As families prepare themselves for soaring bills due to the energy crisis, one mother has shared a hack that has saved her £95 on energy bills since December.
The woman has taken to the internet to lend a helping-hand with this trick, which involves checking your flow settings on your boiler.
Posting on Mumsnet, the anonymous woman said the tip was sent to her in an email by Octopus Energy as part of the provider's Winter Warmer scheme, Chronicle Live reports.
The trick involves the flow settings on your boiler, which controls the temperature that hot water is heated to before you turn on your taps.
She said: "You can use less gas by checking your flow settings on your boiler.
"Mine was set to 80 degrees by default which meant I was spending huge amounts on heating up water that then has to be cooled down with cold water.
"I'm taking part in the Octopus Winter Workout and according to them I have saved £95 since the beginning of December and this is the only substantial change I have made."
It works for anybody that has a boiler, and does not take long to change.
Typically boilers come at a pre-set temperature that is higher than needed and does nothing to heat up your home.
It is something that can add massively to your bills and emissions.
Here's what Octopus Energy says you need to do.
- If you have a combi boiler, set your flow temperature to 50c for heating and 55c for hot water – it’ll take a little longer to heat up, but the gas and CO2 savings make it worthwhile.
- If you have a boiler and a hot water cylinder, set the flow temperature on your boiler to a few degrees over 60c for heating and hot water, and setting your hot water cylinder to 60c also (you’ll usually find the control for your cylinder ⅓ of the way up the tank.)
If you have a hot water cylinder, you should keep the dial on 60 degrees or more to stop bacteria like legionella from multiplying.
If you have a combi boiler, you don't need to worry, legionella only breeds in standing water and combis keep it flowing.
The mum said: "I assumed everyone knew about this except me but my sister hadn't heard of it and she's very hot on money saving so I thought there must be others out there."
Octopus estimates that on average, turning the water flow temperature down will save you 8% on your gas bills.
To read all of our biggest and best stories first sign up to our newsletter here.
