Anyone with a thermostat in their home is urged to make a simple heating change this winter for a £110 boost.

Winter is always a tough time of the year financially, with Christmas putting an extra strain on household budgets and when coupled with expensive heating bills, the costs can quickly add up. But a small tweak to how you run your heating at home can yield significant savings on your energy bills – and it’s a change you can make right away. According to energy experts, setting your thermostat to a specific temperature can save households around £110 per year on average.

Rather than adjusting your thermostat every time you feel cold, it’s instead recommended that you leave it set at a specific temperature all the time, as this avoids wasting energy and is an easy way to cut down on your heating costs.

Experts say the ideal temperature to set your thermostat is between 18C and 21C to stay healthy in winter and to protect against the cold, although the elderly may benefit from a slightly warmer setting.

Octopus Energy explains: “Tweaking your thermostat (using it as an on/off switch or boost for example) can mean more energy is wasted – you’ll be comfier and use your energy more efficiently if you set it and leave it on for when you need it. 

“Setting your thermostat to somewhere between 18-21C is ideal, and turning down the temperature by just 1 degree could save up to £145 on your energy bill.”

According to the Energy Saving Trust, even if your heating is normally set higher than 18C, such as 22C, simply lowering the temperature by one degree will make a huge difference to your energy costs and won’t massively reduce the warmth of your home.

Experts advise using a timer or programmer so you can control when your heating comes on and when it goes off, meaning you aren’t running it and racking up costs when you don’t need to.

It is generally advised that you set the central heating programme to come on around half an hour before you get up and to turn off around half an hour before you go to bed.

The Energy Saving Trust said: “Heating controls help you keep your home comfortably warm without over-heating your rooms and wasting energy.

“By installing and using your heating controls effectively, you could use less energy and save money on your heating bills. In fact, installing heating controls could save you £110 a year in Great Britain (GB) and £110 in Northern Ireland (NI).

“Some heating controls let you control your heating via an app. This lets you adjust your heating while you’re out, so you can get your home nice and cosy for when you get home.”

The experts add: “A room thermostat keeps your home at a steady temperature. It turns the heating on until it reaches your chosen temperature, then switches it off until the room cools slightly.

“You should set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature, which for most people is between 18C and 21C.”