Reduce Your Heating Bills Now With These Quick Tips
Nothing kills a good evening in like coming home to a cold house. The good news is that most of what actually moves the needle on your heating bill isn't about turning the thermostat down and shivering through winter, it's a handful of specific, practical changes, some of which take ten minutes and cost nothing.
We've put together nine of them below, starting with the one most homeowners have never even heard of.
1. Turn Down Your Boiler's Flow Temperature
This is the single most overlooked tip on this list, and it's free.
Most combi boilers are installed with the flow temperature; how hot the water is that circulates around your radiators — set higher than it needs to be, often around 80°C. Turning it down to somewhere around 60°C (or lower, if your radiators can keep up) lets your boiler run in "condensing mode" more of the time, which is the efficient mode it was designed for. Homes that make this one change can see their gas use drop by roughly 8–10% for nothing more than a five-minute adjustment on the boiler's control panel.
If you're not sure how to find this setting on your boiler, or want to check it's been done safely (there's a balance between efficiency and having enough heat on the coldest days), book a service with one of our engineers and we'll sort it while we're there.
2. Know Your Heating System
Before changing anything, it's worth understanding what you're actually working with — gas, electric, and oil systems all behave differently, and the tips that save you money vary a bit depending on which you've got.
- Gas heating systems are generally the most cost-effective to run and the most common in UK homes.
- Electric heating systems are simple to install and give you more precise room-by-room control, but typically cost more to run.
- Oil heating systems can be cheaper to install but more exposed to price swings, since oil prices move independently of gas and electricity.
3. Fix the Easy Heat Loss First
Draughts and gaps are the fastest, cheapest wins going:
- Check around windows and doors for draughts — even small gaps add up to a noticeable dent in efficiency.
- Fit draught excluders or weather stripping — a few pounds, done in an afternoon.
- If your attic or wall insulation hasn't been checked in years, it's worth having a look — insufficient insulation is one of the biggest sources of heat loss in older homes.
4. Get Your Thermostat Working for You, Not Against You
Every degree matters more than people expect — turning your thermostat down by just 1°C can cut your heating bill by around 10%, without making the house noticeably colder.
- A comfortable, efficient setting for most homes is around 18°C during the day, a little lower overnight or when nobody's in.
- A smart thermostat learns your routine and adjusts automatically, so you're not paying to heat an empty house.
- No smart thermostat yet? Manually turning it down before bed and before you leave for the day gets you most of the same saving for free.
For finer control room-by-room, smart thermostatic radiator valves let you heat the rooms you're using without heating the ones you're not.
5. Don't Skip the Annual Service
A poorly maintained system has to work harder to produce the same heat — which means higher bills, and eventually more expensive repairs.
- Book an annual service. A qualified engineer will check your system's running efficiently, catch small issues before they become expensive ones, and make sure everything's clean and properly adjusted.
- Check filters regularly if your system uses them — a blocked filter makes your system work harder for less heat.
6. Consider Whether a Heat Pump Changes the Maths
For some homes, the bigger saving isn't in tweaking a gas system at all — it's in what heats the house in the first place. Air source heat pumps use less energy to produce the same heat than a gas boiler, and with the right electricity tariff, the running costs can come out ahead. Some suppliers now offer heat pump-specific tariffs designed to make this comparison work in your favour, and government grants can cover a meaningful chunk of the upfront cost.
It's not the right move for every home — insulation and radiator sizing matter — but it's worth ruling in or out with a proper survey rather than assuming it's not for you.
7. Use Supplementary Heating Wisely
If you only need to warm one room — the room you're actually sitting in in the evening — a portable heater or electric blanket can be cheaper than heating the whole house.
- Only heat the room you're using, not the whole house, for short periods.
- Keep any portable heater away from curtains, furniture, and anything flammable, and never leave it running unattended.
8. A Few Habits That Cost Nothing
- Close doors to rooms you're not using — stops warm air drifting into spaces that don't need it.
- Keep curtains closed once it's dark — an easy extra layer of insulation against cold windows. Open them again during the day on sunny windows to let free heat in.
- Dress for indoors in winter — a jumper costs less than turning the thermostat up.
9. Know When It's Time for a New Boiler
Sometimes the honest answer is that an old, inefficient boiler is the real problem, and no amount of tweaking will fix that. If yours is getting on in years, breaking down often, or you're just not sure whether it's still efficient, it's worth getting it looked at rather than throwing good money after a system that's on its way out.
Quick Questions
Does turning my thermostat down really make a difference?
Yes — even 1°C lower can meaningfully cut your bill without making the house feel noticeably colder, especially combined with a lower boiler flow temperature.
Is it cheaper to leave the heating on low all day, or heat the house only when I need it?
For most homes and most boilers, heating only when needed (with a bit of lead time before you need it warm) works out cheaper than leaving it on low constantly. Well-insulated homes are the main exception, where the difference is smaller.
Will lowering my boiler's flow temperature mean my house doesn't get warm enough?
Not if it's done properly — it's about finding the lowest setting that still comfortably heats your home, not turning it down blindly. This is exactly the kind of thing worth checking with an engineer rather than guessing.
Is a heat pump actually cheaper to run than my gas boiler?
It depends on your home's insulation, your existing radiators, and your electricity tariff — for some homes it's a clear win, for others it needs some changes first to pay off. Read more about whether a heat pump suits your home.
Watch how those savings grow!
