Heating and hot water energy saving tips

Set your boiler thermostat lower

You only really need to have your boiler on its highest setting in the very depths of winter. Otherwise, your boiler is needlessly heating water up to a very high temperature and wasting energy. Many households have their boiler heating flow temperature set far too high, up to 82°C in some cases.

A great energy saving tip is to reduce the boiler flow temperature to 65°C, or even 60 °C. You may find these lower flow temperatures still deliver a comfortable heating temperature for you. So not only should you still be nice and warm, but you’ll also be saving yourself some money as your boiler won’t be working so hard. If you find these lower boiler flow temperatures aren’t giving you enough heat in your home, simply increase the boiler flow temperature until it’s comfortable again.

As the outside temperature decreases through the colder winter months, it WILL be necessary to increase your boiler temperature again, possibly all the way to maximum, to ensure your radiators will be able to heat your home during the coldest outside temperatures. To adjust the boiler flow temperature, you will need to decrease the temperature on the boiler itself, not the room thermostat controls (see below for difference).

Heating terms

Flow temperature – the temperature of the water in the pipes that supply your radiators

Boiler thermostat – a control on the boiler itself which regulates the temperature of the water flow to the radiators.

Room thermostat – a control on the wall and controls the room temperature in your home.

Turn your room thermostat down

It may seem obvious, but the hotter you have your home, the more money you’ll spend heating it. The Energy Savings Trust estimates your annual heating bill increases by about 10% for every degree you turn the thermostat up. Therefore turning the room thermostat down will save you money, and reduce the amount of carbon emissions from your home. Some tips to ensure you are still heating your home enough, but not excessively are:

• Set the room thermostat to 18°C and then turn it up by one degree each day until you find a temperature you’re comfortable with. Note that the temperature shouldn’t drop below 16°C for elderly people and those with impaired mobility.
• Room thermostats need a free flow of air to accurately sense the temperature accurately – they must not be covered by curtains or blocked by furniture. Also, nearby electric fires, televisions or lamps could also stop them from working properly.

Set your radiator thermostats lower

As with your room thermostat, you should set the thermostatic radiator valves (TRV) in each room at a low level, then gradually turn them up until the room’s left at a comfortable temperature. Turning a TRV to a higher setting will not make the room heat up any faster – that depends on the boiler size and setting, and the radiator size. All the TRV will do is keep heating the room until it reaches the temperature you have set it to.

Ensure there is plenty of room around your radiators

Despite their name, radiators mostly work by convection. This means cold air enters at the bottom, is drawn through the radiator and hot air leaves through the top. You can reduce your heating costs by ensuring each radiator in your home is able to circulate heat properly. For example, moving furniture away, not using cabinets to disguise them, and making sure they’re not covered by curtains.

Setting your programmer or timer

We’ve all heard the theory that it’s cheaper to leave the heating on all day at a low temperature. Well, the results are in – it’s definitely a myth! (Unless you have a low temperature heating system such as a heat pump, then it is actually financially better to keep the heating on low all day). The truth is that having the heating on only when you need it is the best way to save energy – why would you heat an empty house? Setting a timer or using the programme function on your thermostat means it’ll turn the heating on and off for you, so you can set up a schedule that works around your day/week. Here’s some ideas of how to get the most out of your heating programmer:

• Keep it switched off at times when you don’t need the heating on – such as during the night.
• Consider setting your heating to switch off 20 minutes before you usually go out, as there will still be residual heat in your home.
• Programme it to turn off when you’re doing things like the school run, again the residual heat will keep the property fabric warm until your home.
• Set it to turn off 30 mins before your usual bedtime as the property will stay warm enough until you go to bed.
• If you like to lay in bed a little later on the weekends, programme your heating to turn on a little later, so you’re not wasting energy heating your home whilst your cosy in bed.

Don’t heat the rooms you’re not using

Again, it may seem simple, but if you rarely go into a spare room then why waste energy heating it? Turn the radiator down (or off completely, though beware of the risk of frost) and you’ll use less energy by not heating a room you rarely use.

Reduce your shower time

Taking shorter showers and turning the tap off when you’re brushing your teeth isn’t just about conserving water, it can also save energy too. Having a shorter shower will save you money.

Home Energy Tips

Keep the draughts at bay

Draught-proofing plugs the gaps in your property to help keep warm air in and cold air out. If there’s cold air coming in under your front door, a rolled-up towel or blanket will do the trick. If you’re feeling handy you could fit a brush or hinged flap draught excluder. The same goes for your letterbox – a flap or brush will keep the cold out.

Move furniture away from external walls

Your furniture arrangement can have a huge impact on how warm or cool you feel in a room. If you keep catching yourself cranking up the heating and your sofa is against an exterior wall, try moving it. If you can arrange your house so that most of the furniture sits against internal walls, you should feel warmer. You’ll feel the heat from throughout the house, rather than the cold seeping through from outside. This may allow you to have the heating on for shorter periods of time and reduce the energy you use.

Close the curtains

Close the curtains when it’s getting dark. If your radiators are under the windows, then “ideally” tuck your curtains behind the radiator and shut the doors to rooms you use most to keep the heat in.

Extra layers

As simple as its sounds, putting warm clothes on is one of the best ways to stay warm in the winter. How many of us will have the heating on and be sat there is shorts and tee-shirt – this is going to cost you money in the long run. Put some warm clothes on and turn your heating down if you want to reduce your heating bills.

Unplug your devices

Your phone, tablet or TV still use energy on standby. Avoid paying for energy you don’t use by unplugging them when you can.

Turn off the lights

Remember when your parents told you to turn the lights off when you left a room? They had a point. Getting everyone in the habit of only lighting rooms that are being used can help you save money.

Kitchen Energy saving tips

Fill your fridge and freezer with bottles of tap water

It may seem illogical, but it takes a lot more energy to keep an empty fridge cold than a full one. A great tip is to fill yours up with bottles of water. The freezer is guilty of using the most energy out of all kitchen appliances. An F-rated 70/30 287-litre fridge freezer uses 275 kWh per year, making its annual running costs £143 (based on the October 2022 energy price cap). So again, keep it full – if not with food, then with bags of ice.

Wait to run a full washing machine load

If you own dishwasher or a washing machine it is a savvy move to wait until the appliance is fully loaded as the appliances will use the same amount of energy to clean fewer items. So, wait to do fewer washes with more items, than waste energy on more half-full washes.

Don’t overfill the kettle

Time for a cuppa? Stop filling the kettle up to the brim – and don’t be one of the 23 per cent of people that re-boils the kettle. Boiling more water than necessary each time could save you £36 year, based on calculations from the Energy Saving Trust.

Cover your pans

Make sure you put the lid on saucepans, so your food cooks quicker, and turn off the heat on the stove a few minutes before you’re ready. Don’t worry, things will keep cooking under the residual heat, and this will save energy little and often. Finally, make sure you always match the size of the cooking ring to the size of the saucepan, to avoid wasting energy by heating the air.

Thanks for taking the time to read our energy saving tips!

Unfortunately the increased costs of gas and electricity at the moment may be here for a while and we have no certainty about when things will change for the UK. By making some of these small changes at home you could see a difference in your heating and hot water consumption and reduction of your annual costs compared to if you didn’t take action. If you have any queries or questions about how to implement any of these suggestions in your home don’t hesitate to get in touch with us.