What uses gas in a house and how to save

Most of us use gas to heat our homes. The more expensive gas gets, the more money you save by cutting your usage. Here are top tips to help you save on your gas bill.

Angela Kerr Director, Editor

Most of us use gas to heat our homes. The more expensive gas gets, the more money you save by cutting your usage. In addition to comparing your energy deal and making sure you are on the best deal available, reducing the amount of gas you use in the house is the best way of reducing your energy bill.

Here is what uses gas in a house and our top tips to help you save on your gas bill.

What uses gas in a house?

Before we can look at how to reduce your gas bill we need to consider what uses gas in a house. If you have gas central heating to keep your home warm and to provide you with hot water, by definition this uses gas. Similarly other appliances like gas ovens and gas hobs use gas too.

What uses the most gas in a home?

If you have gas central heating, this will almost certainly use the most gas on your home. So if you’re looking at ways to cut your gas bill, this is where you can make the biggest savings.

How can I use less gas at home?

So how can we use less gas at home? The main reason why the majority of us want to reduce how much gas we use is the soaring cost of energy. The government’s Energy Price Guarantee that came into force in October 2022 should help manage deals but electricity and gas bills will be much more expensive than last year’s unless you’re lucky enough to still be on a cheap fixed deal. See our guide on Energy Bills Help for the latest on energy bills and how you can access help.

1. Wrap up

Putting on a jumper may seem obvious, but it’s also very effective. It is amazing how many people walk around their home in bare feet and a t-shirt in the middle of winter – and then complain about their gas bill. If you’re guilty of this your first step should be to turn down the heating and put on a few more layers. Heat the human not the home.

2. Heat what you need

If you’re working from home, rather than heating the whole house, heat just your work space if you want to cut your gas bill. Alternatively, invest in a heated blanket and wrap yourself in that. Also, turn off radiators in spare rooms and rooms you’re not using and shut the doors to block against draughts coming from that room.

3. Turn down your thermostat by 1°C

For most people, the lowest comfortable temperature to set your heating to is between 18°C and 21°C. So if you’re warm enough, by turning down your thermostat by one degree you could save an average of £145 a year off your gas bill.

4. Move your furniture

Make sure there’s a gap between your radiators and your furniture because the heat can’t circulate as easily if it’s blocked. And make sure curtains aren’t hanging in front of radiators either.

5. Setting your heating timer correctly

Unless you live in a particularly draughty house, your home probably retains its heat for at least an hour after you turn off the heating. This means if everybody leaves the house by 8.30am, you only need the heating on until 7.30am, not until 8.30am. You’ll reduce your gas bill without noticing the difference because you wouldn’t be there to benefit from it anyway.

And you don’t need the heating on at night. You can safely turn it off at least an hour before you go to bed. If you’re still feeling chilly, consider buying an electric blanket with timer to warm the bed.

Also, experts are undecided on whether it’s efficient to warm your house by having the thermostat on a low temperature over a longer period of time or having bursts of high temperatures. Instead, adopt that guiding principle that you should only use your heating when you need it.

6. Getting your radiators and pipework working more efficiently

Make sure there aren’t any cold spots, which are caused by build-up of debris in radiators.  You can fix these with a “Powerflush” using a chemical solution that breaks down the build-up. It costs around £500.

You can also have a Magnaclean installed to prevent the pipes from becoming blocked again. This should cost around £200 on top of the cost of a new boiler.

And make sure you bleed your radiators too. You’ll know they need doing if your radiators are colder at the top than the bottom.

7. Go hi-tech and let gadgets control your heating

Besides fitting individual radiator thermostat valves that allow you to make sure radiators are only switched on when they’re needed, you can install state-of-the-art devices that make this kind of energy-saving and cost-cutting even easier.

One example is British Gas’s Hive Thermostat, which claims it can save up to £311 a year on your energy bill by never heating an empty home. It lets you control your heating on the device, via the Hive app, or even with your voice, and get alerts if you accidentally leave it on when you head out.

8. Service or replace your boiler

Make sure your boiler is regularly serviced; not only will it make sure it’s running as efficiently as possible servicing can catch small problems before they turn into big ones. Emergency repairs can cost a fortune, and they always seem to happen at the most inconvenient times. Plus an inefficient boiler can lead to a higher gas bill.

There’s no point investing in the latest technology if you’re boiler’s on its last legs. Most boilers last for around 10 years.  Then they start to become inefficient and waste gas as well as money.

It is worth checking what energy grants are available and how to get them if you are considering replacing your boiler or making other energy efficiency improvements.

9. Consider getting a heat pump

If your boiler needs replacing you could eliminate your need to use gas to heat your home by installing a heat pump instead. And under the Government’s Boiler Upgrade Scheme, homeowners in England and Wales can apply for heat pump grants worth up to £6,000. There are factors you’ll need to think carefully about though. Find out more in our article Heat Pump Grants and how to get one.

10. Turn down the water heater

Heating water is usually the second most significant use of gas in your home when it comes to your gas bill. But you may be able to cut how much gas you use to heat your water. Most boilers have a dial with which you can change the water temperature. So try turning it down a bit. This is especially the case if the water comes out of your hot taps very hot – there is no point having having the water come out of your taps too hot to touch.

11. Insulate your home

When you’re asking how to cut your gas bill, one major way you can do this is to insulate your home. When your home is well insulated it will stay warmer for longer which means you won’t need to have the heating on for as long. But there are other benefits too. By insulating your home you may improve your home’s EPC rating, and this could mean you may become eligible for a green mortgage. And you may be adding value to your property too.

Considering which energy efficiency improvement(s) to undertake can feel daunting, especially if you live in an older property that is draughty, dated and could benefit from lots of different possible measures.

The key is to research and evaluate all the options available to you before deciding. You’ll want to get a good idea of what any improvement work involves, the costs, the potential savings on energy bills per year, as well as understand what can go wrong.

When you’re looking at how to cut your gas bill by insulating your home there are lots of reasons why people start at the top – literally – with loft insulation. This is because it’s reasonably priced, effective and involves the least disruption to your home. Plus, Energy Saving Trust says a quarter of heat is lost through the roof in an uninsulated home. And so insulating your loft, flat roof or attic is an effective way to reduce heat loss and cut your heating bills.

According to Checkatrade, the average cost of labour and materials to insulate your loft is £500. Although this ranges from £400 for a mid-terraced house to £600 for a detached house or bungalow. While the potential savings on energy bills are around £380 a year on average for a detached home, with mid-terraces typically saving £150 annually, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

Double glazing improvements and expensive cavity wall insulation can all lead to a more energy efficient home.

For more advice and the pros and cons of all types of insulation, see our guide on making your home more energy efficient

12. Insulating your hot water cylinders and pipes

There are smaller measures you can take that can make a difference to your gas bill too. Insulating your water tank and pipes is a quick and easy way to save on your gas bill. Hot water cylinder jackets typically cost around £17 and fitting them is usually a straightforward job if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions, says Energy Saving Trust. You can also insulate your pipes between your hot water cylinder and your boiler by fitting a foam tube around them. You can buy these at DIY stores for a few pounds.

13. Tackle draughts

If you live in a draughty house it means you’ll be letting cold air into your home and losing heat too. So sort this and you’ll reduce your gas bill.

Draught-proofing around windows and doors could save you around £45 a year, according to Energy Saving Trust. DIY draft excluding foam strips stuck around windows and doors offer a quick fix. And if you have an open fireplace, draught-proofing your chimney when you’re not using it could save around £65 a year.

Also, draught-free homes are comfortable at lower temperatures so you might be able to turn down your thermostat, which means you could save even more on your gas bill.

14. Get heavy curtains

Heavy curtains closed against the cold night will help to keep out draughts and act as insulation too, so they’re another way to reduce your gas bill.

Want to know how to find the best tradespeople? Read our guide.

Don’t forget your electricity bills too

While considering how to reduce your gas bill may be your focus in the winter, when you want to cut costs it’s important to look at your electricity usage too. These can also spike in the long, dark winter. Simple steps can all add up, from using your microwave to heat up food rather than your oven, always switching lights off in rooms you’re not using and turning appliances off rather than leaving them on standby.

For advice on how to save money on your energy bills, see our top 10 energy saving tips

Can I shop around to get a better deal on energy bills?

With soaring energy prices in recent years, for many of us it hasn’t been possible to get a cheaper deal on our energy bills. But that is finally set to change. Use our free simple energy comparison tool to compare deals across the market and see if you can cut your bill if you switch energy suppliers.

Compare energy deals instantly with our free tool – see if you could save by switching your energy provider.

I can’t afford my gas bill. What can I do?

If you’re worried about paying your gas bill it’s vital that you find out about all the schemes providing energy bills help and how to access them. Find our more in our guide on Energy bills help.

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