As October gives way to November, the familiar ritual returns: the heating clicks on, the lights go on earlier, and the tumble dryer earns its keep. For millions of households across the UK, winter brings a sharp reminder that energy is one of the biggest monthly costs — and one of the few where small changes can make a real difference.
The seven checks below need no major renovation or big upfront spend. They start with the evening routine in the next section and end with the tariff and entitlement checks in section 7.
A winter evening, worked through
It helps to picture a single evening, because that is where most winter energy goes. Say you get home from work and school at around half past five, the house is cold, and everyone wants the living room warm for the evening. The cheapest version of that evening looks like this: the heating was timed to come on half an hour before you got in, so the living room is already comfortable; the thermostat is set at the level you actually need for sitting still in the evening, not the level you would want for walking around in a T-shirt; the curtains are drawn once it is dark, which keeps the warmth in; and the bedrooms stay cooler, with the heating turned down there, because nobody is in them until bedtime. The television, the cooking and the homework all happen in the one warm room, rather than heating the whole house for rooms nobody is using. Nothing in that evening feels like a sacrifice — it is just the heating fitted around the way the household actually lives.
1. Turn the Thermostat Down by One Degree
The thermostat setting is where to start. Many homes are heated a degree or two warmer than they need to be, simply out of habit. Try dropping the setting by one degree for a week and see whether anyone in the house actually notices — in most homes, nobody does, yet the boiler runs for less time across the whole season.
If you are working at a desk or watching television in the evening, a jumper or a blanket does the same job as an extra degree on the thermostat, for free. Programmers and smart thermostats can help too: set the heating to come on shortly before you wake and before you return home, rather than running it all day.
2. Draught-Proof Your Doors and Windows
Warm air is expensive, and cold air sneaking in through gaps is money leaking out. Draughts around front doors, letterboxes, keyholes, and older sash windows are among the most common culprits in British homes — and among the cheapest to fix.
Self-adhesive foam strips, brush strips for the bottom of doors, and a simple cover for the letterbox can all be fitted in an afternoon with no special tools. Pay attention to the rooms you actually use: sealing the living room and bedrooms makes far more difference than draught-proofing a rarely used spare room.
3. Switch to LED Bulbs
If your home still uses older halogen or incandescent bulbs, swapping them for LEDs is one of the quickest wins available. LEDs use a fraction of the electricity for the same brightness and last far longer, so you buy replacements less often too.
Start with the lights that are on the most — the kitchen, the living room, the hallway — and work through the rest as older bulbs fail. A bulb that is on for five hours every winter evening is the one worth changing first, and once it is done you will not think about it again.
4. Make the Most of Off-Peak Hours
Many households are on tariffs that charge different rates at different times of day. If yours does, running the dishwasher, washing machine, or tumble dryer during cheaper off-peak hours can reduce what you pay for the same chores.
A smart meter makes this easier to track, because you can see exactly when your usage spikes and what it costs. Even without one, a quick look at your tariff details — or a call to your supplier — will tell you whether cheaper overnight or weekend rates are available to you.
5. Look After Your Radiators
Radiators only do their job properly when heat can move freely. A sofa pushed up against a radiator, long curtains hanging over it, or a radiator covered with drying clothes all trap warm air where it does no good.
Bleeding radiators that are cold at the top is another quick job worth doing at the start of the heating season: trapped air stops them filling with hot water, so the boiler works harder for less warmth. Reflective panels fitted behind radiators on outside walls can also help bounce a little more heat back into the room instead of into the brickwork.
6. Wash Smarter, Shower Shorter
Hot water is one of the biggest hidden costs in the home. Washing clothes at 30 degrees instead of 40, waiting until you have a full load, and cutting a couple of minutes off the average shower all add up over a winter.
Kettles deserve a mention too. Boiling only the water you need — rather than filling the kettle to the brim for a single cup — is a tiny habit that saves a surprising amount of energy across hundreds of cups a year.
7. Check Your Tariff and Your Entitlements
Finally, the simplest check of all: are you on the best deal available to you? Tariffs change, and loyalty rarely pays. A comparison of what is on offer — and a call to your current supplier to ask whether they can match it — costs nothing and can pay off.
It is also worth checking what support you may be entitled to. Schemes such as the Warm Home Discount, Winter Fuel Payment, and help from local councils and charities exist precisely for the colder months, and many households who qualify never claim.
The Warm Home Discount is a one-off discount on electricity bills for households on a low income or receiving certain benefits. In most cases it is applied by your energy supplier, so the practical step is to ask your supplier whether you qualify and whether it has been applied — some households need to apply, and the supplier can confirm either way. The Winter Fuel Payment is different: it is for people over State Pension age, and it is usually paid automatically to those receiving the State Pension. If you are over State Pension age and it has not arrived, that is worth chasing, because it may mean your details are out of date.
Beyond those two schemes, a benefits check is worth doing even if you think you would not qualify. Citizens Advice runs free checks, and local councils sometimes have their own hardship or energy funds for households that fall between the cracks of the national schemes. A few minutes checking eligibility can be worth far more than any single energy-saving gadget.
What to do first this week
This week, do two things: set the heating timer to come on half an hour before you get home and check the thermostat setting for the evening room, then call your supplier to ask whether the Warm Home Discount has been applied and whether you qualify. Those two checks cover the evening routine and the entitlement check in section 7; work through the draught-proofing, LED and radiator checks over the following weekends.