Which? published eleven ways to reduce heating bills on 19 October 2022, covering boiler settings, insulation of hot water cylinders and pipes, smart and manual heating controls, thermostat settings, portable electric heaters, draught-proofing, glazing and grant-funded measures. The consumer body said its experts had identified a variety of ways to reduce heating energy bills over the winter1.
The guidance cites its own consumer research, which found that in August 2022, 65% of households cut back, dipped into savings or borrowed money to cover essential spending1. On boiler settings, Which? said combi boiler owners can save up to 8% on their heating bill by turning down the temperature of the water circulated around radiators, and that the Heating & Hotwater Industry Council recommends adapting boiler settings with the advice of a boiler engineer, particularly for system or regular boilers that store water in a tank1.
"Our experts have identified a variety of ways to reduce your heating energy bills this winter."
For homes with a hot water cylinder, Which? put a cylinder jacket at about £20, with a minimum thickness of 75mm according to industry standards, and pipe lagging at around £5 a metre1. It said new gas boilers have had to come with one of four energy-saving add-ons since legislation introduced in 2018, and that smart heating controls are one of them1. On thermostatic radiator valves, it gave the following rough guide to settings1:
| TRV setting | Approximate room temperature |
|---|---|
| 1 | 12°C, a low room temperature for an unoccupied room |
| 2 | 16°C, a lukewarm heat for an occupied room |
| 3 | 20°C, a comfortable heat for an occupied room |
| 4 | 24°C, a warm heat for an occupied room |
Which? said the NHS considers temperatures as low as 18°C healthy for most people, and that the Energy Saving Trust claims turning a thermostat down by one degree can save up to 10% off a heating bill1. On portable electric heaters, it said units usually have rated outputs of 2kW or 3kW, that a medium-sized room takes between 15 and 30 minutes to warm by 10ºC at full blast, and that on a standard variable tariff the average unit price for dual fuel customers is 34p per kWh for electricity and 10.3p per kWh for gas, so a 2kW heater at full output would use 34p of electricity every 30 minutes1.
On professional loft insulation, Which? gave a cost of around £480 for a typical semi-detached home in October 2022, with savings of £355 a year afterwards, and around £630 for a detached home, with savings of as much as £590 a year and around 1,000kg of CO2 emissions avoided1. It said draught-proofing can reportedly reduce heat loss by 15%1. The article also refers to glazing and to grant measures, but the detail of those sections is not set out in the text available1.
Why it matters for households
The measures divide into those that change how a home is run and those that change the building itself. Boiler flow temperature, thermostat settings and radiator valves alter how much gas a heating system draws for the same comfort level, while cylinder jackets, pipe lagging, draught-proofing and loft insulation reduce the heat a home loses in the first place. For a household's energy independence, the second group matters most: it lowers demand whatever the unit price does, and loft insulation in particular carries a stated annual saving that continues after the work is paid for. The figures also show the running-cost gap between fuels, with electricity at 34p per kWh against gas at 10.3p per kWh, which is why portable electric heaters are described as a short-term fix rather than a substitute for central heating.
What happens next
No dated next steps are set out in the article. The savings figures are given as at October 2022, and the unit prices quoted are those under the price cap in force at that time1.