Octopus Energy has given households an exact temperature to run their water when having a shower or bath to make a £65 yearly saving.
If you find yourself diluting the hot water with a splash of cold when having a soak, you could actually be costing yourself more money.
It means that not only is your water temperature too hot, but you’re unnecessarily wasting money by adding cold water to cool it down.
The energy supplier says making a simple change to your boiler setting will stop you having to adjust the water temperature – and will make you big savings in return.
According to Octopus, if you have a combi boiler, you should set your boiler flow temperature between 55C and 60C for hot water to save energy.
There should be an option to do this on the front of your boiler which is usually indicated by a tap icon, but if you can’t find it just check your manual.
Households that have a boiler and a hot water cylinder are advised to set the flow temperature to a few degrees over 60C for heating and hot water, and setting the hot water cylinder to 60C as well.
You will usually find the control settings for your cylinder one third of the way up the tank.
Octopus said: “Your boiler’s flow setting controls the water temperature when it leaves your boiler. Its default setting is usually too high.
“Turn it down a bit and your home will feel just as warm, but you could cut your energy bills by 12% and save up to £65 according to Nesta.”
The advice comes as households brace for a rise in energy bills from January after Ofgem confirmed plans to increase the price cap once again.
The energy regulator announced a 1.2% increase – which follows a 10% rise in October – meaning the typical bill for a household in England, Scotland and Wales will go up from £1,717 to £1,738 per year – or an extra £1.75 per month.
Ofgem has advised that households take advantage of increasing choice among energy suppliers and look for the best deal to help keep their bills down, saying people could save up to £140.
