The innovation charity Nesta called on 24 August 2022 for the government to set a target to reduce household energy demand by 20% in time for next winter, as part of what it described as a COVID-style response to the cost of living crisis1. The charity said low or no cost measures could cut gas use in homes by 10% over the next few months and by 20% by next winter1.
Nesta set out three measures behind its 10% estimate. Turning down the flow temperature of boilers can reduce gas use by up to 8%; smart thermostats such as Nest can cut gas use by 4.5% to 5%; and turning off preheat settings on combination boilers can cut gas use by up to 3%1. The thermostat figure is attributed to a 2017 estimate by the Behavioural Insights Team, and the preheat figure to UCL Energy Institute research in 20191.
On the flow temperature measure, Nesta estimated that if 1 million of the 15 million households with a combination boiler reduced their flow temperature from 70C to 50C, this would save 1 billion kilowatt hours (kWh) of gas over a year1. It put the household saving at 8%, or £130, on the average annual gas bill, based on Cornwall Insight's projected annual gas default tariff price cap from 1 October of £1,8741. Nesta also published an online tool to help people turn down their boiler flow temperature1.
Ravi Gurumurthy, Nesta's chief executive and a former Director of Strategy at the Department of Energy and Climate Change, said:
"A lack of immediate government action will deepen the cost of living crisis and set the UK up for gas shortages. The scale of the crisis now requires a COVID-style response. In months, the Government created the infrastructure to roll out vaccines nationwide. We need a similar national campaign to help every household cut their gas use by 20%."
The charity also called for insulation and smart heating controls to be provided to low-income households for free, funded by a levy on bills once prices have fallen back, and for interest free loans to encourage people to install smart thermostats and insulation quickly1. It suggested a national advice programme or energy advisers going door to door1.
Why it matters for households
The proposals centre on measures a household can take without replacing a working boiler. Flow temperature is the temperature of the water a boiler sends to radiators, and it is set separately from the room thermostat; lowering it from 70C to 50C is the change behind Nesta's £130 saving estimate1. That figure rests on a projected price cap of £1,874 from 1 October, so the cash saving would move with the cap itself, which is set under the default tariff cap rather than by the household1. The thermostat saving is drawn from trials of one specific model, the Nest Learning Thermostat, and Nesta gives it as 4.5% to 5% of total annual household gas consumption1. Compatibility between a thermostat and an existing boiler varies by model, which affects whether such a control can be fitted at all; our guide to smart thermostat and boiler compatibility covers that question. For a home's energy independence, the practical effect of the package is to lower the volume of gas bought rather than to change the fuel used, and the insulation and free controls elements depend on government funding that had not been announced.
What happens next
Nesta's call is for a government target of a 20% reduction in household energy demand by next winter, with a 10% reduction over the next few months1. No government response to the call, and no date for one, has been reported1.