With a high cost of living and an increase in energy prices, you might be one of the 58% of people leaving it as late as possible to turn their heating on. In fact, last year 1.7 million of us in the UK planned to keep our heating off all winter long. But while this drastic measure could cut bills in the short term, it comes at a risk to your health - and your pipes. So what can you do to keep your bills down while staying cozy this winter?
If you’re looking for tips on saving money this winter or just want to know how to use your heater more efficiently, you’re in the right place. We’ll talk you through some of the most common types of heating in the UK, and how you can use them to your advantage:
- Why it's important to heat your home
- Ways to reduce your energy bills
- Gas central heating
- Portable electric heaters
- Fixed electric and gas heaters
Why is it important to heat your home?
Keeping your home warm isn’t just about comfort. It’s important to your health, and the health of your home.
Switching the heating on can:
- Keep your pipes from freezing and bursting.
- Stop damp and mould before it takes over your home. You can find out more about how to prevent mould in our handy guide.
- Prevent from forming (provided your home’s well-ventilated, too).
- Decrease your risk of illnesses, like colds, flu, and hypothermia.
How to reduce your energy bills
Reducing your energy bills with a thermostat
A thermostat will stop your heating system from warming up your home more than needed. With a thermostat, you have full control of your heating and can set it to the temperature you’d like. Once your home’s warmed up, the heating will switch off automatically.
Smart thermostats are a great way to cut your heating bills. They allow you to set the temperature in your home via your smartphone – even if you’re out and about.
A smart thermostat can also learn your household patterns. It can learn when to warm your home up and what temperature you like it to be, helping optimise your heating and keep your bills down.
Reducing your energy bills with timers
Timers are another great way to make sure your heating only comes on when it’s needed.
You can tweak the timing of your heating to suit your own lifestyle and habits. Not sure where to start? Try setting the timer during the times when you’ll need your heating most:
- An hour in the morning so your home is warm when you wake up.
- An hour before you come in from work, so you can be cozy following your commute.
- Time it to turn off an hour before you go to bed.
Reducing your energy bills with a cylinder thermostat
Don’t have a combi boiler? Make sure your boiler’s hot water tank has a cylinder thermostat. This will let you set the temperature to keep the water hot, but not so high that the boiler overheats.
The boiler thermostat temperature should ideally be 60-65 Celsius, but you can check this with an engineer when you have your boiler serviced. Keeping your hot water tank at these temperatures will help you save money. Any higher, and you'll be using more energy than you need to.
Gas central heating
Most British homes have gas central heating. These pump hot water through a network of radiators in your home.
Your central heating is only as efficient as the boiler that fuels it. If you have a good boiler, central heating is probably the best way to heat your home.
Boilers account for more than half of your energy bills each year. If you have a particularly old boiler, replacing it with a more efficient one could save you up to £500 a year.
If your central heating system isn’t efficient, there are several tweaks you can make:
- Check if your radiators need bleeding. Not sure how to bleed a radiator? Take a look at our step-by-step guide.
- If you have them, adjust the thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) on each radiator. Radiator valves let you tweak the temperature to make sure you’re not wasting energy. For example, if you’re in a small room the dial can be kept low.
Your thermostat can interfere with the TRV of the nearest radiator. This is because the thermostat could be sending mixed signals to the boiler. So if you have a thermostat in the same room, keep the TRV turned to the highest setting. - If you’re not using a particular room, you could try turning the radiator off. This helps reduce the amount of heat needed from the boiler. You’ll need to keep an eye out for signs of damp and mould, though.
Portable electric heaters
Electric heaters are some of the most expensive heaters to run, so use them sparingly. There are plenty of different types of portable electric heaters, including:
- Oil-filled radiators
- Fan heaters
- Convection heaters
- Halogen heaters
While they’re not cheap to use, different types of heaters have unique advantages to them. For example, halogen heaters heat up quickly. Meanwhile, fan heaters are great for warming up a small space in a short amount of time. But none of them will really help you save money or energy.
Need to use a portable electric heater? Make sure you buy the most efficient model possible. As a rule of thumb, heaters with a better energy efficiency rating will be cheaper to run. Heaters with a built-in thermostat or timer are best as they give you more control.
Fixed electric and gas heaters
Fixed heaters are an alternative to central heating. They’re available in both electric and gas. They’re more efficient than portable heaters, but not as efficient as gas central heating.
Electric wall panel heaters are also a popular choice. They hang on the wall like a radiator, and work best in small spaces. You’ll need to make sure they’re hung near a plug socket, as this will be their main power source. They heat up quickly, so are great for rooms that you’re only going to be using for a short while.
Gas wall heaters are the most energy efficient form of fixed heater. In fact, they’re almost as efficient as central heating. They need to be fixed to an outside wall to reach the gas supply. Gas wall heaters heat up quite quickly and are a popular choice in chilly areas of the home such as the landing, hallway, and conservatory.
Keeping your home warm and saving energy is a delicate balance. While each home will be different, we hope you’ll find these tips helpful in finding that perfect blend. It may take a bit of time to get it right. However, once you do, you should see your bills drop in price while keeping your home warm and cosy.
