If you have a combi boiler in your home then it’s worth spending a few moments looking at a couple of settings on it to see if they are costing you more than they need to
Now that winter is here, most people’s energy bills will rise as they warm their homes during the colder months ahead.
On top of this, from January next year energy bills are set to rise by an average of 1.2% a month following Ofgem’s announcement of the new energy price cap. This means the average dual fuel household paying by direct debit will see their yearly bill go up from £1,717 a year to £1,738 – an increase of £21.
Understandably then people will want to make sure they are only spending as much as they need when it comes to their heating systems. Yet a post on TikTok suggested that most temperature settings on boilers are set too high, which could end up wasting you precious money.
A man in the short clip, entitled ‘Listen Up Guys This Could Save You Money’ and posted on The Sterling Man, begins: “This simple trick could reduce your gas bill. According to Octopus Energy, most people have the temperature settings on their boiler set too high. Octopus Energy recommend setting your hot water temperature down to 55.”
He then goes on: “The radiator temperature, Vaillant recommends that this can go down to 60. However, Octopus Energy recommends this can go as low as 50.” The man is then seen rotating both the hot water and radiator switches on the front of a boiler anti-clockwise so that the temperatures reads 55 and 50 respectively. The caption points out that this is specifically for a ‘condensing combi boiler in a modern home.’
This TikToker isn’t the only one aware that your boiler settings could be costing you more than it should. Martin Lewis recently suggested some useful ways to cut down on bills while still being able to have the heating on.
According to the expert, most combi boiler flow temperatures are usually set higher by default, but he stressed that this “isn’t the most efficient mode”. The ‘flow’ is the water that “circulates around the system and heats your radiators” and switching it can help save on bills.
“Combi boilers work best when they heat radiators to 60°C or below. But this flow temperature is often set much too high, often between 70°C and 80°C. You can set this with the control on your boiler that usually has a radiator symbol on it,” the money guru added.
