Rising fuel bills have become a fact of life for many of us, but a recent survey from one of the UK’s biggest boiler manufacturers has shown that despite rising prices, many of us have fallen into some very bad practices when it comes to our household heating.
Thermostats
The recommended level for setting temperature at home is 20C or 21C, and the survey by Worcester-Bosch found that almost a third of British homes have their thermostat set higher.
They also found regional differences in that the Northern Irish and the Scots were more likely to turn up the temperature than other parts of the UK.
Given that turning the temperature down by just one degree can cut heating bills by 10%, turning the thermostat down can save considerable sums off the average home’s energy bill.
Cool Customers
Worcester-Bosch also discovered that, perhaps unsurprisingly, the South East of England was the area of the UK most likely to set the central heating thermostat lower than the recommended level, perhaps because the temperature outside is higher, or perhaps because customers in this area are struggling to pay bills more than other parts of the country.
15% of customers in that area set their central heating at a relatively chilly level of 15C to 17C.
Energy Efficiency
Worcester-Bosch’s survey demonstrates that in a time of rising prices, 32% of us could be saving money by turning down the thermostat by a few degrees, and that understanding how central heating works and how to use it most efficiently is the best way of cutting costs and also prolonging the life of your boiler.
Retro fitting thermostats to older boilers is possible in many cases, and the cost of the work could easily by paid back in a very short time by the savings on heating bills.
