How Can I Save Money on My Heating Bills?

From April 2022, the energy price cap will rise by 54% so the cost of heating your home will increase. We understand how difficult these kinds of unprecedented price rises can be, so in this guide we’ll explore some ideas and new technologies that can help you reduce both your energy bills and carbon emissions. You’ll find out: 

• What the energy price cap changes mean for you 
• Ways to improve your home’s energy-efficiency 
• How a Smart thermostat can save you money 
• Things you can do to future-proof your home  
• How underfloor heating can reduce your heating bills by 30% 

What is the energy price cap? 

The energy price cap is set by Ofgem to ensure a maximum rate your energy supplier can charge you for a default tariff. Because of the current instability of the energy market, the cost of energy production is currently very high, and these heightened costs will be reflected in your future bills.  

Will my energy bills cost more?

Yes, in most cases, they will. As confirmed by Ofgem, from the 1st of April the energy price cap will increase by 54% for those on a default tariff, so your gas and electricity bills will rise accordingly. The average price cap for electricity will be £0.28 per kWh, with an average daily standing charge of £0.45. For gas, these prices will be £0.07 per kWh, with an average daily standing charge of £0.27. These costs will vary based on where you live, your meterage system and how you pay your bills. This means the average UK home will be paying nearly £2000 a year for their energy, compared to the current average cost of £1277. To find out more information about these prices and what they will mean for you, contact your supplier to discuss your current tariff or visit Ofgem.  

How can I improve my home’s energy performance? 

To help reduce the costs of rising energy bills, it’s a great idea to look at making your home more energy-efficient – thereby reducing energy wastage and in turn, costs.  

A popular method to increase the energy-efficiency of homes is by installing good insulation. Making sure your home’s walls, floors, and loft are well insulated keeps the warmth produced by your heating system inside the space whilst keeping the cold air outside from coming in. Double and triple-glazed windows and draught proofing will also protect you and your family from cold outdoor temperatures.  

Updating your heating system is another way to dramatically save energy. Radiant underfloor heating is a much cleaner and more efficient way to heat a home compared to traditional heating systems. Installing Warmup’s underfloor heating solutions throughout your home could help save over 1621 kWh of energy per year and bring substantial savings. Read our expert guide to find more tips about improving the efficiency of your home.  

Reduce your energy usage by 25% with a Smart thermostat

Looking for some immediate steps you can take to reduce your costs? Using Smart multi-zone thermostats to control your heating system can save you up to an additional 25% on energy, compared to basic thermostats. 

Warmup’s collection of Smart Thermostats ensure that your home is heated at the right time and at the right temperature for your needs. This kind of optimised multi-zone heating means only the rooms that are required to be warm are heated, thereby conserving energy and bringing cost-savings. Our 6iE Smart WiFi Thermostat is the world’s first underfloor heating controller with a Smartphone touchscreen and provides intuitive control and automatic control of your heating to reduce wasted energy. Looking for something simpler? The Element WiFi Thermostat is our latest innovation in floor heating control, offering all of our smart energy saving features, in a beautiful and easy to use package. 

The konekt Wireless Controls for central heating systems and water underfloor heating systems (also known as hydronic and wet systems) are perfect if you’re looking to upgrade your heating system and want to enjoy the benefits of Smart technology. Using a Warmup Smart Thermostat alongside our MyHeating and AutoSwitch Smartphone apps could save you hundreds of pounds a year on your energy bills.  

What are some long-term things I can do to future-proof my home against rising prices?

If you’re interested in long-term solutions to improve the sustainability of your home and keep you protected from further price rises, there are a wide range of options you can explore.  

You could consider installing a new heat source that makes use of renewable energy such as a ground or air-source heat pump, a biomass boiler or a solar thermal system whilst also thinking about fitting new solar-panels working alongside storage batteries for your electric needs. These energy-saving measures can be expensive to install but they will lower the carbon footprint of your home and can lessen the impact of energy-market disruptions. Electric energy is still currently more expensive than gas but as the energy sector develops more low-carbon technologies, this may not always be the case.  

Heat pumps are ideal to use with a water underfloor heating system whereas electric floor heaters are great to use with solar power if you’re interested in moving away from the national energy grid. Read our informative guide to find out more about the benefits of using heat pumps with underfloor heating. 

Reduce your heating bills by 40% with underfloor heating 

Homes with underfloor heating are more comfortable and up to 40% more efficient than homes using central heating systems.  Houses with correctly designed underfloor heating can take advantage of the radiant effect, which warms people with infrared energy, rather than just warming the air. This means the same feeling of warmth can be achieved with lower air temperatures, which reduces energy loss by around 10%. Correctly designed underfloor heating can also improve the efficiency of the heat source, such as the boiler or heat pump by 10-30%, by operating at lower water temperatures than traditional radiator systems. Want to learn how much you could save with UFH? Find out more about the running costs and savings with a Warmup system.  

To illustrate how much money you could save, let’s compare the costs of heating a typically-sized UK home – featuring 3-bedrooms, 1-bathroom, double-glazed windows and reasonable levels of insulation – with a gas boiler-based central heating system vs. one utilising a water underfloor heating system: 

As you can see, installing an underfloor heating system in your house could save you over £300 a year on your heating bills.  

And if you’re interested in even greater savings, then consider installing a heat pump with your new floor heating system. Let’s look at the costs of heating the same sized home with UFH and a heat pump vs. a traditional central heating system:  

That’s an incredible saving of nearly £700 a year.  

Check out this inspiring home renovation project featuring a Warmup system to see what a difference underfloor heating could make for you. 

How does floor heating improve energy-efficiency? 

Floor heaters utilise radiant heat technology to heat a room in a much more energy-conscious and efficient way. Radiant heating warms a room from the ground up and directly into the objects and people in the space, as opposed to central heating which focuses on heating the air of a room which wastes significant energy. UFH systems also have quick heat-up times and run at lower temperatures than central heating systems, whilst still maintaining the same level of warmth, so they require less energy to reach ideal comfort levels. This energy-efficient technology can dramatically reduce the carbon footprint of your home. See the difference in carbon emissions for the same typically sized UK home if heated with UFH instead of central heating: 

As you can see, if you replaced your home’s existing central system with a heat pump and Warmup floor heating, you could reduce your home’s carbon emissions by nearly 1900 kgCO2/year.  

If you want to enjoy the long-term cost savings of underfloor heating, get a free instant quote today. Our innovative online quoting tool will find the best heater for your home and tell you exactly how much it will cost to purchase. Suitable for both renovations and new-build projects, Warmup’s radiant heating solutions can be used with almost all floor finishes and are simple to install and easy to use.