Week 2 Reduce Your Use: It’s a Cover-Up / Pull the Plug

This week's Reduce Your Use theme is the radiators in our workspaces and what we can do to make them work at their best. Have a look below at the Energy Exercises of the Week on keeping radiators clear and the use of supplementary electric heaters. This Webinar explores further the topic of Radiators - Uncovering their Potential, the different types and what works best where. Finally, have a look at the Heating System Health Checks Blog from the Office of Public Works (OPW) on the Top 4 checks you can make in your home.

Energy Actions of the Week

People have long practiced the art of Feng Shui, arranging their furniture in a way that brings harmony into their homes. However, we’re suggesting moving the furniture away from radiators as it could be a simple action that will make your office (or your home) more comfortable this winter. Radiators need a clear space around them to let air circulate. Air has to be able to freely access the bottom where it is warmed up over the surface of the radiators and then the hot air flows out the top. If there is furniture up tight to a radiator then the air can’t flow and the heat from the radiator will not circulate around your room. The furniture will be absorbing heat that could be warming your office.

We know space is limited in offices but take a look around, where are your radiators? Can you make a simple change to improve air circulation by asking to have your desk pulled back a few inches or getting that filing cabinet moved? It’s the same story with curtains.  Curtains should be long enough to cover your window, but not long enough that they hang over your radiators. Unlike Feng Shui, this measure may not help you attain inner peace, but moving furniture away from your radiators, just a little, can make a big difference to room temperatures and the efficiency of the heating system.

While supplementary electric radiators have their place, they are definitely the heating device of last resort in the workplace. Only PAT-tested (Portable Appliance Testing) and safety-approved models, supplied by your facilities team, should ever be used.

Portable heaters should never be left unattended or placed near combustibles. They should always be plugged directly into a wall outlet and NEVER used with an extension lead. Portable electric radiators usually have rated outputs of 2 or 3kW - that's how many units of electricity they'd get through in an hour on full blast. For reference, that's about the same amount of energy taken to boil a kettle constantly. This makes them a very expensive and environmentally damaging heat source.

Week 1

Dear Colleagues, 

This week the Reduce Your Use campaign looks specifically at heating controls. Surveys indicate that more than half of us don’t fully understand how best to use the heating controls at work. We want to help you with that.

Have a look below at the Energy Exercise of the Week ‘Find the Sweet Spot’ where we look specifically at Thermostatic Radiator Valves. These heating controls are common in our places of work and also in our homes.

This Webinar explores further the topic of how to get the most from our heating controls. Finally, have a look at this blog from the Office of Public Works (OPW) which shows you how to become a master of controls and save energy this winter!

Lots of our office and home radiators have Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) to help us maintain the desired space temperature – not too hot and not too cold. The key is finding a setting, the ‘Sweet Spot’, and leaving it there for the radiator to maintain the temperature. 

Here's how to do it. 

• Start by setting the Thermostatic Radiator Valve between 2 and 3
• If the room is below the desired temperature turn it up half a setting
• If the room is above the desired temperature turn it down half a setting
• Wait at least 1 hour for the room to adjust

Once you find the ‘Sweet Spot’ place a green dot on it.

Thermostatic radiator valves shut off the flow of heat to the radiator when the room gets to the desired temperature. There is a temperature sensor that closes a valve to reduce the flow of hot water in the radiator. When the room cools down, the valve opens and allows heat to flow again. In this way, it maintains the room at the desired temperature.

The numbers, usually 1 to 5, on your thermostatic radiator valve do not correspond to a precise temperature but rather to a level of comfort. You can use the table below as a guide to help you determine which setting might work best for you. Through trial and error, you will find the setting that meets your needs.

Once you have found the setting that works best - the ‘Sweet Spot’ - place a small green dot on the thermostatic radiator valve. This will make it easier for you to check it is set at the ‘Sweet Spot’. 

Turning the thermostatic radiator valve up higher or to MAX will not heat your area faster. Resist the temptation to turn it up and down. It's best to find the ‘Sweet Spot’ and leave it there for the radiator to regulate the heat. The OPW also have a control checklist document with top tips for maximising savings using your heating controls. It can be viewed here