20 Energy Saving Tips UK 2025
Key takeaways
- The average UK household spends around £1,568–£1,849/year on energy (Ofgem price cap, 2025)
- Loft and cavity wall insulation alone can save £150–£600/year
- ECO4 and the Great British Insulation Scheme offer free upgrades to eligible households
- Behavioural changes — heating timers, cold washes, LED lights — cost nothing and save £200+/year
- The Warm Home Discount provides a £150 rebate for qualifying households
With UK energy bills remaining high despite some relief from the Ofgem price cap, reducing consumption is one of the most effective ways to protect household finances in 2025. This guide covers 20 practical, evidence-based tips — from structural improvements worth thousands of pounds to free daily habits that add up to significant savings. We also explain every government scheme available and signpost relevant calculators to help you model the impact on your budget.
Insulation: The Highest-Impact Improvements
Loft Insulation Save £150–£300/yr
Heat rises — up to 25% of heat in an uninsulated home escapes through the roof. Installing 270mm of mineral wool loft insulation in a typical semi-detached house costs £300–£600 professionally or as little as £150 DIY, and pays back within 1–4 years. The Energy Saving Trust recommends 270mm as the optimal depth. If you already have some insulation but it is less than 100mm, topping it up to 270mm still saves around £60–£100/year and may be funded under the Great British Insulation Scheme.
Cavity Wall Insulation Save £200–£450/yr
Around 8 million UK homes have unfilled cavity walls, making this one of the single biggest energy-saving opportunities. Professional installation costs £400–£1,200 depending on house size, but typically pays back within 2–5 years. Eligible households can receive this free under ECO4 or the Great British Insulation Scheme. Check whether your walls are cavity by looking for brickwork laid with the long side facing outward (stretcher bond) — a mixture of long sides and short ends (English or Flemish bond) usually indicates solid walls.
Solid Wall Insulation Save £200–£600/yr
Homes built before 1930 typically have solid brick or stone walls, which lose heat at twice the rate of cavity walls. External wall insulation (EWI) costs £8,000–£20,000 but can dramatically reduce heating bills and improve EPC ratings. Internal wall insulation (IWI) costs less (£4,000–£12,000) but reduces floor area. ECO4 funds solid wall insulation for eligible households. When combined with air-tightness measures, savings reach £400–£600/year for a typical semi-detached home.
Floor Insulation Save £50–£100/yr
Suspended timber floors can lose up to 15% of home heat. Rigid insulation boards or mineral wool between floor joists cost £100–£400 DIY and reduce draughts significantly. For solid concrete floors, insulation is more disruptive but can save £70–£100/year. Even adding thermal underlay beneath carpets and placing rugs on bare floorboards provides measurable improvement at minimal cost.
Heating Controls and Smart Technology
Smart Thermostat Save £75–£150/yr
Smart thermostats such as Nest, Hive, or Tado learn your schedule and automatically reduce heating when you are away or asleep. They cost £100–£250 installed but typically save £75–£150/year, giving a payback period of 1–3 years. Many allow remote control via smartphone, and some have geofencing to start heating when you approach home. Studies by BEIS found smart thermostats reduce gas consumption by 8–18% compared with standard programmers.
Heating Timer & Schedule Save £40–£90/yr
If you do not have a smart thermostat, simply programming your existing boiler timer to match your routine avoids heating an empty home. Set the heating to come on 30 minutes before you wake and turn off 30 minutes before you leave. Using a 7-day programmer instead of a 5/2 split allows different weekend schedules. The common myth that it is cheaper to leave heating on low all day has been disproven — it costs significantly more than heating only when needed.
Smart Meter Awareness + savings
Smart meters transmit readings automatically, eliminating estimated bills and enabling time-of-use tariffs such as Octopus Go (cheap overnight electricity for EV charging) or Agile (variable half-hourly pricing). The in-home display (IHD) shows real-time energy use in pounds and pence, which research shows motivates households to reduce consumption by 2–3% on average. Smart meters are free to have installed — contact your supplier to request one.
Thermostatic Radiator Valves (TRVs) Save £40–£80/yr
TRVs allow you to set different temperatures in different rooms — turn them down in rooms rarely used. Fitting TRVs to all radiators (except the room where your main thermostat is located) costs around £15–£40 per radiator and prevents overheating rooms. Smart TRVs (£40–£80 each) go further, allowing room-by-room scheduling via an app. Do not place furniture or curtains over radiators, as this blocks heat from circulating into the room.
Lighting, Appliances and Daily Habits
Switch to LED Lighting Save £40–£70/yr
LED bulbs use 70–80% less electricity than traditional halogen or incandescent bulbs and last 15,000–25,000 hours versus 1,000 hours for halogens. Replacing all bulbs in a typical home saves £40–£70/year. LEDs now come in all fittings (GU10, B22, E27, E14) and colour temperatures from warm white (2700K) to daylight (6500K). With LED prices as low as £1–£3 per bulb, the payback period is under one year.
Cold Wash Laundry Save £20–£35/yr
Around 90% of a washing machine's energy use goes on heating water. Switching from 40°C to 30°C reduces energy use by around 40% per cycle. Modern detergents are designed to work effectively at 30°C, and using a 30°C wash for most loads (except bedding and towels) saves approximately £20–£35/year. Running full loads rather than half loads also maximises efficiency, as energy use is broadly the same regardless of load size.
Draught-Proofing Save £45–£90/yr
Draughts around windows, doors, letterboxes, keyholes, fireplaces, loft hatches, and pipe penetrations can add significantly to heating bills. Professional draught-proofing costs £200–£400 and saves £45–£90/year, giving a payback of 2–5 years. DIY options include self-adhesive foam strips (£5–£15) for windows and doors, brush seals for letterboxes (£5–£10), and chimney balloons (£20–£25) for unused fireplaces. Do not seal intentional ventilation gaps — these are required to prevent condensation and maintain air quality.
A-Rated Appliances Save £60–£150/yr
When replacing appliances, choosing the highest energy efficiency rating (A or above under the new EU/UK scale) can save significant amounts over the appliance's lifetime. A new A-rated fridge-freezer uses around 100–150kWh/year versus 350–500kWh for an old F-rated model — saving £50–£100/year. New A-rated washing machines and dishwashers are similarly more efficient. Tumble dryers are among the most expensive appliances to run — a heat pump dryer uses 50% less electricity than a standard condenser dryer.
Reduce Standby Consumption Save £30–£55/yr
UK households spend an estimated £30–£55/year powering devices on standby. Turning off TVs, game consoles, set-top boxes, phone chargers, and smart speakers at the plug when not in use eliminates this waste. Smart plugs with energy monitoring (£10–£25 each) allow you to identify and schedule high-standby devices. Always switch off devices with a red standby light rather than using remote controls.
Showers vs. Baths Save £25–£50/yr
A typical bath uses 80–150 litres of hot water, while a four-minute shower uses 30–40 litres. Replacing one daily bath with a four-minute shower saves approximately £25–£50/year on water heating costs. A water-efficient (aerated) showerhead reduces flow rate by 40–60% with little noticeable difference in experience. Economy 7 and time-of-use tariff users should heat water during off-peak hours and store it in the hot water cylinder.
Lag Your Hot Water Cylinder Save £30–£80/yr
If you have an older uninsulated or poorly insulated hot water cylinder, fitting an 80mm British Standard jacket costs around £15–£25 and saves £30–£80/year. Modern foam-insulated cylinders retain heat well, but older copper tanks lose heat rapidly. Also insulate the first metre of pipework from the boiler and cylinder. Set your hot water cylinder thermostat to 60°C — hot enough to kill Legionella bacteria but not wastefully higher.
Double or Triple Glazing Save £75–£150/yr
Single-glazed windows lose twice as much heat as double-glazed ones. Replacing single glazing with A-rated double glazing in a typical semi-detached home costs £4,000–£8,000 but saves £75–£150/year and significantly improves comfort. Triple glazing saves marginally more heat but costs significantly more — the payback is rarely economic for most homes. Secondary glazing (an internal pane fitted inside existing frames) costs £100–£300 per window and provides roughly 60% of the benefit of full double glazing.
Microwave and Air Fryer Over Oven Save £30–£60/yr
A microwave uses around 0.9kWh to heat food for 10 minutes, while an electric oven uses 2.0–2.5kWh for the same period. Using a microwave, air fryer, or slow cooker instead of the oven where possible saves £30–£60/year. When you do use the oven, batch cook multiple dishes at once and avoid opening the door unnecessarily (each opening drops temperature by 25°C). Don't preheat longer than necessary — modern fan ovens reach temperature in 5–10 minutes.
Solar Panels Save £400–£900/yr
A typical 4kWp solar panel system costs £6,000–£8,000 installed and generates 3,400–4,200kWh/year in the UK. This reduces electricity bills by £400–£600/year and earns additional income through the Smart Export Guarantee (SEG), which pays 3–15p per kWh exported to the grid. Adding a battery storage system (£3,000–£6,000) increases self-consumption from around 30% to 70–90% and is increasingly cost-effective with high electricity prices. The 0% VAT on solar panels (extended until 2027) reduces upfront costs.
Heat Pump Consideration Save £200–£700/yr long-term
Air source heat pumps (ASHPs) work by extracting heat from outside air, achieving 300–400% efficiency. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers a £7,500 grant in England and Wales, reducing the typical cost from £10,000–£15,000 to £2,500–£7,500. Heat pumps work best in well-insulated homes with underfloor heating or large radiators. Running costs depend on the gas-to-electricity price ratio — at current UK prices, ASHPs are cost-neutral to marginally cheaper than a modern gas boiler for well-insulated homes.
EV and Smart Charging Save £600–£1,200/yr vs petrol
If you own or are considering an electric vehicle, charging at home using a time-of-use tariff (such as Octopus Go at ~7–9p/kWh overnight vs ~25p/kWh standard rate) dramatically reduces running costs. Installing a home EV charger costs £800–£1,200, but the OZEV grant provides £350 for eligible households. Charging an EV at home overnight typically costs £2–£4 for a full charge (~250 miles range), versus £60–£80 for a petrol equivalent. Smart chargers integrate with solar panels and vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology.
Potential Annual Savings Summary
| Improvement | Typical Cost | Annual Saving | Payback Period |
|---|---|---|---|
| Loft insulation (270mm) | £300–£600 | £150–£300 | 1–4 years |
| Cavity wall insulation | £400–£1,200 | £200–£450 | 2–5 years |
| Smart thermostat | £100–£250 | £75–£150 | 1–3 years |
| LED lighting (whole home) | £30–£80 | £40–£70 | <1 year |
| Draught-proofing (DIY) | £20–£80 | £45–£90 | <2 years |
| Double glazing | £4,000–£8,000 | £75–£150 | 30–50 years |
| Solar panels (4kWp) | £6,000–£8,000 | £400–£900 | 7–15 years |
| Heat pump (after grant) | £2,500–£7,500 | £200–£700 | 5–20 years |
| Behavioural changes (all) | £0 | £100–£200 | Immediate |
Government Schemes 2025
ECO4 Scheme (until March 2026)
The Energy Company Obligation 4 funds insulation, heat pumps, and heating system replacements for low-income and fuel-poor households. Eligibility criteria include receipt of qualifying benefits (Universal Credit, Pension Credit, Child Tax Credit, Housing Benefit, etc.) or a household income below £31,000 with an EPC of D, E, F, or G. Apply via the Simple Energy Advice portal at gov.uk or contact your energy supplier directly. Households can receive thousands of pounds in improvements at zero cost.
Great British Insulation Scheme (GBIS)
Running alongside ECO4, the GBIS focuses specifically on insulation upgrades (loft, cavity wall, and solid wall). It targets homes with an EPC of D or below and is available to both low-income households (who qualify for deeper support) and middle-income households (who may receive partial funding). The scheme is delivered through energy suppliers and local authorities. An estimated 300,000 homes are expected to benefit by the scheme's end in March 2026.
Warm Home Discount (£150 rebate)
The Warm Home Discount provides a one-off £150 reduction on electricity bills for eligible customers, usually applied between October and March. Since 2022 reforms, eligibility is largely determined automatically through DWP data matching. Those on Pension Credit (Guarantee Credit) qualify automatically. Those on low incomes with high energy costs may be contacted by their supplier. Not all energy suppliers are obligated to offer the scheme — check with your supplier for details.
Winter Fuel Payment (2025 changes)
From winter 2024/25, Winter Fuel Payments (worth £200–£300/year) were means-tested for the first time, restricted to pensioners receiving Pension Credit or certain other means-tested benefits. This affected around 10 million pensioners who previously received the payment automatically. If you are over state pension age and receiving Pension Credit, you should still qualify. The Cold Weather Payment (£25 for each 7-day period of very cold weather) and Healthy Homes Scheme remain in place.
Boiler Upgrade Scheme (£7,500 grant)
Available in England and Wales, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme provides a £7,500 grant toward an air source heat pump or ground source heat pump, or a £5,000 grant for a biomass boiler. Applications are made by MCS-certified installers on your behalf. The scheme runs until 2028. Not available in Scotland (which has its own Home Energy Scotland scheme) or Northern Ireland.
Use our Energy Bill Calculator to model how much these improvements could save you based on your current usage and tariff.
Calculate Your Energy SavingsFrequently Asked Questions
Sources: Energy Saving Trust (energysavingtrust.org.uk), Ofgem (ofgem.gov.uk), DESNZ/BEIS research, Citizens Advice, Gov.uk (GOV.UK Simple Energy Advice). All savings figures are estimates for a typical UK semi-detached home; actual savings will vary by property size, location, existing insulation, and usage patterns. Last reviewed February 2026.