Gas bills to rise this winter

 The price of gas is to rise this winter

 This morning a parent company of British Gas called Centrica released a statement this morning that says gas bills are set to rise by as much as 15% for this winter,which would mean bills could be as much as £50.00
more.

This may not come as a surprise to many as it seems everything is getting more expensive,but this 15% rise could seriously effect many house holds across the UK which are already struggling with the price of gas.

British Gas supplies over 15 million UK homes,they said that the average gas consumption for homes raised by 1% for the first 4 months of this year compared to last year.They also said this rise was reflected by the colder weather we experienced in April.

Its hard to tell if the price of heating your home will continue to rise but one thing is for sure we should all be looking at ways to improve the energy efficiency of our homes now for the future.

Thanks for reading and I hope this post was interesting,if you have any thoughts on the rising price of gas leave me a comment below.

For the best prices on energy efficient boilers check out
www.energy-smart.org.uk for more information on how to save money on your heating bills.

Glen Dimplex are pulling from the UK boiler market

Dimplex boiler

 The well known boiler manufacturer Glen Dimplex are pulling out of the UK boiler market.

Glen Dimplex boilers are stopping their boiler operations over the coming months because the group are looking to focus on the market sectors that their already performing well in.

Glen Dimplex boilers wanted to ensure people that spare parts will still be readily available for their boilers.

They will still be fulfilling all the current orders they have and their warranties still stand for all those with one of their boilers.

 For the best prices on energy effecient boilers check out
www.energy-smart.org.uk and save money today!

Solar pannels for your home

Their are many advantages to using solar panels for producing house hold electricity.

Solar panels are a great way of producing clean energy weather on a smaller scale or large.

Home with solar panels on roof

More and more home owners are looking to have solar panels fitted to their property as the price of solar panels continue to drop.

The main advantages of having solar panels fitted to your home is the energy savings which also means money savings.

The only pollution that comes from solar panels is in the production of the panels themselves and how it travels to where ever it needs to go.

Although prices are falling all the time some solar panels may still be on the pricey side but when you compare the initial price of a solar panel to the money you'll save in years to come it really does make sense to go solar.

Below is a short helpful video I found that talks about solar panels.

I hope this post was interesting and helpful.
Thanks for reading.

If your looking online for the cheapest prices on solar panels check out Energy Smart today, alternatively for additional information on the Green New Deal see www.green-deal.uk.com

The new Milwaukee M18 FUEL drill.

 Milwaukee are constantly releasing new cutting edge tools that are loved by so many plumbers across the UK and around the world
And the latest addition to their range does not disappoint.

 The new Milwaukee M18 FUEL was built using only the best materials and components as well as this the M18 FUEL has been extensively tested under site conditions to ensure its tough enough for the most demanding usage.
                                                                                      
The M18 FUEL features a powerstate brushless motor,this heavy duty motor has been designed to work harder for longer when compared to other drills on the market whilst reducing noise levels and cooling times.

A red lithium-ion battery is used to add a healthy increase to run times and the power produced,giving it the edge over other lithium battery's used in other drills.

Milwaukee's new M18 FUEL really is a great piece of kit and a must have for any tool nut.If you would like to find out more information you can visit Milwaukee's site at www.milwaukeetool.com/fuel/  here you'll be able to view the whole FUEL range.

I hope this post has been helpful and thanks for reading.

If your looking for cheap prices on plumbing equipment visit energy smart today or you can call direct on 0845 230 3320.

How do solar panels work?

 Solar panels are a ingenious way of harnessing the suns UV rays to create energy,but how do they work?

 Solar panels absorb solar radiation from the sun and then convert it into electrical energy.

Solar panels are made up of many separate solar cells,these cells work in a way similar to semiconductors and make use of a large area p-n junction diode.                        

When sun light hits these cells the p-n junction diode converts the light into electrical energy.Its the photons from the light hitting the panel that lets the electrons be knocked from their orbits and realised.Then the electric Fields in the solar panels push these freed electrons into a directional current,which then hits metal contacts and electricity can be generated.

Generally the more solar cells on a panel and the better the quality of them,the higher the output produced.
 The process of turning light into electrical energy is called The Photovoltaic Effect

This is just a basic explanation of how a solar panel works,solar panels are high tech pieces of engineering and are constantly progressing and producing higher outputs.

 I hope today post was helpful and you now have a better understanding of solar panels,thanks for reading.


If your looking for great prices on solar panels visit energy smart today  or you can call on 0845 230 3320.

Common household radiator problems

 In today's post I going to talk about a couple of common radiator problems.

Top cool bottom hot 

 If the lower half of your radiator is hot but the top is cool then you would be write in thinking theirs a problem.When this situation occurs it normal means that theirs air trapped in the system.You can use a radiator key to release the trapped air but only start this job if the radiator is cool and the heating is off.

You only need to open one end at the top of the radiator and have a rag or dirty cloth to hand as some water may come through the bleed valve.Normally you only need to open the bleed valve one turn to release the air but you ll no when its open enough as you ll be able to hear the air hissing as it escapes.

Once you start to see some water coming threw the bleed valve you can be sure that all the air has leaked out and you can now close it up,but be careful not to close it to tightly as you may need to re-bleed it at a later date.

You should go back to the particular radiator that had the problem after a week or so to check if the radiator is displaying any of the same problems it was before.If it is displaying the same problems then its likely that air is entering the system from somewhere else.

This will not be an easy fix and will most likely require a specialist come access the problem,but before you do rush out and call in some one I suggest trying a sludge removal chemical as sludge build up can display similar symptoms

All the radiators in your home are cool
If you come home one day to find that all your radiators are cool then theirs probably a sludge build up inside your heating system.When somebody says 'sludge in the system' for instance the sludge they are referring to is iron oxide that appears to look like black sludge.

This image shows the effect of built up sludge

This build up is caused by corrosion inside your heating system.Your system will need to be cleared thoroughly to clear all the iron oxide that has built up,but as I mentioned earlier you can pick up radiator cleaner that cleans the sludge away.


These are just a couple of possible problems that you could experience with your radiators as your heating system inside your home is made up of many parts.  

If you have any thoughts related to radiator issues then please leave a comment as I would love to hear from you. Thanks for reading and I hope this was helpful.

Visit energy smart today for great prices on energy efficient boilers and plumbing supplies
www.energy-smart.org.uk

Removing a radiator

 You may need to remove a radiator for numerous reasons such as decorating or replacement so today I'm going to tell you how to remove your radiator quickly and safely.

A control valve

Do not start any work if the radiator feels even a little warm you need to wait for it to cool otherwise you could be burned !

You need to make sure you have some protection around the radiator before starting the removal process,i suggest you have a dust sheet under the radiator as their can be a lot of dirt behind a rad that hasn't been removed for a long time and a dust sheet will also help protect carpets and floors from any watery sludge that may leak whilst removing a radiator.

 The next step is to close the control valve,you shouldn't need any special tools to do this and it is normally done by hand.                                                    

Adjusting the lock shield valve

Now you need to close the lock shield valve,I suggest using a spanner as a pair of pliers or mole grips may round the valve so be careful with which tool you choose for this part.when you close of the valve you need to count the number of turns it takes and write it down so that you know how many turns to open it when its re-fitted if your not re-fitting your radiator but replacing you should still make a note of the number of turns as it may come in handy.                                                

Your gonna need a bowl or container to catch the water when it runs out,be sure that your bowl or container is already under the valve when you start to loosen off the union nut as the water will run out immediately.It is a good idea to have a second container in case the first one fills up quicker than you thought it might.

This image shows the air vent

Now open the air vent,this is to help increase the water flow.The air vent is normally at the top of the radiator (see picture).The image is only to help me point out where you should be looking,the air vent on your radiator may not look like this one but generally their all in the same place.

Another issue you may find is that you need a key of some sort to turn it,some will have a screw and some will need a type of radiator key,but don't worry if you haven't one to hand as they are relatively cheap to buy from your local hard wear store and i suggest you check prior to starting work on removing the radiator.
                                                                                          
When the water stops running out you can begin to undo the union nut on the lock shield valve.Be careful though because their might be more water waiting to poor out,so if you've got a full container grab the second one and have some rags or something similar to hand that you can use to bung the ends as their may still be water inside. 
                                                                                         

This image shows the union nut

Once all the water has run out and you have blocked the ends off you can begin to think about lifting the rad of the wall.You need to be careful you don't injure yourself when doing this as some radiators can be particularly heavy (even if its a small rad),so a good idea would be to get a friend to help you remove the radiator from the wall,and remember to keep the radiator upright just in case their is any water still inside.

If you are re-fitting the same rad make sure to flush out any sludge that may be inside,I recommend you take the rad outside and use a hose or something similar to do this, and don't flush it out it on any nice services as they may be ruined or stained.

Now for re-fitting.Check before you fit your radiator that the wall brackets are tight and secure,then reconnect the union nuts and tighten by hand.You can then re-open the valves,this will let the water run back into the radiator.Make sure the air vent is open when the radiator is filling as it will stop any air getting trapped inside.

Now check for any water leaking form the radiator,adjust the lock shield valve into the position you wrote down before,double check that everything is tight.Now your finished.Keep an eye on the radiator for any leaks over the next few days.

I hope this post was helpful for anybody looking to undertake this job or who are new to plumbing.
If you have any thoughts concerning radiator removal leave a comment below.
thanks for reading.

Visit energy smart today for great prices on energy efficient boilers and plumbing supplies
www.energy-smart.org.uk