When it comes to cutting down on the amount of energy that you waste in the home, the thermostat can be your best friend. Here are a few pointers to help you make the most of these marvelous devices.

Whenever you leave the house for a few hours, you should turn down your thermostats. It takes more energy to keep a house warm for a few hours than it does to heat up a cold house to the same temperature. If you are going to be away for a few days or more, you should turn them down even more, to around twelve degrees Celsius. While you might be tempted to turn off your boiler completely for this time, this is not advisable during the winter months, as it can cause the water in your pipes to freeze up and burst the pipes. Turning down your thermostat will also mean that your freezer and fridge will have an easier time of it trying to keep things cold, which will save electricity.

Find out just how low you can turn the thermostat without it feeling too cold in your home. A drop of just one degree can cut 3-5% from your gas bill. It is a good idea to drop the temperature by one degree a week, so that the change is less immediately noticeable, and you can get time to acclimatise to it.

Your bedclothes will keep you warm at night, so there is no need to have the heating up as high as when you are walking around. Turning down your thermostat by a few degrees at night will not only save you money, it will help you sleep better as well, as cooler temperatures are more conducive to sleep.

Older central heating systems tend to be a lot more inefficient. Even though it may cost a fair amount of money to install a new high efficiency boiler and modern programmable heating controls, they will save you money in the long run. The British Gas website is a great place to look for all sorts of eco friendly central heating equipment, from programmable set back thermostats and TRVs to energy efficient Vaillant boilers and solar water heaters.

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