During the autumn and winter months, energy bills become more of a concern. Because we’re switching on the heating more often, it tends to cost a lot more, which is not ideal – especially since bills are already high.
People are always looking for ways to save money when it comes to energy, and even the smallest of tasks can make a big difference. And according to the consumer experts at Which?, there’s one thing you can do which could help to ‘slash’ the amount you spend on energy. Even better, it only takes one second to do.
The experts shared a video on TikTok explaining how to cut energy bills, and it’s all to do with the dial on your radiator – also known as the thermostatic radiator valve.
As you’ll know, it has numbers on it, and you can turn the dial up or down depending on how warm you want the room to be when you’ve got the heating on.
However, according to the expert, you should ‘never’ have it higher than three – unless it’s in the room where your thermostat is.
The pro explained: “Whacking your thermostatic radiator valve up to five opens the valve to the max, letting loads of hot water into the radiator when your central heating is on.
“That’s great when it’s a room you want to heat up quickly, like the living room, especially if that’s where your main thermostat is.
“But if you have every radiator set to five, your heating bills could be higher than they need to be.”
Homeowners are being urged to go round the rooms and make sure each valve is positioned at the correct point if they want to save money. According to the expert, in the bedroom it should be between two and three, keeping the room temperature between 15 and 20 degrees.
And, if you plan on going away for a while, you should turn it to the frost sign. This will allow just enough water into the radiator to keep the room above 7C so the pipes don’t freeze.
