Tips for saving energy on heating

One degree lower saves about seven per cent of your heating costs. You notice that on the bill, and after a week you hardly notice it in the house any more. Above 20 degrees is not necessary for most living rooms; 19 degrees with a thicker jumper feels fine for most people. Turn it down step by step, half a degree a week, and you will get used to it naturally.

Amount: own calculation at an average consumption of 1.170 m³ of gas, 2026 price level.

There is no reason at all to heat the bedroom, the guest room or the hall during the day. Simply turn those radiators off and keep the doors to those rooms closed. Watch out for one thing: in a damp room that stays completely cold, mould can develop. Leave such a room on setting 1 and ventilate it daily.

Amount: own calculation, terraced house with four radiators outside the living room.

Heating with a small electric heater is roughly three times as expensive as the same heat from the central heating boiler. As supplementary heating, however, it can actually be smart: if you are working on your own in the study, an hour of the heater is cheaper than the whole house one degree warmer. It gets expensive as soon as the heater is on all day.

Amount: own calculation at 2 hours a day during the heating season.

Most households have a fixed rhythm: nobody home during the day, everyone in bed at night. Set those times properly in the thermostat once and you never have to think about it again. Almost every modern thermostat can do it, and with an app you can switch it on on your way back so that you still come home to a warm house.

Amount: own calculation at 3 degrees lower for 8 hours a day.

Draught strips and door seals cost a few tens of euros and can be fitted in an afternoon. On a windy day, feel along the edges of your outside doors and windows for draughts, and start there. Don't forget the letterbox and the keyhole of the front door, those are two holes straight to the outside. More jobs and materials can be found in the insulation tips.

Amount: own calculation, house from the eighties without previous draught-proofing.

Adults sleep best between 15 and 19 degrees, so the radiator can be off. For babies and young children it is different: there the advice is 18 to 21 degrees. If you sleep with the window ajar, keep the bedroom door closed, otherwise you draw the heat from the rest of the house outside.

Amount: own calculation for two unheated bedrooms.

Your house does not cool down all at once, so you hardly notice that last hour on the sofa. If you have underfloor heating, start earlier: it reacts slowly and retains the heat for a long time. Without underfloor heating, you can safely set it to 15 degrees in that last hour.

Amount: own calculation at 1 hour per evening, the whole heating season.

Does a radiator gurgle or tick, or does the top stay cold while the bottom is warm? Then there is air in it and it only heats half. Bleeding takes two minutes per radiator with a bleed key. Do it at the start of the heating season and then check the boiler's water pressure.

Amount: own calculation, efficiency loss of a half-filled radiator.

A curtain hanging in front of the radiator sends the heat past the cold window to the outside instead of into the room. The same applies to a sofa pushed tight against it. Let the curtains end at the windowsill and keep ten centimetres clear around the radiator.

Amount: own calculation with one covered radiator in the living room.

An open stairwell draws warm air straight upstairs, where you usually don't need it. A closed interior door keeps the heat in the room you are sitting in. If you don't have a door to the hall, a heavy curtain in the opening does a surprising amount.

Amount: own calculation, terraced house with an open stairwell.

Working and studying demonstrably go better at a lower temperature, so set the radiator low there. If you work from home and sit still, an extra cardigan or a heated cushion is cheaper than heating the whole house more.

Amount: own calculation at five working days at home per month.

Single glazing loses the most heat of anywhere in the house. HR++ glass is the best choice, but is a considerable investment. If that is not possible, secondary glazing is a cheaper alternative that delivers most of the difference. Always check first whether there is a subsidy available via the energy subsidies.

Amount: own calculation for 10 m² of single glazing to HR++.

A central heating boiler runs throughout the heating season, so efficiency counts heavily here. For boilers older than fifteen years, an HR boiler often pays for itself within a few years. Look for the HR quality mark and the CW label for hot water, and consider renting if the purchase is too much in one go. Everything about the boiler itself can be found in the central heating boiler tips.

Amount: own calculation, replacement of a VR boiler from 2005.

A classic radiator gives off about 40 per cent of its heat as radiation; with an infrared panel that is around 80 per cent. So you heat the people and objects more than the air. In a well-insulated room that you want to heat in a targeted way, that is a fine choice; as a replacement for your entire central heating system, rarely.

Amount: own calculation for targeted heating of one room.