Everyone wants lower heating bills. This guide sticks to changes that make a measurable difference, starting with the ones that cost nothing.
Free changes worth real money
Turn the thermostat down one degree. Going from twenty-one to twenty degrees cuts your heating bill by roughly ten percent. Most people stop noticing after a couple of days. Worth around eighty to one hundred and twenty pounds a year.
Use the timer properly. Set the heating to come on thirty minutes before you get up and off thirty minutes before bed, and turn it off when the house is empty. Worth one hundred to one hundred and fifty pounds a year.
Close curtains at dusk. Up to forty percent of heat loss goes through windows. Curtains add an insulating layer. Open them on sunny days for free heat. Worth thirty to fifty pounds a year.
Do not block radiators. A sofa in front of a radiator absorbs the heat you are paying for. Drying clothes on radiators makes the boiler work considerably harder. Worth twenty to forty pounds a year.
Turn off radiators in empty rooms. Use the thermostatic valves to turn down rooms you do not use. Worth fifty to one hundred pounds a year.
Together that is roughly two hundred and eighty to four hundred and sixty pounds a year for an average home, at no cost.
Low cost improvements under one hundred pounds
- Draught excluders, five to twenty pounds, saving thirty to fifty a year
- Radiator reflector panels behind radiators on external walls, twenty to forty pounds, saving twenty to thirty
- A chimney balloon for an unused open fireplace, twenty to thirty pounds, saving forty to sixty
- A letterbox draught excluder, five to fifteen pounds, saving ten to twenty
- A hot water tank jacket if your cylinder is uninsulated, fifteen to twenty-five pounds, saving forty to eighty
- A smart thermostat, fifty to two hundred pounds, saving seventy-five to one hundred and fifty
Heating system improvements
These need a professional but they pay back.
An annual boiler service, from one hundred and five pounds, saves fifty to one hundred a year and prevents most breakdowns. It also keeps your manufacturer guarantee valid, which is the part people forget.
A powerflush, four hundred to seven hundred and eighty pounds, if your radiators have cold spots at the bottom. Restores ten to twenty-five percent of heating efficiency.
A boiler controls upgrade, one hundred and fifty to four hundred pounds. Weather compensation adjusts output based on the outside temperature. Saves one hundred to two hundred a year and is genuinely underrated.
A magnetic filter, one hundred and fifty to two hundred and fifty pounds, catches debris before it clogs the boiler and protects the efficiency you have paid for.
A new efficient boiler, sixteen hundred to five thousand two hundred pounds. If yours is fifteen years old it may be running at sixty to seventy percent efficiency against ninety percent plus for a modern unit.
Where the heat actually escapes
In a typical uninsulated home:
- Walls, thirty-five percent
- Roof, twenty-five percent
- Windows and doors, twenty-five percent
- Floor, fifteen percent
Loft insulation should be two hundred and seventy millimetres deep. Often the cheapest and easiest win, at three hundred to five hundred pounds, saving two hundred to three hundred a year.
Cavity wall insulation, five hundred to fifteen hundred pounds, saving two hundred to four hundred a year, if your home was built after nineteen twenty.
Floor insulation on suspended timber floors, five hundred to fifteen hundred pounds.
It is worth checking whether you qualify for ECO4 or the Great British Insulation Scheme, which can cover insulation costs entirely for some households.
The quick checklist
- Turn the thermostat down one degree
- Check the timer matches your actual routine
- Close curtains at dusk
- Move furniture away from radiators
- Turn down radiators in unused rooms
- Bleed any radiator that is cold at the top
- Check for draughts at doors and windows
- Make sure the loft hatch is insulated and seals
Frequently asked
Is it cheaper to leave the heating on low all day?
Generally no. The Energy Saving Trust is clear that it is almost always cheaper to heat your home only when you need it. Modern boilers heat up quickly. In very cold weather a minimum of twelve to fifteen degrees is worth keeping to prevent frozen pipes.
What temperature should my thermostat be?
The World Health Organisation suggests eighteen degrees is adequate for healthy adults, though twenty-one is more comfortable. Elderly people and those with health conditions may need twenty-one. Start at eighteen or nineteen and only raise it if you need to.
Should I turn my boiler flow temperature down?
For a condensing combi, yes. Reducing the central heating flow temperature to around fifty-five to sixty degrees improves efficiency noticeably. The house takes slightly longer to warm but costs less to run. Keep hot water flow temperature at sixty or above for safety.
How do I know if my boiler is inefficient?
Age over fifteen years, regular breakdowns, noisy operation, slow hot water, running constantly, and gas bills rising without a change in usage. Anything below an A rating, meaning under ninety percent efficiency, is costing you meaningfully more than a modern replacement.