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Taking the Heat Off Our Energy Use – How We Saved Almost 6% Gas Use at the Wiser Factory and 5 Tips to Save on Your Gas Bills
Last week, we recently released the Wiser factory's latest energy saving figures following completion of some major projects across the factory and offices in Plymouth, UK. Figures show we saved 5.9% gas use in Winter 2022/23 compared to Winter 2021/22 thanks to the efforts of our staff and maintenance team and is a great step forwards on our path to net zero emissions by 2025.
We understand that saving money, home efficiency and navigating this cost-of-living crisis is still at the forefront of life for many households across the UK, so in celebration of our factory’s recent efficiency success we’re bringing you five fresh, simple and cheap tips to reduce gas bills at home this Autumn and Winter without turning your heating down.
- Cooking with gas? Try reducing your use
Gas cookers and hobs are powerful and effective, but increasingly expensive to run. Rather than boiling water on a gas hob, it’s proven to more efficient – and usually faster – to boil water in an electric kettle before adding to a pan. Just remember to only boil the amount you need.
Jacket potato lover? Rather than boiling potatoes on the hob first or putting them straight in the oven with a longer cooking time, microwave the spud for 5 minutes then oven bake for 20 minutes, for a more efficient meal. Or try an energy-efficient air fryer to bypass the oven entirely. One more tip for your tatties, opt for ceramic or glass oven dish, which is better at retaining heat energy in an oven compared to metal trays.
- Room-to-room heating control
Heating only the rooms you’re using could save 19% more gas than heating the whole house, and there are simple steps you can take to make it easier to control your heating room-to-room. If you have traditional thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) installed, adjust these up and down to suit each zone.
For more convenience, invest in smart radiator thermostats like Wiser to schedule and control your heating in each room to suit your day-to-day lifestyle. Take control anytime, anywhere with the Wiser Home app.
Whatever method you use, ensure you keep your radiators bled and doors and windows closed, to maximise central heating efficiency and reduce heat loss.
- Reduce your boiler flow temperature
This measure involves turning down your boiler’s thermostat, which controls the temperature of water sent to your radiators. Setting it to a lower temperature can help the boiler run more efficiently. The Energy Saving Trust states that turning your boiler temperature flow temperature down could save between 8% and 13% on your gas bills on average. Visit their website for advice on how to turn down boiler flow temperature and the considerations.
- Opt for a shower instead of a bath
The average bath needs around 90 litres of water, usually 60 litres hot and up to 30 cold. A typical thermostatic shower by comparison releases nine litres per minute, usually 6 litres hot and 3 litres cold. By opting for a shower and keeping it short – less than 10 minutes – you’ll be reducing both your gas and water bills according to Martyn Bridges of Bosch via The Guardian.
According to Smart Energy GB, cutting your shower time from 8 minutes to 4 minutes could save you £65 a year.
- Insulate your heating system
By insulating the hot water pipes leading away from the boiler, and the water tank if you have one, you’re preventing heat loss from the system, and over time reducing the amount of time the boiler is on. Pipe insulation, also known as lagging, is cheap, easy to install and readily available from home DIY retailers.
You could save £315 a year by insulating a hot water tank according to The Eco Experts compared to having no pipe or tank insulation, that’s an 8% reduction in the average domestic carbon footprint, and a hefty 510kg of CO2 saved per year. A British standard 80mm water tank jacket costs around £16, and pipe insulation costs only around £1.75/metre.
Insulating radiators on external walls to reflect heat back into the room is also worthwhile, with average savings of £35 per year according to the Energy Saving Trust, and average cost of reflector panels being £6-7.
Found these tips helpful? Need help with saving electricity too? Read our 5 Simple and Cheap Tips to Save Electricity at Home
Find out how you could save up to 30% on annual energy bills with Wiser smart heating controls, and happy optimising!