I’m a heating expert – here’s four tips to save up to £692 on your bills this year

HIKED charges and a seemingly never-ending energy crisis are crippling Brits finances, so many are eager to slash costs any way they can.

Households are forking out hundreds more than they used to, to foot their monthly bills.

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Energy bills alone are expected to rise by at least 51% this year according to Cornwall Insights and could jump by another £600 before long too.

That’s without the rocketing cost of living and other bills toppling household budgets nationwide too.

Last year, the average families would spend on all their bills was around £2,550 a month, according to the ONS Family Spending report, but one expert reckons you can slash that cost by almost a fifth.

Matthew Jenkins, heating expert from MyJobQuote has revealed how to save up to £692 on household bills this year.

Taking on each of the tips could help lower costs by hundreds of pounds and see your energy usage dip, which is welcomed as many Brits clutch tight at their purse strings at the beginning of the year.

Here are the key things he says you should change if you want to keep prices down.

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Heat your home efficiently – save £55 a year

As much as 20% of your home’s heat escapes in the winter season so it’s almost like you’re throwing money out the window with every unsealed crack and gap.

Households could save an average of £55 a year by heating their homes more efficiently though.

Matthew said: “Before even putting the heating on, first identify ways in which it can easily escape.”

This might be through gaps in poorly glazed windows and doors or unused chimneys, unused vents and uninsulated walls.

So you’ll need a form of insulation to trap the heat instead, but this doesn’t have to cost an arm and a leg.

Matthew said: “Depending on the size of your home, you can expect to pay upwards of £5,000 for internal insulation.

“But to do it cheaper, buy draught excluders to cover up any gaps between your window and door frames, which will prevent heat escaping and cold air entering.

“The only risk with sealing up any ventilation is this means rooms are unable to ‘breathe’ and this can create further issues such as damp, which is a costly issue to solve.”

Switch light bulbs – save £232 a year

Switching out some of the tech you have in your home could help save on bills too, and it could be as simple as changing a lightbulb.

“Switching light bulbs to more energy-efficient ones is one of the easiest ways to save money and avoid wasting energy,” Matthew said.

“Although LED bulbs are slightly more expensive than normal bulbs, they use 80% less electricity and can save homeowners £232 a year.”

Reduce the temperature – save £55 a year

The average household sets their thermostat at 21 degrees, which is three degrees higher than the cheapest you could get away with whilst staying comfortable.

Matthew also explained that you can save at least £55 a year on your heating bills by reducing your thermostat by just one degree.

“If your boiler is working efficiently then reducing your thermostat by just one degree will save you money without compromising on your comfort indoors,” he said.

“As a rule of thumb, for every degree you increase the temperature, your heating bill will increase by 10%, so it adds up.”

But it takes more than fixing just the heating itself, as factors in your home can affect how much warmth you actually feel.

If you’ve got furniture blocking a radiator then you’re not going to benefit from the heat, or if a radiator is on what is an outside uninsulated wall the heat is going to escape the wrong way rather than heat the room.

Matthew said: “There are ways to help optimise your heating and radiators.

“One simple idea is to place a shelf just above a radiator to help throw heat into the room rather than letting it simply rise to the ceiling.”

Check your boiler – Save up to £350

Matthew said: “An older and inefficient boiler can cost you up to 30% more than necessary and, on average, can cost you £350 more than a newer boiler model.”

But he revealed that there are tell-tale signs to spot your boiler may need replacing to a newer, more efficient model.

These include spotting hiked gas bills which mean your boiler is using more gas than it should be, or an unpredictable pressure gauge – it should be between one and two on the gauge and anything more or less means problems.

If your boiler isn’t up to scratch then you could get cold spots across the home, costing more money than necessary and the tech will be powering on with no output felt.

But you’ll need to factor in that buying a replacement boiler is going to be expensive initially with up front costs between £300 – £500 according to Which?.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk