• Fri. Mar 29th, 2024

North East Connected

Hopping Across The North East From Hub To Hub

Hot Geordies Leading England’s Big Switch On

ByEmily

Oct 31, 2016

Things are hotting up for the North East’s residents as almost two thirds switched on their central heating last week – more than anywhere else in England.

The data collected from British Gas Hive Active Heating™ customers, shows that more people in the North East have turned their heating on last week compared to their southerly counterparts, who are still enjoying the last of the sunshine.

With reports of a big freeze hitting the UK this winter, and snow expected in the next six weeks, it looks like the North East is already bracing itself for the cold, as British Gas saw two thirds of its customers across the region turning on their heating – a whopping increase of 34 per cent on last week.

Last year, the big boiler “switch-on” went four weeks earlier, with half of customers turning on their boilers at the start of September. But thanks to a late summer this year, residents have waited before reaching for the on switch.

However, people across the North East are now very much getting ready for what forecasters are predicting to be the coldest and snowiest winter for six years, bucking the trend of mild and wet winters in recent years.

Getting ready for winter

Data from across the country has revealed that more residents in the North East, have turned their heating on last week – more than any other region in England and Wales.

screen-shot-2016-10-05-at-10-23-08

Sam Longley, a local British Gas engineer that covers the North East, shares some of his tips to help keep homes warm and working this winter.

Sam said “Here are some tips I often share with my customers to help them get ready for winter:

  1. Bleed your radiators: to make sure they are working properly. If your radiators have cold spots, it probably means you have air in the system, so you’ll need to bleed them to get them working efficiently.
  • To do this, turn the system off and turn the radiator key until the air stops and water runs consistently. Once you’ve turned the system back on, the problem should be solved.
  • Bleeding your radiator may result in system pressure dropping. If you have a pressure gauge make sure the boiler is at the right pressure – for most boilers this is one bar – and top up as necessary.
  1. Block the breeze: Make sure all of your home’s windows and doors are sealed properly to stop warm air escaping. For those that aren’t, fitting draught excluders, which you can buy from most DIY stores, is a quick and cheap way to cut down on your energy bills.
  2. Love your boiler: Check to make sure that your boiler is working properly before winter sets in. The older your boiler, the more inefficient it will be.
  3. Insulate your pipes: Burst pipes are a huge issue for UK households during winter months, especially when the pressure drops to freezing. To help prevent them, make sure they’re properly insulated by using lagging, which can be bought cheaply from most DIY shops.
  4. Be energy smart: Why not speak to your energy supplier about a smart meter, which enables you to see how much energy you’re using, in pounds and pence? This can help you to understand your energy consumption better, and identify where you can make savings.”

By Emily