A £15 bit of kit from B&Q could help Brits save on their heating bills, according to a plumber's advice to thousands of his followers on TikTok. A plumbing and heating engineer, known on the social media platform as djmatrix101, said that bills could be lower if people use a thermostatic radiator valve.
He said that using it properly could help people save money, Manchester Evening News reports. The advice comes as Prime Minister Liz Truss is expected to tell MPs today (Thursday) that domestic energy bills will be frozen at around £2,500 as part of a package to ease the cost-of-living crunch – said to cost up to £150 billion.
The Times suggested the freeze could last for up to two years – until the next general election in 2024 – and would be funded by increased borrowing.
Passing on his advice about the B&Q device, djmatrix101 said: "Effectively a lot of people, when the switch the central heating on, they heat the entire house - so that's every room in the house that has a radiator they are heating using their boiler. The vast majority of people don't spend all day in bed, or in the bedroom.
"They get up, they go downstairs, they spend the day downstairs then they go upstairs, but the heating's on all day. My advice is to go around every single room and [after installing thermostatic radiator valves] to switch them off if you're not using the radiator.
"If you can turn of 50% of your volume of radiators, you will save 50% on your gas bill - it is that straight forward. If you're not using your bedroom radiator, turn it off."
He then spoke about one common problem with the valves, which means they will still allow gas to pass through. He said: "[They have a] metal ring at the bottom. Turn the radiator valve to fully open then hand tighten the metal rings down. They come loose and if you don't tighten them down when you switch the valve off the gas will still pass.
"They come loose and if you don't tighten them down when you switch the valve off the gas will still pass. Switch it on about an hour before you want to use the room. A bit of forward planning, a bit of thinking about it, and you will save yourself a fortune in gas.
"A lot of people make this mistake [but] these things are regulation to be fitted on any new central heating system and we have to advise when we're changing boilers now that these be fitted, if they're not there. If you don't have them, they're a good investment. Get them fitted."
