I’m a boiler engineer – the forgotten setting adding £108 a year to energy bills and how to change it

MILLIONS of households will be worried about their energy bills this winter – but some might be accidentally causing theirs to go up.

Boilers are one of the most used items in our homes and with the chillier months kicking in we’re all trying to use them more efficiently.

Under the current energy price cap, the average household pays £1,923 for their gas and electricity.

The cap is on the price you pay per unit of energy and not your overall bill, so if you use more than average, your annual bills will be higher than this.

So, since you could pay more if you use more energy, it’s important to keep an eye out for common mistakes that could cost you more.

Daniel Khanlarpour from Gas Guru has been a gas engineer for more than 16 years and has pretty much seen it all when it comes to boilers.

He says that one of the most common boiler mistakes he sees could add up to £108 to the average household’s energy bill – and it’s easily avoidable.

If the pre-heat feature on your boiler is on constantly, you could be driving up your energy bill.

Daniel said the average home could save the cash by simply disabling the function.

He said: “Most of my customers aren’t even aware that their boiler has a pre-heat function so when it’s disabled most people won’t know a difference.

“It can also avoid people being disturbed in the middle of the night when the boiler kicks in to heat itself up.”

Many modern combi-boilers have a feature called “pre heat”.

This keeps the boiler warm 24/7 to minimise the amount of time it takes the hot water to reach your taps.

Disabling this feature will mean it only takes a few extra seconds to get hot water from the tap though.

Each boiler is different, so if you’re wanting to turn of this function, make sure you check the manual first because you don’t want to acidentally disable something else.

More tips to save on energy bills

If you’re looking to find more ways to stop wasting money on your energy bills, there’s more you can do.

The experts at Checkatrade have shared some home heat-proofing hacks that could improve your home’s heating efficiency.

Draught proofing can save the average household £45 a year, the team said.

You can do this by using rugs, draught excluders or thicker curtains to prevent heat from escaping under doors and between floorboards

Another tip is bleeding radiators, if your radiator is making a clicking sound or taking a long time to heat up, it may need bleeding.

This prevents energy waste by removing excess air and distributing heat more evenly.

By increasing the jacket thickness on your hot water cylinder you can save around £35 a year.

This is because it keeps your hot water at temperature for longer, without the need to use more energy.

Placing insulation foil behind radiators redirects as much heat inside the home as possible and stops it from diffusing through outside walls.

Checkatrade also recommends making the most of the heat you’ve already paid for.

You can do this by leaving the oven door open after cooking to circulate the warmth or filling the kettle with room-temperature water.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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