Heating costs are a major part of household bills, and families on low-incomes have been hard hit by recent increases in energy costs. It’s looking increasingly likely that high energy costs are here to stay in the medium term. This means that there is more benefit in improving energy efficiency by making pricier, disruptive changes to your home, such as insulation or upgrading your boiler to a modern, more efficient model.
But if you are really strapped for cash, even free and cheap interventions can pay off, allowing you to stay warm for less.
Check whether you’re entitled to help with heating bills
Many households are eligible for extra government help with heating bills. You can learn more about this at Help For Households.
It’s really important for your health and wellbeing to keep warm, so if you can’t afford to keep your home comfortably warm, or if you’re choosing between heating and eating, seek help. Citizen’s Advice can talk you through your options for cost of living support, including help with prepayment meters and fuel vouchers.
Get the most out of insulation and draught-proofing
Hunting for draughts and sealing them, either with caulking, draught tape or curtains, will make your home more comfortable and easier to heat.
Adjust the thermostat to save cash
Another kind of insulation is putting on a few extra clothing layers, and snuggling up under blankets. This might allow you to keep your rooms slighter cooler, saving cash while staying cosy. In rooms that are less used (such as spare bedrooms), 15C is a safe ambient temperature. In spaces that you are using, maintain the temperature between 18C and 21C.
One simple boiler tweak that can reduce your bills
Gas combi boilers have a setting called flow temperature, which can be reduced to 60C. We have a blogpost where you can learn more about adjusting the flow temperature on your boiler to save cash.
In homes with a heating system that has a separate hot water cylinder, it may be possible to reduce the temperature of the cylinder. The minimum safe temperature for a hot water cylinder is 60C – this is to avoid bacteria growth. If yours is higher than that, you may find you can reduce your bills by lowering it to 60C.
Maximise the efficiency of heating radiators
Radiators on uninsulated outside walls would benefit from reflector panels fitted behind them. This reflects the heat back into the room, rather than through the wall and into the street.
Keep furniture and storage away from radiators so they can work efficiently at heating your living spaces. If your house is too full of furniture that you’re not using, consider getting rid of some pieces, or putting them into storage. You’ll need to insure your stored goods as a condition of your contract with your self-storage company. Be sure to shop around for self-storage insurance to ensure you get the very best price. Get a quick quote from Store and Insure to start you off.
For more about central heating…
We’ve got a few useful posts on optimising your central heating:
