How to save money on your energy bills

Setting your thermostat to the lowest temperature you feel comfortable will save you money.
For many homes, that’s usually between 18°C and 21°C. If you’re able to lower your thermostat from 22°C to 21°C, you could cut your energy use and save roughly £90 a year in GB and £80 in NI.

(Energy Saving Trust, 2025)

Your boiler’s flow temperature sets how hot the water is when it leaves the boiler. If you have a combi boiler, you may be able to lower it to around 50–55°C in milder weather to improve efficiency. An engineer can also install controls that adjust it automatically.
(Energy Saving Trust, 2025)

Wash clothes at a lower temperature. It’s estimated that around 60% of the carbon footprint of doing laundry comes from heating the water. Using a 30°C cycle—or the shortest cycle where possible—means less water, lower temperatures and shorter spin times, helping you save energy and money.(Uswitch, 2026)

Place lids on pots when you’re cooking. You’ll use less energy and time to cook your food by preventing heat escaping from the pot. Turn off the heat a couple of minutes before your food is fully cooked. Your pot will take some time to cool down and continue to heat your food.

Don’t overfill kettles. If your kettle doesn’t let you see how many cups worth of water you’re boiling, simply fill a cup from the tap, or however much you need, and pour it into the kettle.

Use 'eco' settings on appliances. Appliances, such as dishwashers, often have an ‘eco’ setting which is designed to use less energy. Although the cleaning cycle can take longer, it will be more energy efficient than an intensive quick cycle.

Close the fridge door. Leaving the fridge door open causes it to work harder to keep the temperature cool, so try to limit how long the door stays open. If your fridge has an alarm, make sure it’s turned on, in case you leave it open by mistake. Defrosting your freezer regularly will help it to run efficiently too.

If your hot water is too hot to wash your hands in, then your setting is too high so turn the boiler down.

Four-minute shower. Shorter showers use less water and less energy to heat it, which can help reduce your bills. A four‑minute shower could save you around £45 a year and up to 17,000 litres of water. (Energy Saving Trust, 2025). The charity WaterAid has created a playlist of four-minute songs to keep you to time.

Fitting a water efficient shower head can help cut your hot water use while still giving you a powerful shower. It could save you around £25 a year and about 9,200 litres of water. (Energy Saving Trust, 2025)

Good ventilation is important. Taking a bath or shower in a poorly ventilated bathroom will create more moisture in the air, making it harder to heat. That could mean your boiler has to work harder to warm a radiator. If you don’t have an extractor fan, then keep a window open until any moisture clears.

Lower the temperature. The Sleep Foundation (2025) suggests that a bedroom temperature of around 18.3°C can support better sleep. You don’t have to be exact, but thermostatic radiator valves make it easier to control temperatures room‑by‑room. Lowering the heat in rooms you’re not using can also help you save energy and reduce your bills.

Get more from your radiators. When dust gathers on radiators in makes them less effective. Make sure you keep the top and back clear of dust. It’s the same problem with dust at the back of fridges but moving them can be tricky. Avoid drying clothes on radiators too – this makes your boiler work harder.

Turn off standby. Leaving appliances on standby means they’re still using energy. The same goes for any room but living rooms can be home to a range of household gadgets, from televisions to music systems. Although it may be a small amount, it starts to add up if you do this every day – wasting energy and money.

Let the light in. It’s common for living rooms to have the largest area of glass in the home. On sunnier days, natural light will help nudge the temperature up naturally.

Reduce draughts. It can be difficult to work out where cold draughts are coming from, but gaps in wooden floorboards or open fireplaces can be culprits. Under floor insulation is one solution, but it might be cheaper and less of an upheaval to fill the gaps with a specially designed filler. For fireplaces, whether you use them or not, it’s best to get professional help. Especially if the solution involves inserting a draught stopper or accessing the roof to change the chimney.

The Warm Home Discount is a one off discount off your winter electricity bill. You may be eligible if you claim the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit or are on a low income. If you qualify, your electricity supplier will apply the discount to your bill automatically.

Check with your energy supplier if you're eligible

The Winter Fuel Payment is a one‑off payment to help with your heating costs in the colder months. You may be eligible if you were born before 28 June 1960. If you qualify, you’ll usually get it automatically and receive a letter explaining what you’ll get.

Check your eligibility and apply.

The Energy Company Obligation (ECO) is an agreement with energy suppliers to provide affordable energy through the Affordable Warmth scheme. This scheme can help with the cost of insulation work or boiler upgrades. 

It's available to people on certain benefits and live in private housing, and to those living in social housing.

Find out more:

• Energy Company Obligation (ECO) on the Gov.uk website.
• Affordable Warmth Scheme on the NI House Executive website.