Water heating accounts for around 15–20% of most UK household energy bills — second only to space heating. Yet it’s an area that gets far less attention than it deserves when people are looking to reduce costs. Spring is actually a great time to address it, because changing your hot water settings and habits now sets you up for savings across the whole year.

Turn Down Your Hot Water Cylinder Temperature

If you have a hot water cylinder (common in homes with a traditional boiler system), check what temperature it’s set to. Many are set higher than necessary — at 70°C or even higher. The recommended temperature is 60°C, which is hot enough to prevent legionella bacteria while being significantly more efficient than higher settings.

Turning down from 70°C to 60°C on a typical cylinder can reduce water heating costs by around 10–15% with no change to hot water availability.

Insulate Your Hot Water Cylinder

An uninsulated hot water cylinder loses heat continuously, meaning your boiler has to reheat it regularly. A cylinder jacket costs around £15–20 and can save £35–40 per year according to the Energy Saving Trust. If your cylinder already has one, check it’s at least 80mm thick — thinner jackets provide much less benefit.

Adjust Your Heating Schedule for Spring

Many households run their hot water on the same schedule all year round. In spring, you may not need the hot water programme to run as long or as frequently as in winter. Review your boiler’s hot water timer and reduce it if you’re not using all the hot water being generated — particularly if you heat water in the morning and find the cylinder is barely used by evening.

Showers vs Baths

A standard bath uses around 80–150 litres of hot water. A five-minute shower with a standard shower head uses around 40–60 litres. Switching from daily baths to showers — or simply encouraging shorter showers in the household — is one of the most effective ways to reduce hot water usage.

If you have a power shower, be aware these can use more water than a bath in a surprisingly short time. An efficient shower head (around £20–30) can reduce flow rate without noticeably affecting the shower experience.

Consider a Smart Hot Water Controller

Devices like the Hive Hot Water add-on or Nest’s hot water integration allow you to control your hot water remotely and build more intelligent schedules. If you come home late unexpectedly or go away for the weekend, you can adjust from your phone rather than heating water for an empty house.

Heat Pump Water Heaters

For households considering a longer-term upgrade, standalone heat pump water heaters (also called hot water heat pumps) extract heat from the air to heat water at around 3–4x the efficiency of a direct immersion heater. They’re particularly cost-effective for households currently using electric immersion heating as their primary hot water source.

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