some more viable than others.
When it comes to heating, installers have a key role to play in offering such advice with authority and it can pay to add value to your service with relatively simple tips for customers.
For example, be sure to reinforce the value of setting a heating system so it delivers the optimum temperature for comfort whilst ensuring it only uses the energy needed.
This could be as simple as reminding customers to turn thermostatic radiator valves down or off in unused rooms, or reduce the room temperature they normally set by 1˚C. This is a commonly used statistic, but it can cut bills by up to £75 per year in a typical home.
Householders may also be unaware how much difference controls can make in minimising energy consumption whilst retaining comfort levels. There are of course many options available, from simple plug-in mechanical clocks to versatile remote timers and smart thermostats, but make sure your customers know it too.
Smart domestic heating controls and thermostats obviously give homeowners much more control over their boiler performance and enable more reactive decision-making when it comes to programming the system’s day to day timings.
One of the biggest barriers has always been education but app-enabled appliances are commonplace now and innovative heating control systems such as the Alpha Connect Wi-Fi thermostat are proving increasingly popular.
Ongoing maintenance
Another way for householders to maximise the performance and efficiency of their boiler and wider heating system is of course maintenance, and this is a fantastic time to reinforce that point.
Too many customers still think of the annual boiler service as an inconvenient cost, so remind them of the benefits – an essential procedure to ensure the ongoing consistent performance of the heating system which, if neglected, could lead to undetected faults that will undermine the performance of the boiler and waste more energy (and money) than is necessary.
The annual service not only picks up any wear and tear, avoiding a potential costly issue further down the line, but it also helps to optimise the heating system’s performance and controls to further reduce energy bills.
Make it part of your customer care activity to send out a boiler service reminder to customers ahead of the first anniversary of their installation. This will hopefully encourage the homeowner to commit to annual servicing – and reaching out in this way demonstrates a duty of care that will likely generate positive recommendations and referrals for your business too.
