Light nights are creeping in and summer is on the horizon. Despite the unpredictability of British weather, temperatures do generally tend to rise - allowing for less dependence on household heating. Open up your curtains and bask in the sun, whilst saving money on your heating bills at the same time. Win-win!

This leads to thinking, what benefits could come from turning your boiler off completely for the season? Or is that unnecessary? Read on for information on how to implement efficient heating habits into your home this summer.

Should You Switch Your Boiler off Over the Summer?

The long and short of it is, it depends. The first thing to do is to clear up what kind of boiler you currently have installed. If you own an older boiler with a pilot light, it might be worthwhile to switch it off when heating isn’t needed. This is because it will continue to burn gas whilst the pilot light is active. Turning it off entirely will prevent excess energy (and money!) from going to waste. Meanwhile,

Not all smart heating control systems are suited for every lifestyle and home, with some more and less beneficial than others. SMART stands for ‘Self-Monitoring Analysis & Reporting Technology’, and differs from standard heating controls by allowing you to control every aspect of your heating schedule from either a phone or tablet. Although room thermostats and timers allow you to control each room instead of your whole home, as long as you have internet access, smart home heating devices let you control your heating from your phone, no matter where you are in the world.

Today, we’re running through 7 of the best smart heating thermostats and systems, comparing features, benefits and what type of home they’re most suitable for.

Honeywell T3R 7 Day Programmable Room Thermostat Wireless

Features:

- 7 day, & 5/2 day scheduling with a pre-configured schedule included
- Choice of up to 4 time periods a day
- Minimum On-Time & Cycle Rate settings ensuring compatibility with many boilers
- Table

The past few months have led to many of us spending more time in our homes than ever before, which may have got you thinking about how much room you need. If you’re in need of extra space in your home, you may be considering a house move, although you may not want to leave your current property. Perhaps an extension is on the cards. But this requires planning permission and a hell of a lot of building work. 

Another option is to utilise your loft space. This area isn’t just somewhere to store your Christmas decorations and stuff you no longer use. A loft can be used for so many things. 

One way in which many are using their loft, is to create a bathroom. Whether you want a second bathroom or make more space on the first floor for a bigger bedroom, this is a great use of space that you already have. 

If you are thinking of turning your loft into a bathroom, there’s a few things to consider first. 

Planning Is Key

It’s essential that you plan everything down to the tiniest detail.

Christmas: a time for family, friends, good cheer and unfortunately, burglaries. 

There are sadly many reasons why Christmas time encourages burglaries and break-ins, from storing presents beneath the Christmas tree to empty homes during Christmas shopping trips, the little things we love at Christmas can make us more vulnerable to crime than we think. 

Over the festive period alone, home burglaries increase by an average of 20%, with a usual spike of 25% after the clocks go back in October. 

With such an increase, Christmas is the most important time of the year for home security.

Today, the team at Monster Plumb are sharing our favourite Christmas home security tips to help you keep your family safe this festive season.

Install Smart Home Security

Allowing you to fully protect your home with the latest technology, a smart home security system beats every home security alarm that’s come before it.

Including everything from glass break sensors to smart wireless motion sensors,

Heating of the home is essential during the colder months of the year and is easily delivered through central heating and radiators. But heat loss in the winter is a problem that many of us face here in the UK. It’s an issue that not only affects your wallet but our environment too. So how can you prevent heat loss in the home during those chilly days of winter? 

How Much Heat Is Lost?

Depending on your property, heat loss can differ per household. But according to The Green Age, up to 25% of heat can be lost through your roof, whilst 35% can escape through gaps in walls, windows and doors*.

Where Does It Escape? 

As mentioned above, the most common places for heat to escape from the home are roofs, windows, doors, walls and even through your floors too. 

What Causes Heat Loss?

There are several things which can lead to heat loss. Lack of insulation in walls and the loft, in-proper insulation of boilers and pipes plus damp and condensation can also lead to loss of heat in the home. 

Improving your home’s energy efficiency is vital when it comes to protecting both the planet and your wallet. From reducing heat loss in the home to installing energy-efficient appliances, there are a lot of different ways to make energy-saving home improvements that make a big difference to your energy bills. Here are our top 10 ways you can help improve energy efficiency in your home.

Install a smart home heating system

Smart home heating systems allow you to have full, accurate control over the heating in your home, ensuring no unnecessary energy is wasted. Thermostats and timers help you set your heating to come on and go off at specified times, whether that be when you come in from work or when your home reaches its desired temperature. It’s also much easier to maintain your heating with smart home heating controls, as you can control it from your phone or tablet and keep an eye on it from anywhere.

Check radiators & install radiator valves

Frequently checking that radiators are working

If ever there was a topic to ruffle plumbers feathers, it’s the age old debate of copper pipes vs plastic pipes.  Some swear by copper and its ability to stand the test of time, whereas others prefer the speed and ease of using plastic piping.  But which are best for your home?  Well, our team of experts are here to thrash it out.

Benefits of Plastic Piping?

Plastic piping is fast becoming the go to choice of modern plumbing and it’s not hard to see why with a range of benefits including:

• It doesn’t corrode over time.
• It’s reduced installation time by around 40%.
• Push-fit fittings simply lock (or unlock incase of a problem) into place.
• Ever evolving technology makes them stronger, quicker and more reliable.
• They are cheaper to buy.
• They are thicker, therefore quieter.
• Less likely to freeze.
• It’s lightweight yet extremely durable.

Cons

While the benefits far outweigh the disadvantages, there are a few points to consider.

• It is less flexible at the joints.
• It may crack

While low surface temperature radiators (we’ll call them LST radiators for short) are nothing new to the heating industry. LST radiators have long served a purpose in protecting young, vulnerable and elderly adults from accidental burns for a number of years now, and have been a stipulation within many buildings such as hospitals, schools and care homes.  An outer casing provides a barrier between the person and the heating element, which maintains a much lower temperature of no more than 43°C, which is a considerable drop when compared against a standard radiator where the surface can reach a staggering 75°C.

So How Do LST Radiators Work? 

Much the same as conventional radiators, LST radiators use a convection heating system whereby air is pulled in through the bottom grill, it then travels up as it's heated and is then emitted from the top grill as it reaches the desired temperature.  The beauty of an LST radiator is that it responds much quicker than conventional heating, making

What if I told you that smart technology could secure your home with a few simple devices?  No clunky boxes, no mass of controls, just state of the art technology controlled by you, from virtually anywhere in the world, pretty impressive right?!  

Gone are the days of panic stricken thoughts as you jet off on holiday wondering if you’ve left the light, heating or washer on. With smart technology you can log in to any device that's connected to check, switch off or amend, giving you peace of mind wherever you are.  

So What Are Smart Devices And How Do They Work?

In today's fast paced society, convenience is everything, so it’s no surprise that connected technology is gathering momentum.  Your smart phone, your heating, your music, slowly but surely smart technology is beginning to filter into our homes, so it’s only natural that home security should follow suit.

But How Does A Smart Home Security System Work?

A smart home security system works by connecting your security

If the time has come to update your bathroom, then it’s possible that you will want to change your shower too, so if you’re considering the switch to a thermostatic shower then stick around and we’ll tell you all you need to know so you can install with confidence.

What Is A Thermostatic Shower And How Does It Work?

The thermostatic shower is a clever bit of kit that is fed by your hot and cold water supply through a thermostatic valve that maintains the perfect temperature as set by you.  The valve allows the system to mix both hot and cold water without the worry of any hot or cold spots, so there will be no sudden change in temperature should someone use a tap or flush the toilet elsewhere in the house!         

Thermostatic Shower vs Mixer Shower - What's The Difference?

Both systems rely on a hot and cold water supply but the main difference lies in the functionality.  Mixer showers are slow to react to a change in temperature, hence the noticeable difference you feel should