Lowering the flow temperature of your boiler can result in significant savings (Image: Getty)
Households across the UK will be up to £87 better off per year by making one boiler change this winter.
February has kicked off to a particularly cold and wet start, and the outlook for the rest of the week isn’t looking much brighter, which means households will be cranking the heating to fend off the chilly temperatures. The Met Office is forecasting more rain showers across many parts of the country on Wednesday, with colder air starting to move into northern Scotland before spreading further south on Thursday. The national forecaster said by Friday, the colder air mass will become more dominant, with temperatures expected to fall below average across much of the UK, and snowfall on higher ground in parts of Scotland, north Wales and northern England. So with more wintry weather on the horizon, households won’t be switching the heating off any time soon, which means more expense on energy bills.
The NHS recommends heating your home to at least 18C during the winter months to stay healthy and help fend off nasty seasonal bugs like colds, flu and Covid. But heating bills can be expensive, particularly as Ofgem’s energy price cap increased by 0.2% last month, taking the average bill for households in England, Scotland and Wales on a standard energy tariff up to £1,758 per year. But households can cut their energy costs by up to £87 per year with one simple boiler change before turning on their heating.
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According to heating experts, one adjustment to your boiler’s flow temperature can yield significant savings and improve its efficiency.
Most boilers are set to a high flow temperature of 70C to 80C by default and while this setting ensures fast heating, it wastes energy as excess heat escapes through the boiler flue.
But if you lower the flow temperature to 55C to 60C, boilers can operate in “condensing mode” which is more efficient as it recovers heat that would otherwise be lost. This adjustment also doesn’t change the thermostat’s set temperature, though it may mean your radiators take slightly longer to warm up.
The Energy Saving Trust explains: “According to research from Nesta, lowering the flow temperature of your boiler improves your boiler’s efficiency by around 4%. The boiler doesn’t need to heat the water going to your radiators so much, which should lower your heating bills.
“This works best if you have a combi boiler, when you can reduce your flow temperature to about 60 degrees. If you have a conventional boiler with a hot water cylinder, make sure the temperature is no lower than 65 degrees. This stops harmful bacteria forming in your hot water supply.”
Nicholas Auckland, heating and energy expert at Trade Radiators, says lowering your boiler’s flow temperature to 55C to 60C can save roughly 9% to 12% on energy bills, which amounts to savings between £65 and £87, assuming a typical home uses 11,500 KWh/year of gas.
The change won’t make your home any colder; it simply means that the water leaving the boiler is slightly cooler, so while radiators in your rooms might feel less hot, and rooms may take a bit longer to warm up, the thermostat setting doesn’t change, and you can still reach the same room temperature.
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Experts at Trade Radiators say adjusting the flow temperature from 80C down to 60C can result in a 9% saving (1,035 kWh), amounting to £65.10 per year, while reducing the temperature from 80C to 55C can yield a 12% saving (1,380 kWh), which amounts to £86.80 per year.
Mr Auckland said: “Lowering the flow temperature is a free, two minute adjustment that helps a condensing boiler do what it was designed to do – condense effectively and waste less energy.
“For many households that’s an easy £65 to £87 saving at today’s prices, which can make the world of difference come Christmas time when money is tight.”
