People are shocked to find out how numbers on the boiler can help you save on energy bills

Amid the staggering energy costs it’s more important than ever to save precious resources. People are already looking into ways to cut back on usage, such as switching off lights that aren’t used or running washing machinesin the middle of the night.

But did you know that your boiler itself could hold the key to helping you save some money this winter?

Here is how to decipher numbers on your boiler

You may have noticed either a dial or a digital screen with numbers on your boiler. It turns out, they could help you reduce the amount you spend on your energy bills.

According to Uswitch director of regulation Richard Nuedegg, the numbers indicate the flow temperature for the device, and most boilers will have two dials or sets of digital screens - one for heating, and one for hot water.

Nuedegg says that boilers will usually be set to a default temperature that's between 75 and 80 degrees Celsius, but that could be driving up your energy bills unnecessarily.

Only works for combi boilers

Unfortunately, saving money with this trick only works if you've got a combi boiler, but if that's the type of boiler you have in your home, you could reduce your bills by turning down your flow temperature.

Nuedegg explained:

For combi boilers, the recommended output temperature for the radiators is 75oC and at least 60oC for water, which is the temperature that kills legionella bacteria. People with a condensing combi boiler may be able to turn down the flow temperature to save themselves some money on their energy bills.

Legionella is a bacteria that grows in standing water and flourishes at temperatures between 20 and 45 degrees, so it's important to keep your boiler's flow temperature high enough to keep it off.

But if you were to drop your boiler's temperature down to 60 degrees, you could see your consumption reduced by 9%, which will save you around £100 per year on your energy bills.

Sources used:

- Mirror: 'People are only just realising what the numbers on boilers mean - and it could cut bills'