British Gas, OVO, EDF, Eon, Octopus customers urged to follow simple trick to save £130 a year
Millions of UK households could see their annual energy costs hiked up by £149 from tomorrow. Ofgem is set to increase its price cap from Tuesday, October 1.
But British Gas, OVO, EDF, Eon, Octopus customers are being urged to follow a simple trick that could knock £130 off their bills, while keeping the heating on during winter. Citizens Advice said that turning down your thermostat by just one degree can save you 10 per cent on your heating costs.
It said that most people will find temperatures between 18C and 21C comfortable. But you should not set your thermostat lower than 21C if you have a health condition which can get worse with the cold weather.
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For everyone else, it recommended turning the thermostat down by one degree. In 2022, researchers from University College London looked at thermostat data from 13,000 homes in Britain.
They found that for each 1C decrease in thermostat temperature between 22C and 18C, an average home used around £130 less energy. Bigger homes can also make greater savings, the researchers found.
For every square metre, average households used around £1.10 less in gas for each 1C decrease. They also used 40p less in electricity for each 1C and each square metre, The Sun reports.
Factors which contribute to the amount of energy saved by reducing the thermostat temperature include:
How big your home is
How quickly your home loses heat
How many hours your heating is switched on for
How mild or cold the winter is
Your energy tariff
Checkatrade recommends using a programmable thermostat to control your heating based on whether you are out, at work or asleep. It said: "You can then automatically increase the degree for when you’re home or awake.
"Using a programmable thermostat can help to cut down on unnecessary heating, so you’re using your heating more efficiently." Checkatrade also shared a helpful schedule for heating your home efficiently in winter and suggested:
6am - 8am: Set your thermostat so your heating turns on half an hour before you wake up so your home will be warm and comfortable when you get up
8am - 4pm: Set your thermostat to a lower temperature, such as 18-20C, when at work or out
4pm - 10pm: Set the thermostat so your heating comes back on around half an hour before you usually come home. You might also want to set the thermostat to a slightly higher temperature, such as 20-22C, for when you are home in the evenings.
10pm - 6am: Set the thermostat to a lower temperature, such as 16-18C, while you sleep
The Centre for Sustainable Energy said: "Don’t pay for heat that you’re not using! If you are out during the day (or tucked up in bed at night), you don’t need the heating on. Even if you turn your thermostat down a bit, your boiler will keep firing up and using energy (and cost you money) at times when you won’t feel the benefit.
"Instead, programme your central heating using the timer so that it switches off when you’re out or in bed, and switches back on to warm up the house about half an hour before you get home or before you get up."
Citizens Advice also said that you should check your thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to make sure you are not heating rooms you do not use. These are the controls on your radiator that let you set its individual temperature.
They are usually attached to one of the pipes that goes into your radiator and have a dial with numbers on that you can adjust. Citizens Advice said: "Check what the TRVs on your radiators are set to. If they’re on a high setting in rooms where you don’t spend much time, try turning them down to a low setting to save energy.
"Don’t turn them down to zero - this will turn off the radiator completely. Even in a room you don’t use much, there should be some heat to stop damp and mould from developing."