Four Ways to Slash Your Bills - From Free Fixes to Future-Proofing Your Home

Want to Save on Energy Bills This Winter? Start Here

If you’re looking for practical, trusted ways to make your home warmer, greener and cheaper to run this winter, these are the four most effective steps - from zero-cost actions to future-proof upgrades.

This post answers the questions often asked by homeowners:

• Does lowering my boiler temperature really save money?

• What can I do before installing a heat pump?

• How can I make my home more efficient?

• Are there any grants available?

1. Zero-Cost: Turn Down Your Boiler Flow Temperature

Most boilers in the UK are running hotter than they need to. By reducing the flow temperature - the temperature of water leaving your boiler - to around 60 °C, your system works more efficiently.

Why it works

Condensing boilers only reach top efficiency when the return water is cool enough to condense. Lower flow = more condensing = less gas burned.

How to do it

• Find your central heating temperature setting (on your boiler, not the room thermostat).

• Reduce it to around 60 °C.

• Let your home warm gradually - it may take longer, but uses less energy.

If your rooms don’t quite reach target temperature, your radiators might be undersized. That’s easily fixable and part of making your home heat-pump ready.

📦More details:👉 Should I turn my boiler’s flow temperature down? - Energy Saving Trust

2. Low-Cost: Draught-Proof Your Home

Even with the heating on, some homes still feel cold. In fact, a draughty property can exchange two full house-volumes of cold air every hour - air that must be reheated from outdoor to indoor temperature. And moving air is much colder than still air.

Draught-proofing stops that waste while keeping controlled ventilation where it’s needed.

Start with:

• Brush or foam seals around windows and doors

• Letterbox brushes and keyhole covers

• Seal gaps under skirting boards and around pipes

• Insulate and seal your loft hatch

Once sealed, your home stays warm longer, your heating runs less often, and comfort improves dramatically.

📦 Read next:👉 Draughty Home? Make Your Home Heat Pump Ready: Start with an Air Pressure Test

3. Medium-Cost: Insulation and Radiator Upgrades

Insulation and heating distribution are the bridge between comfort and long-term efficiency.

Loft & Wall Insulation

The Energy Saving Trust lists loft and cavity wall insulation among the top ways to reduce heat loss. If your loft insulation is below 270 mm, it’s time to top it up.

• When adding more insulation above the joist height, you’ll need loft pillars or raised boarding systems to keep insulation fluffy, not compressed.

• Check if your walls have empty cavities — if so, cavity fill insulation is one of the best-value measures around.

Loft pillars prevent compressed insulation

Radiator Upgrades

If you’ve turned down your boiler flow temperature, larger or newer radiators will help deliver the same warmth more efficiently. This step is key to being heat-pump ready later.

Upgraded Eskimo Radiator in a Richmond Home

📦 Read next:👉 Do I need to Upgrade my Radiators for a Heat Pump

4. Higher-Cost: Solar, Heat Pump and Battery - The Magic Combo

Our speciality is combining solar panels, a heat pump and a home battery to bring you as close as possible to zero bills. We've done this for customers all over Surrey, Berkshire, Hampshire, Surbiton and Richmond.

How it works

• Heat pump: Uses electricity to move heat from outdoors into your home - typically three times more efficiently than a boiler.

• Solar PV: Generates your own electricity to run your heat pump and appliances.

• Battery storage: Stores excess solar energy for evening use.

These technologies reinforce each other - solar feeds your heat pump, battery smooths demand, and the result is low running costs and a smaller carbon footprint.

Handover session - the customer had a heat pump, solar PV and a battery installed

📦 Read next:

👉 Heat Pump and Solar Panels for Our West London Home

👉 The Smartest Home Energy Retrofit: Cut Bills, Slash Carbon & Futureproof Your Home

Grants and Support You Could Qualify For

The UK government currently funds several schemes to help households cut costs and carbon:

Scheme	What it covers	Grant value	Who’s eligible
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS)	Air & ground source heat pumps	Up to £7,500	Owner-occupiers in England & Wales
Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)	Loft and cavity wall insulation	Free or discounted	Homes EPC D–G, certain council tax bands
ECO4	Efficiency and heating upgrades	Fully funded for some	Low-income or vulnerable households
Local Authority & Warm Homes initiatives	Regional retrofit measures	Varies	Check your local council website

And more support is coming:

The UK government has recommitted £13.2 billion to the forthcoming Warm Homes Plan, a nationwide programme that will fund home insulation, energy efficiency, and low-carbon heating upgrades. Details are expected soon - and we’ll update our blog as soon as they’re announced.

How the Four Steps Build on Each Other

1. Zero-cost: Turn down your flow temperature.

2. Low-cost: Seal draughts and stabilise your home’s heat retention.

3. Medium-cost: Insulate and upgrade radiators to run efficiently at lower temperatures.

4. High-investment: Add solar, heat pump, and battery — and move toward zero bills.

   
   

Each stage makes the next one easier, cheaper, and more impactful.

Take Your Next Step

Small actions now can set you up for a future-proof, energy-efficient home.

📦 Explore your home’s retrofit options with our expert team Contact Your Energy Your Way