Cheapest Ways to Heat Your Home: How to Stay Warm for Less in the UK

Finding the cheapest ways to heat your home is not simply about buying the cheapest heater.

The real cost depends on the price of the energy you use, the efficiency of your heating system, how much heat your property loses and, crucially, whether you are trying to warm one person, one room or an entire house.

For many UK homes with mains gas, an efficient gas central-heating system remains relatively economical to run because gas currently costs considerably less per kWh than electricity. Under Ofgem’s price cap for 1 July to 30 September 2026, average Direct Debit unit rates are 7.33p/kWh for gas and 26.11p/kWh for electricity, although actual tariffs vary.

But that does not mean a gas boiler is automatically the cheapest solution for every household. A properly designed heat pump can produce several units of heat from each unit of electricity, while simply improving insulation and heating controls may reduce your bills without replacing your heating system at all.

Here are the cheapest ways to heat a UK home, from changes that cost virtually nothing to larger upgrades worth considering.

What is the cheapest way to heat a home in the UK?

There are really two questions:

What is the cheapest heating system to run?

and:

What is the cheapest way to make my existing home warmer?

They aren’t necessarily answered in the same way.

If you already have functioning gas central heating, spending thousands of pounds replacing it purely to reduce this winter’s heating bill may not make financial sense.

If your boiler is approaching replacement anyway, comparing a modern boiler with a heat pump becomes much more relevant.

And if your house is poorly insulated, reducing heat loss could make any heating system cheaper to operate.

Energy Saving Trust says heating and hot water account for more than half of a typical home’s energy use, so improvements here can have a meaningful effect on household energy costs.

1. Use your existing central heating more efficiently

Before spending thousands on new technology, make sure you aren’t wasting heat you’ve already paid for.

This is arguably the cheapest place to begin.

A properly used thermostat, programmer and thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) allow you to control when and where your home is heated.

Energy Saving Trust currently estimates that installing a programmer, thermostat and TRVs where you don’t already have them could save around £110 per year in Great Britain for a typical home.

Don’t heat empty rooms as much as occupied ones

A spare bedroom does not necessarily need to be maintained at exactly the same temperature as your living room.

TRVs allow you to reduce the flow of hot water through individual radiators as rooms reach their required temperature.

Rather than switching every radiator fully on, use the lowest setting that maintains an appropriate comfortable temperature in that particular room.

Programme heating around your routine

If everyone leaves home in the morning and returns in the evening, avoid unnecessarily heating an empty property all day when using a conventional boiler system.

Energy Saving Trust recommends using a programmer so heating operates around when it is actually needed. It also notes that, with boilers, leaving the heating running continuously generally uses more energy than heating when required. Heat pumps operate differently and are commonly run for longer periods at lower temperatures.

2. Turn the thermostat down slightly

This costs nothing.

You don’t have to turn your home into a refrigerator, either.

Energy Saving Trust advises setting the thermostat to the lowest temperature that is comfortable for you, typically somewhere between 18°C and 21°C for most people.

If your thermostat is currently at 22°C, reducing it to 21°C could make a noticeable difference. Energy Saving Trust’s current estimate is around £90 per year in Great Britain for that particular one-degree reduction in a typical home with suitable controls.

Don’t treat 18°C as a target you must reach. Comfort requirements differ between households, and some people need warmer indoor temperatures.

The point is to avoid heating the house beyond the temperature you actually need.

3. Stop heat escaping through draughts

There is little point generating cheap heat if it immediately escapes.

Draught-proofing can be one of the most cost-effective improvements because it targets unwanted gaps rather than replacing the heating system.

Check common areas including:

• external doors;
• window frames;
• loft hatches;
• gaps around pipework;
• unused chimneys;
• floorboards in older properties.

Some draught-proofing measures are inexpensive DIY jobs.

However, intentional ventilation should not simply be blocked. Air bricks, extractor systems and other designed ventilation serve a purpose, particularly in rooms where moisture or combustion appliances are present.

The aim is to stop uncontrolled draughts, not prevent your property from ventilating safely.

4. Use your boiler controls properly

Millions of UK homes already have gas boilers, so one of the cheapest heating strategies may simply be getting more from the equipment already installed.

One setting worth understanding is your boiler flow temperature.

This controls the temperature of the water being sent from the boiler towards your radiators. It is different from the room thermostat.

Ofgem advises households with combi boilers that reducing boiler temperature settings can help reduce running costs.

However, don’t randomly change settings you don’t understand, particularly hot-water or cylinder settings. Your boiler model, heating design and hot-water arrangement matter.

If the system isn’t heating your home adequately or you’re unsure which setting controls what, consult the manufacturer’s instructions or a qualified heating professional.

5. Keep your boiler working efficiently

A boiler that isn’t working properly isn’t a clever place to try to save money.

Energy Saving Trust recommends having boilers and heat pumps serviced annually to help ensure they are operating correctly and economically.

Also pay attention to the rest of the heating system.

If some radiators are cold at the top, contain trapped air or heat unevenly, your central heating may not be distributing heat effectively.

If the boiler itself is old, unreliable and becoming increasingly expensive to repair, replacement may eventually make more sense. Our guide to how much a boiler replacement costs in the UK in 2026 explains the costs you should budget for before making that decision.

6. Improve loft insulation before buying a bigger heating system

One of the biggest mistakes homeowners make is focusing entirely on how heat is generated.

Your home is effectively a container for heat.

Improve the container and you need less energy to maintain the same indoor temperature.

Loft insulation is often one of the first areas worth investigating because heat rises through the building.

Energy Saving Trust currently recommends a loft-insulation depth of around 270mm for mineral wool where appropriate, and notes that many UK homes have some insulation but not enough.

Depending on the property, you might also investigate:

• cavity wall insulation;
• solid-wall insulation;
• floor insulation;
• better-performing windows and doors;
• pipe insulation.

The best option depends heavily on how your home was built.

An improvement that makes sense for a 1990s cavity-wall house may be inappropriate for a Victorian solid-wall property.

7. Insulate your hot-water cylinder

If you have a hot-water cylinder, check its insulation.

This is a relatively unglamorous home improvement, but it can have a remarkably straightforward payback.

Energy Saving Trust estimates that increasing a hot-water cylinder’s insulation from 25mm to an 80mm British Standard jacket can save around £40 per year in Great Britain, with a jacket costing around £18 in its current estimates.

Insulating accessible hot-water pipework can also reduce unnecessary heat loss.

These are exactly the kinds of small measures worth doing before spending thousands on major heating technology.

8. Is a gas boiler the cheapest way to heat a home?

For homes already connected to mains gas, boilers remain important because gas currently has a substantially lower unit price than electricity.

From July to September 2026, Ofgem’s average price-cap rates for Direct Debit customers are:

These are average capped rates across England, Scotland and Wales, include VAT and apply to relevant standard variable tariffs; your actual tariff and regional rates can differ.

However, comparing those numbers directly does not tell you the full cost of heating.

A boiler does not convert every unit of gas into useful room heat. Meanwhile, a heat pump can deliver multiple units of heat for each unit of electricity consumed.

You therefore need to compare useful heat, system efficiency, property performance and tariffs — not just fuel prices.

If your existing boiler works well, keeping it maintained and improving insulation and controls can be a financially sensible short-term strategy.

If replacement is already necessary, that is the right moment to compare alternatives.

9. Could a heat pump be cheaper to run?

Potentially.

Heat pumps operate very differently from conventional electric resistance heaters.

Rather than converting electricity directly into heat, they use electricity to move heat from outside into the building.

That allows an efficient system to deliver substantially more heat energy than the electrical energy it consumes.

But real-world performance depends on factors including:

• heat-pump design;
• outdoor conditions;
• flow temperature;
• radiator or emitter sizing;
• insulation;
• controls;
• electricity tariff;
• household heating patterns.

A heat pump therefore shouldn’t be sold on the assumption that every household will automatically slash its energy bill.

The upfront cost also matters.

If you’re considering moving away from a boiler, see our guide to how much a heat pump costs in the UK in 2026 before comparing long-term savings.

10. Don’t confuse electric heaters with heat pumps

This distinction is extremely important.

A plug-in fan heater, oil-filled electric radiator and heat pump may all use electricity, but they do not produce heat in the same way.

Conventional electric resistance heaters turn electricity into heat at the point of use.

Given current electricity prices, using plug-in electric heaters as the primary source for an entire house can become expensive.

However, they can still make sense for short-duration, localised heating.

For example, if one person is working in a home office while the rest of a large house is empty, temporarily heating that occupied area may use less total energy than bringing the entire property up to temperature.

Whether it is cheaper depends on your heating system, tariff, room size and how long the heater runs.

11. Heat the person when you don’t need to heat the whole house

Sometimes the cheapest way to feel warmer isn’t space heating at all.

If you’re sitting still for an hour in the evening, heating a whole house may use considerably more energy than keeping yourself comfortable locally.

Options include:

• heated throws;
• electric blankets;
• warmer clothing;
• hot-water bottles.

These aren’t substitutes for adequate home heating, particularly where low indoor temperatures could create comfort, health or damp-related problems.

But for short periods, targeted warmth can reduce the temptation to turn the whole-house thermostat several degrees higher.

12. Use curtains intelligently

Curtains won’t transform an inefficient property, but they’re an inexpensive supporting measure.

During sunny winter days, opening curtains can allow solar heat into suitable rooms.

Once it gets dark, closing them can reduce the cold sensation near glazing and provide an additional barrier between the occupied room and window.

Make sure curtains aren’t hanging directly over radiators, though.

A radiator trapped behind thick curtains may heat the window area rather than allowing warm air to circulate effectively through the room.

13. Don’t block radiators with furniture

Your radiator might be producing heat perfectly well while your furniture prevents it from reaching you.

Large sofas placed directly against radiators restrict circulation.

Give radiators space where possible.

Likewise, avoid permanently covering them with wet laundry. Drying clothes indoors also releases moisture into the home, so adequate ventilation remains important.

Small layout changes cost nothing but can help your existing heating system distribute warmth more effectively.

14. Use radiator reflector panels where appropriate

Radiators mounted against poorly insulated external walls can lose some heat towards the wall.

Reflector panels placed behind suitable radiators can help direct some of that heat back into the room.

Energy Saving Trust estimates that radiator reflector panels behind radiators on uninsulated external walls could save around £25 per year for a typical home in Great Britain.

That won’t revolutionise your energy bill, but it illustrates an important principle:

Several inexpensive efficiency improvements can add up.

15. Is underfloor heating cheaper than radiators?

Not automatically.

Underfloor heating has some efficiency advantages because it distributes heat across a large floor area and can operate at lower water temperatures than conventional radiators in suitable systems.

That can pair particularly well with heat pumps.

But installation cost matters enormously.

Retrofitting water-based underfloor heating throughout an existing house may involve:

• lifting floors;
• modifying floor build-ups;
• insulation;
• pipework;
• controls;
• new floor finishes.

Electric underfloor heating can be easier to install in smaller areas but electricity costs mean it should not automatically be assumed to be the cheapest whole-house heating method.

It is often particularly attractive in individual rooms such as bathrooms.

If you’re considering it as part of a renovation, our 2026 UK underfloor heating cost guide explains installation costs and the differences between electric and water-based systems.

16. Smart heating controls can reduce wasted heat

Smart thermostats do not magically make energy cheaper.

Their advantage is control.

Depending on the system, you may be able to:

• adjust heating remotely;
• create detailed schedules;
• control different zones;
• monitor temperatures;
• avoid heating an empty property;
• automate heating around your routine.

Energy Saving Trust notes that some smart controls can learn how quickly a property warms up and adjust heating operation accordingly. Whether they save money depends partly on how effectively you already control your heating.

Someone who already manages their programmer and thermostat carefully may see less benefit than a household that routinely forgets to turn heating down when leaving.

17. Don’t leave boiler heating on all day to ‘save money’

This is one of the most persistent heating myths.

With a conventional boiler, maintaining the home at temperature all day generally requires more energy than heating it when required.

Energy Saving Trust specifically advises that leaving boiler heating on continuously uses more energy and costs more than operating it when needed.

There is an important exception:

heat pumps.

Heat pumps generally work best differently, often maintaining relatively steady temperatures for longer periods rather than repeatedly delivering short bursts of very high-temperature heat.

So don’t apply gas-boiler advice blindly to a heat-pump system.

18. Fix the coldest parts of the house

If one room always feels freezing, turning the whole-house thermostat up may be an expensive solution to a local problem.

Investigate why that room is cold.

Possible causes include:

• draughty windows;
• inadequate radiator size;
• poor loft insulation above;
• external walls;
• heating imbalance;
• blocked radiator;
• poorly positioned thermostat;
• gaps around doors.

Fixing the underlying issue may allow the rest of the house to stay at a lower thermostat setting while maintaining comfort.

Which heating method is cheapest?

There is no universal ranking because installation costs and household circumstances change the answer.

A useful way to think about it is:

The cheapest heating solution is usually a combination rather than a single product.

Should you replace your boiler just to save money?

Not necessarily.

Replacing a functioning heating system has an upfront cost, so you need to consider how long any reduction in running costs would take to recover that investment.

On the other hand, an old boiler that frequently breaks down may present a different calculation.

If you’re repeatedly paying for repairs and know replacement is approaching anyway, investing in a more efficient heating system becomes easier to justify.

Compare the complete costs:

purchase + installation + maintenance + expected running costs + expected lifespan.

Don’t choose purely on the initial quote or one year’s estimated energy bill.

Is it cheaper to heat one room or the whole house?

If you only need one room for a short period, heating that space can use less energy than heating an entire property.

But the cheapest method depends on the system.

If you have central heating, using TRVs to reduce temperatures in less-used rooms may be more practical than switching the whole system off and relying entirely on plug-in heaters.

You should also avoid allowing unused parts of the property to become excessively cold or damp.

The aim is controlled heating, not simply turning everything off.

How can renters reduce heating costs?

Renters obviously have fewer options for major improvements.

You may not be able to install a heat pump or replace the windows, but you can still consider:

• using heating controls correctly;
• reducing unnecessary draughts;
• closing curtains at night;
• keeping radiators unobstructed;
• using appropriate TRV settings;
• using targeted personal heating;
• discussing insulation or heating problems with the landlord.

Energy Saving Trust specifically recommends measures including draught exclusion and radiator reflector panels for renters, subject to obtaining landlord permission where required.

Frequently asked questions

What is the cheapest way to heat a house without gas?

There isn’t one answer for every property. Heat pumps can provide efficient whole-house electric heating, while direct electric heaters may be useful for small spaces or occasional heating. Upfront installation costs, electricity tariffs and property efficiency all matter.

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

For homes heated by a boiler, generally no. Energy Saving Trust advises that running boiler heating continuously uses more energy than heating when required. Heat pumps operate differently and often work most efficiently with longer, steadier operation.

Is gas or electricity cheaper for heating in 2026?

Under Ofgem’s July–September 2026 average price-cap rates for Direct Debit customers, gas is 7.33p/kWh compared with 26.11p/kWh for electricity. However, this is a fuel-price comparison, not a direct comparison of useful heat because heating-system efficiencies differ.

Is a heat pump cheaper than a gas boiler?

It can be, but not in every property or on every tariff. Heat-pump efficiency, electricity and gas prices, flow temperature, insulation and heating demand all affect running costs.

What temperature should I set my thermostat to?

Energy Saving Trust recommends the lowest temperature that is comfortable for your household, typically around 18–21°C for most people.

Are electric heaters expensive to run?

Direct electric heaters can be expensive for prolonged whole-house heating because electricity currently costs considerably more per kWh than gas under the price cap. However, using a small heater briefly in one occupied room is a different calculation from heating an entire property.

Should I turn radiators off in unused rooms?

TRVs can be turned down in rooms that require less heat, helping avoid unnecessary energy use. Energy Saving Trust recommends using them to control individual room temperatures.

Cheapest ways to heat your home: where should you start?

If your goal is simply to spend less this winter, don’t begin by shopping for an entirely new heating system.

Start with the inexpensive changes:

Control when you heat. Control which rooms you heat. Use the lowest comfortable thermostat setting. Stop unnecessary draughts. Make sure radiators work properly. Improve insulation where practical.

Then look at the heating system itself.

If you already have an efficient, reliable boiler, optimising the house around it may be more economical than immediately replacing it.

If your boiler is approaching the end of its useful life, compare the cost of installing a new boiler against alternatives such as a heat pump. And if you’re carrying out a major renovation, it may also be the right time to investigate underfloor heating costs.

Ultimately, the cheapest way to heat your home is to combine an efficient heating system with a property that doesn’t waste the heat it produces.

If your heating system needs upgrading, repairing or improving, you can find local heating engineers, plumbers and other home-improvement professionals through The Right Guy. Getting the property and existing system assessed first can help you spend money on the improvements that will actually make a difference rather than simply installing the newest technology.