If you have gas central heating it is very likely you already have a programmer or timeswitch programmer installed. Many people use these to switch the boiler on at certain times. For example, if you are normally out during the day you might have the boiler come on at 6am and off at 9am then on again at 5pm and off at 10pm. Perhaps if you are normally in, you would have it on a little longer during the day and still let it go off during the night.

So the question is whether you use it or whether your heating is on continuously from Autumn to Spring? When was the last time you checked it was on the timed setting and not on “continuous”? When was the last time you checked the clock was right and the on and off times were right for you?

We carried out this check at the church last year and found opportunities for saving straight away. A year later we have seen that these savings seem to have resulted in lower gas consumption. So we expect our bills to be lower than they would otherwise have been. Lower gas consumption also means lower greenhouse gas emissions from the boiler exhaust.

The benefit can also apply to hot water as well as heating, especially if you have a hot water tank. You only really need to heat water when you are about to use it.

There are smart thermostat products available that help with reducing the time the boiler is on which you may have or which might appeal to you. However we’re not reviewing their effectiveness here. Diligently using the existing simple timer may be all you need to reduce your bills without needing to spend anything.

For other ways to save without spending have a look here.