Boiler Guides

Energy efficiency

UK energy bills have been rising sharply over recent months but by improving the efficiency of your home - and so wasting less energy - you could actively reduce your energy bills without having to drastically cut back on your heating and electricity use.

• Replace your old boiler
• Heating controls
• Have your boiler serviced
• Turn down your thermostat
• Change your bulbs
• Switch to a water meter
• DIY insulation
• Installed insulation
• Double glazing
• Renewable energy

And best of all, you’ll be helping to do your bit for the environment by reducing your energy bills too. Check out our 10 step guide below:

1. Replace your old boiler

If your boiler is more than 10 years old, chances are that it’s not an energy efficient condensing boiler. Older boilers are only about 70% efficient but new, condensing models, which extract more heat from the otherwise wasted flue gases, can be more than 90% efficient.

Fitting a new boiler can save you up to £130 a year and cut your CO2 emissions by 875kg according to the Energy Saving Trust (EST) covering the cost of the boiler within four or five years.

2. Heating controls

Fitting your home out with a range of electronic heating controls and thermostats when you install your new boiler can push your annual savings up to £270 a year (EST).

A time switch or programmer will allow you to set your heating and hot water to only come on when needed, while thermostats that automatically turn the heating off at a certain temperature. Radiator thermostats that can be used to control the temperature of individual rooms and will save you even more money on your heating bills.

3. Have your boiler serviced

Your annual boiler service isn’t just essential to ensure that your boiler is running safely. The technician’s deep clean and service will also bring your boiler back up to optimum efficiency, and so reduce your energy bills.

4. Turn down your thermostat

Turning your heating down by just 1°C can reduce your energy use by an impressive 6% - an annual saving of £30 - and you’re unlikely to notice any difference in the temperature of your home.

5. Change your bulbs

Switching to energy efficient light bulbs - which last around 12 times longer and use far less energy than traditional bulbs - can save you £9 a year per bulb according to Greenpeace. This means that with the average home containing 17 bulbs, you could make an annual saving of £153 by swapping them all over.

6. Switch to a water meter

If you have more bedrooms that people in your home you could save up to £200 a year by switching from the set water rate to a water meter. Also, according to the Bathroom Manufacturers Association, simply taking showers instead of baths can cut your water usage by a massive 40%.

7. DIY insulation

Simple steps such as lagging your boiler and hot water pipes can save you between £15 and £20 a year according to Friends of the Earth. And since around 20% of the average home’s heat loss is through draughts and ventilation, draught proofing - which can be done yourself - can make a real difference.

8. Installed insulation

If you want to make significant savings on your heating bills, having loft insulation installed - which costs around £230 - could save you between £180 and £220 a year, while having your cavity walls filled can save you up to £120 a year and will have paid for itself within four years (EST).

According to the EST, if all the houses in the UK with unfilled cavity walls had them filled, the energy saved could heat one million homes each year.

9. Double glazing

Although it can be expensive and time consuming to install, having your windows double glazed will cut heat loss through your windows by 50% and can save you around £110 a year - and 720kg of CO2 (EST).

10. Renewable energy

By installing renewable energy products in your home such as solar panels, ground source heat pumps or even a small wind turbine, you can heat your home naturally, and save on your bills.

Although it can be expensive to install renewable technologies on your home, there are loads of grants available to help cover the costs.

Switch energy supplier

By switching your energy supplier you can cut you energy bills by around £150. So why not compare gas and electricity prices and see how much you could save.

Compare boiler insurance and see how much money you can save.
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