Llys Elizabeth, Rhyl

Try turning down your thermostat by one or two degrees – it doesn’t sound like much, but this small change can have a massive impact on your bills. Obviously, please don’t lower it to a point where your room feels cold, but by turning down your thermostat by just 1 degree you could save around 10% on your annual energy bill. It is also extremely important that you don’t place items over your thermostat such as coats or furniture.

Make sure that the timer settings on your controller are correct. Work out the schedules of your household and when the home needs to be warm, then set the timers accordingly – for example, before you wake up or when you finish work. You don’t want your heating running when you don’t need it.

Making a schedule and setting your heat pump to warm your water at a different time from your heating will make sure you have enough hot water for your needs.

Turn the heating off or down to the frost protection setting in rooms you aren’t using. Tailoring the temperature of each room will give you more control over your heating, and how much energy you use.

When you are only heating rooms, you need to stay warm, be sure to keep any internal doors shut so you aren’t leaking heat out into the rest of the house.

Don’t trap heat in your radiators. Make sure your curtains or furniture aren’t blocking the heat from entering the room. Lift your curtains onto the windowsill if you need to and pull your sofa forward.

Thermostatic radiator valves are fitted on your radiators to allow you to control the temperature of individual rooms. There are numbers printed on the valves from 1 to 5 which correspond to a room temperature.

We recommend making small changes each day until you find the temperature that best suits you; we suggest starting at a setting of 2-3 for a bedroom, hall, or kitchen, and 3-5 for a lounge or bathroom.

Radiators get hot and therefore are like a magnet for attracting dust and dirt and if left uncleaned. The build-up can be quite substantial. Particularly dirty radiators can be less efficient than clean ones, making your system use more energy to heat your room, which will be reflected in higher energy bills.

Try to regularly clean the convector fins – the zigzag grooves running down the back (and front). This can be done with a long-handled radiator brush or even by running the nozzle attachment of a hoover across the top and bottom.

• Make sure you use the correct size pan for the food and the hob.
• Make sure the lid is kept on the saucepan to keep the heat in.
• When boiling vegetables and pasta, only use enough water to keep them covered.
• A microwave oven is more energy efficient than an oven, so use a microwave, when possible, but remember to switch it off at the wall when not in use.
• Cook in batches when using the oven. You can freeze portions of food to warm up later, this could also save you time.
• Food cut into smaller pieces cook quicker and saves time.
• Make sure the rings on the cooker are clean as burned food absorbs heat and makes the ring less efficient.

• Defrost your fridge and freezer on a regular basis as this will improve their efficiency and stop a build-up of ice. See your appliance user guide for more advice, if needed.
• By keeping the fridge and freezer full they don’t have to work as hard and therefore use less energy
• Make sure that food is cooled down before placing them in the fridge or freezer.

• Make sure you use full loads and not half loads.
• When possible, use the low-energy program on your washing machine.
• Dry your clothes outside when you can, and do not put clothes on the radiator to dry. This increases the amount of condensation in the air in your home and increases the risk of black mould.
• Take advantage of your electricity provided by your solar panels and use your appliances during the day (especially on sunny days).

• Make sure the appliance is switched off in the wall when you’re not using them as some appliances use energy when on stand-by.
• Use energy saving light bulbs around your home, and when you’re not using the room make sure you switch off the light.

Your home doesn’t have a typical heating system. For most of the year, you shouldn’t need to turn your heating on. The windows and insulation will help keep the heat in.

In the winter, when it isn’t so sunny, you may need to top-up your heating.

You can programme your heating and hot water to come on and off up to three different times a day. You can visit https://switchee.com/residents/ for useful videos and guides or scan the QR code that is located next to your equipment. 

A meter has been put into your home. We have registered your electric meter with British Gas. If you wish to change provider, please contact your preferred energy supplier.

You can open the windows, but you don’t need to open them for fresh air. The ventilation in the house does this for you by getting air from outside. The windows are triple glazed, so if you keep them shut, it’ll keep your home quiet and warm. The MVHR system works better if your window and doors are closed.

During dry weather, you can dry your clothes outside. If you are drying clothes indoors, we recommend you use an airer located in the bathroom with the door closed. The water from wet clothes will be taken outside by your MVHR system and replaced with dry air. Please do not put wet clothes onto radiators to dry.

Your home will be set between 16-22 degrees but adjust the temperature to your own comfort.

Your MVHR system has an automatic summer bypass mode, which disables heat recovery when the outside temperature is cooler than the inside.

During warm weather, it’s important for you to live in a comfortable temperature. As the temperature outside cools in the evening, we suggest that you open your windows to let the warm air out, and let some cool air in.

Your Mechanical Ventilation and Heat Recovery (MVHR) system filters condensation and odours from the home, including cooking, bathing, and showering. It means that bad smells don’t hang around, and it reduces condensation and mould.

Damp and condensation, if left untreated, can cause mould. To help reduce this in your home, you can:

• If there are water droplets in the corners of windows and walls, wipe them with a cloth.
• Keep your MVHR system running to reduce this happening.

If you would like more tips about reducing condensation, please visit our website https://www.denbighshirehousing.co.uk/mould-and-condensation/

To make sure your home continues to meet your needs, you’ll need to get approval, in writing, from our repairs and maintenance team before making any changes or adaptations.

Damage to your home would need to be repaired immediately by one of our team and may be recharged.

You have an external letter box to the rear of the building, next to the rear door. Deliveries can be made without anyone having to enter the building. You can collect your mail from the foyer inside the rear door. The key will be provided for this for you to access.

It isn’t possible to put a ventilation pipe outside for a normal tumble dryer & there is no space for one. 

Yes, you can as long as they are attached safely.

This is one of the most important pieces of information about living in your new home. As this is a communal building, you are unable to put anything outside your home that fixes to the walls or railings.

Yes, there is a lift in the building & please follow the lift advice within the lift. Please do not put scooters, bikes or any other furniture in the lift.

Please do not use it if there is a fire and follow your fire safety guide for more information.   

Landings are not a storage area and may cause a fire hazard. Please use your apartments to store your items, excluding bikes and scooters. Storage may be available outside the apartments for these items.

No as this can create a fire hazard. Please use your apartments to store your items, excluding bikes and scooters. Storage may be available outside the apartments for these items.

Yes, outside the back of the apartments. Please use these areas to store your bikes and scooters. 

The main block front door can be opened using your door fob. The intercom unit is located outside the main front door to the building with each flat numbered on the panel.

Yes, using your door fob.

The bin storage area is at the rear of the apartments, by the car parking area.

Resident parking is available on site. Visitor parking is available in main pay and display car park nearby.

Yes, there is a small communal garden and seating area to the rear of the apartments.

• Denbighshire County Council: https://www.denbighshire.gov.uk/en/benefits-grants-and-money-advice/cost-of-living-support/cost-of-living-support.aspx
• Government: https://helpforhouseholds.campaign.gov.uk/energy-saving-advice/
• Nest Cymru: https://nest.gov.wales/
• Citizen’s Advice: https://www.cadenbighshire.co.uk/
• Living in an energy efficient home, reducing your carbon emissions and lowering you energy bills, visit https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/energy-at-home/