Ways to Save Fuel

You can apply the following measures to save fuel at home:

1. If your roof insulation is inadequate, have it properly installed. Heat loss through your roof is around 20%; this can reduce your heating costs.
2. Using an adjustable thermostat on your radiators makes your fuel consumption more economical.
3. When replacing your doors and windows, choose insulated materials. 15% of all heat loss in homes occurs through windows and doors.
4. Cover the gaps around uninsulated doors and windows with weatherstripping.
5. Keeping your curtains closed at night to retain heat indoors delivers significant energy savings. Close your curtains once the sun leaves your windows.
6. In cold weather, block the sections of wall or window air conditioners that are exposed to outside air, to keep heat indoors. 10% of all heat loss occurs through air movement that then has to be reheated.
7. Do not cover the tops and fronts of radiators for aesthetic reasons. In that case heat cannot spread evenly through the room; blocking a radiator's heat exchange increases fuel consumption by 15%.
8. Leave a gap between the radiator and the wall. If the walls were not insulated during construction, you can easily insulate behind the radiator with prefabricated foil-coated polyethylene sheets; this prevents heat escaping outside before it spreads into the room.
9. On the coldest winter days, set the indoor temperature to a comfort level of at most 20°C. Each 1°C increase above comfort temperature causes around 5% more energy loss.
10. In the kitchen, make use of the heat from the oven and stove; set the kitchen room temperature to 18-20°C.
11. Every time you open the refrigerator door, up to 30% of the cold air inside can escape into the room.
12. Keep tables, chairs and beds away from exterior walls in rooms.
13. Let sunlight in through south-facing windows during the day; close these windows with shutters, curtains and draft excluders at night.
14. Keep homes that are heated day and night at 50-55% humidity. In a room heated to 18°C, humidifying it will make the comfort temperature you feel rise above 20°C in practice; since humid air retains heat better and evaporation is reduced, your body loses less heat.
15. Turn off the radiators in parts of the home you don't use (spare room, pantry, entryway, stairwell).
16. Lower the room temperature by 4-5°C when you're not at home.
17. Ventilate your home not for long periods, but twice a day for about 5 minutes each time; turn off the radiators while doing so. This way, only the air that has already been used is expelled, not the heat trapped in furniture and walls.

Increasing Heating Efficiency Through Thermal Insulation in Buildings

As is well known, buildings lose heat through windows, exterior walls, stairwell and interior walls, ceilings, floors above unheated spaces, ground-level floors and floors above open passageways, which is why buildings have high fuel bills. Thermal insulation measures can save 50-60% of the fuel consumed.

Proper insulation can deliver energy savings at the following rates

• Roof insulation: 20%
• Exterior wall insulation: 15%
• Window/door insulation: 15%
• Air-sealing measures: 10%

40% of total energy is consumed in homes. A home's energy expenses consist of consumption for heating, hot water, lighting, cooking and laundry. The proportional breakdown of energy used is as follows:

• Heating the home: 81%
• Bathroom and kitchen: 11%
• Electrical appliances: 8%