How to Save Energy at Home: A 2026 UK Guide

With the Ofgem price cap sitting at around £1,663 a year for a typical dual-fuel household in autumn 2026, cutting the energy you use is the surest way to protect your wallet and shrink your carbon footprint at the same time. The good news: most homes can knock a meaningful chunk off their bills without spending a penny, and the UK now offers grants worth thousands towards the bigger upgrades. Here’s how to do both, room by room.

Quick wins that cost nothing

• Turn your thermostat down by 1°C. It’s barely noticeable and typically trims heating costs by around 10%.
• Drop your combi boiler’s flow temperature to about 55°C. Most UK boilers ship set far too high; lowering the flow temperature makes them run more efficiently with no loss of comfort.
• Wash at 30°C and air-dry. Modern detergents work fine cold, and skipping the tumble dryer is one of the biggest single savings in the house.
• Switch off standby. TVs, consoles and chargers left on standby still draw power; a single switched extension lead makes it effortless.
• Bleed radiators and don’t block them. Trapped air and sofas pushed against radiators both waste the heat you’re paying for.

Low-cost upgrades that pay for themselves

• LED bulbs everywhere. They use up to 80% less electricity than old incandescents and last for years — swap them as the old ones fail.
• Draught-proofing. Strips for doors, windows and letterboxes cost little and stop the warm air you’ve paid for leaking out.
• A hot-water tank jacket and pipe lagging. A few pounds of insulation keeps water hotter for longer.
• A smart meter and heating controls. Seeing what you use in real time changes behaviour; zoned and timed heating stops you warming empty rooms.

Bigger upgrades — and the grants that help pay for them

For the measures that make the biggest long-term difference, the government’s Warm Homes Plan — a £13.2bn programme to upgrade around five million homes — sits behind several grant schemes. As of 2026 the headline routes are:

• Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS): a £7,500 grant towards an air- or ground-source heat pump, applied directly by your MCS-certified installer.
• ECO4: insulation, heating and even solar for eligible lower-income households, running until 31 December 2026.
• Warm Home Discount: a £150 one-off credit on electricity bills for qualifying households.

Eligibility and amounts change, so check the current position on GOV.UK before you commit — but if you qualify, insulation and a heat pump grant together can transform a draughty home’s running costs.

Start with the free habits this week, add the low-cost fixes over a weekend, and plan the bigger upgrades around whichever grant you qualify for. Every step cuts both your bills and your carbon.

VideoJug: How To Save Energy In Your Home

Another great video from Videojug and Friends of the Earth.