Energy bills: The ‘overlooked’ item that prevents heat ‘bleeding’ out | Personal Finance | Finance
On BBC MoneyBox, reporter Dan Whitworth spoke to Professor Richard Fitton at Energy House on how people can preserve energy in colder houses. He said: “Curtains can make a big difference, they are often overlooked.
“Underneath the curtains are a very heavy weight metal object – radiators, that will height up to 80 degrees and above them is something very thin – our windows.
“So it’s a natural bleeding point for heat.
“So we have these layers of fabric that we can just close and save about two percent on your heating bills by shutting your curtains.
“So shut your curtains when the heating is on which is usually at night, and early mornings.
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“Zero cost way to save energy.”
Despite the recent decline in wholesale gas prices, household energy bills look likely to rise sharply again in 2023.
The Government is set to review its energy price guarantee, which caps the average household bill at around £2,500, in April.
When it was first announced in September, then Prime Minister Liz Truss said the guarantee would remain in place until September 2024.
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Households with flow temperature set at 80 degrees could save around nine percent on their annual gas bill by reducing it to 60 percent, Nesta says.
A medium-sized household using 12,000 kWh of gas a year would cut usage by 1,092 kWh, thus saving it £112 a year at current energy prices.
This is because heat is lost when water travels from the boiler to the radiator.
By reducing the flow temperature to 60 degrees, less heat will be lost and the boiler won’t have to consume as much energy when reheating water, thereby saving money.
If 10 million households were to reduce the flow temperature on their combi boilers to 60C or lower, this could slash UK energy bills by £1billion.
In addition, it could also save 1.7 million tonnes of carbon emissions, equivalent to almost six million transatlantic flights.
