Check Your Boiler Settings!
Boilers are easy to cast as a cost-of-living villain. They're big, sometimes noisy, most of them run on fossil fuels and they can have a big impact on your energy bills – in fact, in most homes the boiler is the one thing that uses up the biggest portion of your annual energy bill. But a central heating system that's working efficiently and using energy proportionate to your home's heating need is still the best way to heat your home during the coldest months of the year. For most people, the priority should be making your boiler cost less to use and not deferring to replacements such as portable heaters. There's a lot you can do to make your heating run more efficiently:
Get your boiler serviced! This will reduce the chance of a costly emergency repair and keep a new boiler in warranty. Plus, a wellmaintained central heating system will run more efficiently, and you can ask your boiler engineer about whether your boiler's settings can be toggled to run more cheaply. If you rent, you're within your rights to ask your landlord to arrange a boiler service every year.
Toggle pre-heat off Combi boilers use water on demand, but sometimes they preheat water so it's ready to get to taps quicker. This is nice, but it will keep your boiler burning more than it needs to.
Bleed your radiators or ask an engineer to do it and install thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) on to them so you can turn radiators off in rooms you don't often use