We can’t stop the fuel price rises. But we can help you make sure you are getting all the assistance that you are entitled to, and not wasting energy and money. Read on to find out about the advice available to Somerset residents, and how you might be able to save several £100s per year with some simple tweaks to your boiler.
Advice and assistance
The Centre for Sustainable Energy offer free energy-saving advice to Somerset residents. Phone (free) on 0800 038 5730 (9am to 5pm weekdays), use this contact form and someone will call you back, or email home.energy@cse.org.uk.
The government’s Help for Households campaign gives details of all the benefits and financial support you may be entitled to. Much of the support with energy costs will happen automatically.
Somerset County Council is distributing the Household Support Fund to provide short-term urgent financial help to Somerset residents who are struggling to afford household essentials.
Tweak your boiler
If you have what is called a condensing combi boiler, its factory settings will likely overheat your water, making it run inefficiently. Turning your flow temperature down to around 60˚ will keep your house warm enough and save up to £200 per year.
You can also turn off the hot water pre-heat (on some boilers this is done by switching on Eco mode), to save a bit more.
Watch this 9 minute YouTube video to see how to do it.
Remember, you can’t break your boiler. If your house ends up too cool, you can just turn it back up again.
Do not make these changes to other kinds of boiler. If you have no loft insulation get this done first, otherwise your house may not be warm enough.
How can I tell if I have a condensing combi boiler?
If you do not have a hot-water cylinder, you have a combi boiler. If it was installed after 2005, it will be condensing. Another way to tell is that these boilers have at least five pipes coming out of them, one of which is plastic.
Do not make these changes to other types of boiler.
Turn down your other heating controls
Turning your thermostats down by one degree can save about £150 per year in an average property.
If you have thermostatic radiator valves (see the picture), a setting of 3 should heat the room to about 21 degrees. You may find a lower temperature comfortable.
If you are older or have a long-term health condition, do not turn the temperature down below 21 degrees in living rooms and 18 degrees in bedrooms.
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LED lighting
Modern LED lights use about 10% of the energy of older bulbs, so about 50p per year each to run instead of £5. For a whole house, this quickly adds up, particularly if you have lots of halogen downlighters.
They should last for about ten years, and will pay for themselves in just over six months.
