As the cost of living crisis continues to bite into household budgets this winter, many people across the UK are trying different ways to cut their gas and electricity usage to help save money on energy bills. However, as the nation adapts to the coldest months of the year, energy experts at Loop have shared smart ways to reduce gas usage and stay warm.
According to the smart meter app developer, 80 per cent of gas usage in UK households goes towards heating, which amounts to around £1,000 a year at current domestic prices. The remaining 20 per cent goes towards hot water and cooking.
Loop is urging people to get smarter with their energy usage, Steve Buckley, Head of Data Science, said: “Keeping yourself and your home warm is essential for your health and wellbeing, but figuring out how to get this balance right can feel overwhelming, particularly when temperatures drop and homes feel chillier than usual.”
He continued: “But there are changes you can make to the way you heat your home that will save on your gas usage, and costs, without you noticing a difference.
“These changes come down to understanding how you use gas in your home and identifying where you can make this more efficient and cost-effective.”
Five tips to help reduce winter gas usage
Experts at Loop have shared their top tips on how to reduce gas usage this winter.
Master your heating schedule
Use your heating controls to schedule heating your home. Schedule your heating to be on only when you’re at home, and turn it off 20 minutes before you need to as the hot water in the radiators will stay warm.
If you’re going away over Christmas, reduce your thermostat to five degrees minimum.
Overnight, keep the heating off or low if it’s particularly cold - to stay warm it’s more efficient to heat your bed with bedding or an electric blanket.
Figure out the right temperature for you
Heating to a lower temperature uses less gas as it reduces the amount of heating needed to warm up your home.
Each degree you lower your thermostat by equates to a 10 per cent reduction in gas usage - £300 a year in savings for an average home.
There’s no ideal temperature, so figure out what works best for you.
Draught proof your home
Draughts are a waste of gas, and most come from windows, doors and unused chimneys. Use draught proofing tape to seal those spaces, use chimney balloons to block unused chimneys, try thick curtains and keep internal doors closed to avoid hot air escaping. It’s important to make sure your house is still ventilated where it needs to be, so don’t block areas like window vents, kitchens or bathrooms.
Adjust your radiators
Some radiators have rotating dials called TRVs, which give you more control over your heating in a room, but many don’t understand how to use them.
TRVs should be set to the temperature you’d like a room to be, and the dial can then control the amount of hot water that flows into your radiators - if your room heats to the desired temperature, the TRVs will stop water flowing into the radiator, preserving gas.
You can set these to the right temperature in different rooms - living areas should be at the highest heat, then bedrooms, with temperatures kept lower in spare rooms.
Turn down your boiler flow temperature
The temperature of the water that leaves your boiler to go to your radiators is called the boiler's flow temperature.
If it’s set too high the boiler will run inefficiently - correcting it can save between 8-12 per cent on gas bills.
Something to consider for the longer-term
Insulation
UK homes are notoriously poorly insulated but there are two key ways to improve a home’s insulation - loft insulation and cavity wall insulation.
These can be costly and difficult, but these forms of insulation pay themselves back quickest and can make a big difference to the warmth of your home.
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