Mum's Little Known Boiler Hack Could Save You £100
It only takes a few seconds to do but it could prove incredibly valuable
With the UK now firmly in the grips of winter, millions will be whacking the heating on full blast... even despite the ongoing energy crisis.
But a mum has shared a nifty little trick, which could knock up to 10 percent off your energy bills and save you hundreds of pounds over the coming months.
It's all to do with your flow settings on your boiler, which regulate the temperature the water is heated to before coming out.
According to the thrifty homeowner, she has saved £95 since 1 December, and it only took a few seconds to do.
Sharing her hack to Mumsnet, the woman, who made the change on the advice of her provider, Octopus Energy, explained that turning it down a touch could prove incredibly valuable.
She wrote: "You can use less gas by checking your flow settings on your boiler.
"Mine was set to 80 degrees by default, which meant I was spending huge amounts on heating up water that then has to be cooled down with cold water.
"I'm taking part in the Octopus Winter Workout, and according to them, I have saved £95 since the beginning of December and this is the only substantial change I have made."
According to reports, boilers often come pre-set at a temperature higher than required, which doesn't necessarily make our homes warmer.
The mum added: "I assumed everyone knew about this except me but my sister hadn't heard of it and she's very hot on money saving so I thought there must be others out there."
Over the past couple of years, millions of us have been forced to work - if we can - from home, meaning that many have seen their monthly bills going up and up.
Speaking to LADbible, Will Owen, an Energy Expert at Uswitch, offered some advice to help us save a few quid.
He said "Working from home and homeschooling children this past year has resulted in a sharp increase in household bills for many families, with many using extra energy to power their laptop or keep their house warm during the day, especially now that it is winter."
He went on to suggest that people could do some of the following:
- Stay warm, cut costs: Turning your thermostat down by just 1°C can save you as much as £80 per year.
- Don't leave anything plugged in that isn't being used: A lot of people who are working and learning from home will be leaving devices on charge all day. Leaving appliances plugged in that aren't being used wastes a lot of energy, even charger cables that don't have anything plugged into them, but are still connected to the socket, can waste electricity.
- Educate the household: Energy will only be saved if everyone in the house recognises the importance of saving it, and what better time is there than now? If you've got children, try and turn energy saving into a game to teach them why they should remember to switch things off.
Jimmy Williams, the CEO of Urban Jungle, a company providing insurance to generation rent and millennials also gave some good advice which included buying some draught excluders, blankets and using tin-foil to keep your flat warm.
If the latter has left you slightly confused, don't be. Jimmy explained: "Make your GCSE physics teacher proud by reflecting the heat back into the room.
"Wrap some card with tin foil and put it behind your radiators, there's no point putting time and effort into organising your heating if half the heat is just going into your walls."
On top of these suggestions, you can claim tax relief for your job expenses which can go to additional households costs.
Featured Image Credit: AlamyDominic Smithers