Hot tips

Here are some handy tips to help you to heat your home more efficiently, saving you money:

• Set your thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature - typically between 18°C and 21°C.
• If you have a programmer or timer, set it so that your heating and hot water only come on when needed.
• If you are out of the house all day then your heating shouldn't need to be switched on. By setting the heating to come on a bit before you return home, it will be nice and warm for your arrival.
• Your home will take a while to cool down so if you are out of the house during the day, set your heating to switch off before you leave. Likewise in the evening, setting your heating to switch off before you go to bed will mean that you're not heating the house while you're asleep.

Lowering your thermostat by just 1°C could save you around £65 a year.

• Water needn't be heated to a scalding temperature. Your hot water cylinder thermostat should be set at 60°C or 140°F. Any higher is a waste of energy and can lead to scalding; any lower and there may be risks of legionella.
• 'Bleed' radiators from time to time to remove unwanted air from your heating system and keep your radiators working at their maximum output. The heating system should be switched off when you do this so that more air isn't drawn into the system.
• If you tank is not insulated, fit a BS Kitemarked insulating jacket, 75mm or 3 inches thick, around your hot water tank. It will save you around £40 a year - and as it will only cost around £12 to buy, will pay for itself in well under a year.

A hot water jacket costs only around £12

• You can also put a second hot water jacket on your tank if the current jacket is below the recommended thickness
• Insulate your central heating and hot water pipes - especially those between your boiler and hot water cylinder - to save an extra £10 a year. This is best done when you have access to pipes - for example when pipes are exposed during renovation work.
• Close your curtains at dusk to reduce the amount of heat escaping through your windows.