Citizens Advice in Ipswich says they're seeing more people in extreme situations
They're encouraging people to check their heating systems at home so they can stay warm and save money.
Citizens Advice has teamed up with Energy Saving Trust this Energy Savers Week (January 20 - 26 2025) to help people stay warm and spend less on energy bills.
It comes as they're seeing more people in extreme situations who are needing help.
"We've helped other people who have not been able to get out of bed because it's too cold"
Greatest Hits Radio spoke to Nelleke van Helfteren from the organization who told us about the advice they're able to give to clients who go to them for help.
"We've helped people who haven't had a bath for three months because their boiler broke and they couldn't afford to get it fixed and so they've just been managing, which isn't right.
"We've helped other people who have not been able to get out of bed because it's too cold.
"We were able to help by looking at the bills they were paying, helping them get onto a cheaper tariff, and applying for grants for them to get their boiler fixed, helping them on to benefits, which meant they could then move forward and afford to pay their bills."
Nelleke stressed the importance of having a warm home and the impact it has on your health.
"There's a lot of people who are unwell at home and they need to keep warm and they need to not feel the cold because that can make their conditions worse...It's really important that people do heat their rooms adequately and stay as well as they can be because it will only lead to more problems later down the line if you don't."
Citizens Advice's advice on staying warm and saving money
Check your radiators
Bleed your radiators - Cold spots caused by trapped air could mean your radiators aren’t giving out as much heat as they should. You can bleed your radiators yourself:
Some radiators have a valve that can be bled using a flathead screwdriver, if the valve has a square spindle with no flathead cutout, you'll need a radiator bleeding key. You can get a radiator key from most DIY shops or online.
Please ensure the heating’s off and has had time to cool down before bleeding.
You may need to repressurise the system after doing this. You can check your boiler’s user manual for how to do this or check with a heating engineer.
Radiator valves (TRVs) - the numbers normally correspond to a specific room temperature (e.g. on a scale of 0-5, 5 is typically 30°C), so turning them up to the maximum or minimum could still mean you're over or underheating that room in your property.
On a 0-5 scale, 4 is usually okay for rooms that need to keep warm and 2 or 3 is okay for rooms that don't need to be as warm.
Check your boiler’s flow temperature
The flow temperature is the temperature of the water your boiler sends to your radiators and hot water cylinder (if you have one).
Turning your boiler’s flow temperature down can reduce your heating bill by as much as 9%.
This is set on the boiler itself - you can check your user manual to find out how to change this. If you're unsure, you can ask a heating engineer to reduce the flow temperature for you.
If you have a combi boiler, you could turn it down to 60°C in cold weather. In mild weather you might be able to turn it down as low as 50°C.
If you have a boiler with a hot water cylinder, you can turn it down to 65°C. Don't set it any lower otherwise, the boiler won't be able to heat your hot water cylinder to a safe temperature.
After reducing the flow temperature, your boiler will take longer to heat your home and your hot water (if you have a cylinder). You should set your boiler to come on earlier to give it more time to work.
Keep your heating set at the lowest comfortable temperature (typically 18-21 degrees)
Setting a higher temperature on your room thermostat doesn't make your property warm up any faster but it could waste energy. Set your heating to come on earlier so that it has longer to work; this uses less energy than turning up the thermostat
You should keep your home warm enough so there’s less risk of your home becoming damp and you getting ill. If you have a health condition that might be made worse by the cold, ask your GP or a healthcare professional what temperature you should keep your home at
Book in a boiler service
The last thing you want is to switch your heating on during a cold snap only to find it’s broken down. You should also think about getting a service booked in with a Gas Safe engineer if you haven’t already had a service in a while. This will also ensure it’s working safely and efficiently
Also check if an annual service might be needed to keep your boiler’s warranty valid
Don’t rely on portable electric heaters
Portable heaters are best for short-term use, not as a replacement for your whole house heating system. If you want to heat a single room, it's usually cheaper to use your central heating and adjust the thermostat and TRVs.