Keeping Warm for Less: Low-Cost Ways to Heat Your Home

Last checked November 2026. Offers and rules change: confirm with the provider before you rely on them.

Keeping warm for less comes down to three things: claiming every payment you are entitled to, stopping heat escaping, and warming yourself as well as the room. Do not cut back so far that your home gets cold, though: a cold home is a real health risk in later life.

How warm should your home be?

NHS advice is to heat the rooms you use, such as the living room and bedroom, to at least 18°C if you can, particularly if you are 65 or over, are not very mobile, or have a health condition such as heart or lung disease. Cold raises blood pressure and puts extra strain on the heart and chest. A simple room thermometer costs a few pounds and takes away the guesswork. The NHS has more advice on keeping warm and well.

First, claim what you are due

These are covered in detail in our money section, with current amounts and rules. Rules differ between England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, and Scotland has its own versions of some payments.

• Winter Fuel Payment — an annual payment towards heating bills for people over State Pension age, subject to the current rules.
• Warm Home Discount — a one-off discount on your electricity bill for people on certain benefits or low incomes.
• Cold Weather Payment — paid to people on certain benefits when the local temperature stays very low.
• Pension Credit — tops up a low income and opens the door to other help. Many people who qualify do not claim.
• Priority Services Register — free extra help from energy suppliers and networks, including priority support in a power cut.

Our benefits checklist runs through everything in one place.

Stop the heat escaping

These jobs are cheap and many need no skill.

• Draught-proof doors, windows, letterboxes and keyholes with self-adhesive foam strip, brush strips and a letterbox cover. A draught excluder along the bottom of a door costs a few pounds. Do not block air vents or airbricks; rooms with gas fires, boilers or solid-fuel stoves need ventilation.
• Curtains — close them at dusk, tuck them behind the radiator, and open them on sunny days. Thermal linings or a heavy door curtain make a clear difference.
• Radiators — keep furniture and long curtains away from them. Reflective foil panels behind radiators on outside walls send heat back into the room. Bleed radiators that are cold at the top.
• Hot water tank and pipes — a tank jacket and pipe lagging are cheap and quickly pay for themselves.
• Loft insulation — one of the most effective measures. Grants are sometimes available; see below.

Use your heating wisely

• Learn your controls. A timer or programmer, a room thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves (the numbered dials on radiators) let you heat the rooms you use, when you use them. Ask a relative, your supplier or a local energy advice service to go through them with you.
• Turn radiators down, not off, in rooms you rarely use, to avoid damp.
• Have a gas boiler serviced every year by a Gas Safe registered engineer, and fit a carbon monoxide alarm.
• If you have a prepayment meter, keep it topped up ahead of cold spells and ask your supplier about emergency credit.
• Portable heaters: plug-in electric heaters are costly to run for long periods. Keep them clear of curtains and furniture, never dry clothes on them, and do not use portable gas or paraffin heaters without proper ventilation.

Warm yourself, not just the room

• Layers — several thin layers trap more warmth than one thick one. Thermal vests and leggings, a fleece, warm socks and a hat in bed if needed.
• Heated throws and electric blankets use far less electricity than a room heater. Our guide to heated throws and electric blankets shows how to work out the running cost from the wattage and your own unit rate.
• Hot water bottle — fill with hot, not boiling, water, use a cover, and replace it every couple of years. Never use one with an electric blanket.
• Hot food and drinks — at least one hot meal a day and regular hot drinks. A flask saves repeated boiling. See shopping and cooking for one.

Rough price guide for warmth on a budget

Bigger help: insulation, boilers and bills

• Energy efficiency grants. Government and energy-supplier schemes for insulation and heating upgrades change from year to year and differ between the four nations, so we do not list them here. Check what is open now on GOV.UK, or ask your council.
• Your tariff and debts. Ofgem, the energy regulator, explains the price cap and your rights if you fall behind. Citizens Advice gives free help with energy problems.
• Supplier hardship funds and local support. Many suppliers have funds for customers in difficulty, and councils have run local welfare or household support schemes. Ask what is available at the moment.

Other bills can often be cut too: see help with water bills, Council Tax Reduction and broadband social tariffs.

Mistakes to avoid

• Heating only one room and letting the bedroom and bathroom get very cold.
• Blocking ventilation, which causes damp and, with fuel-burning appliances, danger.
• Agreeing to insulation or boiler "grant" work from a cold caller. Check any scheme with your council or on GOV.UK first. See doorstep selling rights.

Common questions

Is it cheaper to leave the heating on low all day?

For most homes, heating only when you need it, using a timer and thermostat, uses less energy. If you are at home all day and feel the cold, a steady comfortable temperature in the rooms you use matters more than the last few pence.

What temperature should my bedroom be at night?

NHS advice is to keep the bedroom at 18°C or above if you can, and to keep the window closed on cold nights.

Who can I talk to if I cannot afford my bills?

Your supplier first, then Citizens Advice or your local Age UK. They can check your benefits and help you apply for support.