A SAVVY homeowner has slashed her energy bill by hundreds thanks to a clever purchase that has allowed her to ditch central heating altogether.
Raquel Griffiths, 56, from Llantrisant, south Wales, lives alone in a four-bedroom family house.
Raquel Griffiths has stopped using the heating after investing in a £30 gadget[/caption]
Her son used to live there with her, but moved out five years ago.
Back in January of this year, the retiree bought two 1.2kW ceramic heaters from Amazon, costing just over £30 each.
The units work by passing an electric current through a ceramic plate, which in turn produces heat.
Raquel told The Sun: “I liked the idea of being able to heat selected rooms as and when needed. Once I’d bought the units, I mainly kept one in my bedroom and one in the lounge.”
Heating your home with individual heaters can sometimes cost you more, as a gas-powered central heating system is generally the most economical way to heat an entire property.
But for Raquel, it turned out to be quite the opposite.
She said: “I know it’s a bit controversial, but I’ve made significant savings by doing this.”
Thanks to these units, Raquel completely avoided putting on her central heating during February, March and April this year.
“In those three months, I only spent £121.13 on my energy bill,” she said.
“This compares to almost £200 for the same period in 2023 – and a whopping £214.65 in 2024.”
In short, Raquel almost halved her costs for those three months this year compared to that same period last year – a saving of nearly £100, which is set to more than double this winter.
The ceramic heaters have been a game-changer in terms of helping her keep a lid on rising energy costs.
Raquel said: “I first got to thinking about buying a couple after staying with a friend of mine who used one to heat her static caravan in Pembrokeshire, south-west Wales. I was impressed at what a good job it did at taking the chill off. I also loved the fact it was so quiet.”
After doing a little research, Raquel decided she wanted to try them in her home, as an alternative to her costly central heating.
According to Uswitch, based on October’s energy rates, it would cost around 32p an hour to run a 1.2kW ceramic heater like the ones that Raquel has.
By contrast, according to data from HomeHeatGrants, it could cost between 60p and £1 per hour to run gas central heating in a ‘medium-sized’ home, at least twice as much.
Raquel said: “During the cold months at the start of this year, having one heater in my bedroom and another in my lounge worked really well. There was just no point in me spending money heating my son’s empty bedroom.”
The same applied to the other rooms that weren’t being used.
“I live on my own in a relatively big family house,” she added. “There’s absolutely no need to pay to heat over 60% of the rooms.”
As Raquel worked from home (until she retired in April), she used to move one of the two heaters into her office during the day.
“I’ve worked remotely since Covid,” she said. “As my job involved me sitting at a desk during normal office hours, it was important for me to stay warm and comfortable. But equally, it was only necessary to heat that room when I was in there sat at my computer.”
Raquel is a complete convert – and particularly likes is the fact she can set each ceramic heater to her desired temperature.
“Typically, I opt for ‘eco mode,’” she said. “This means the unit switches off when it reaches 20°C.”
The heaters even come with a little remote control.
“Thanks to this, I can set my chosen unit to come on just before I need it” she said. “In the winter, I used to turn on the one in my bedroom ten minutes before bedtime. That made the room feel so cosy.”
Raquel is currently on a standard variable tariff with Utility Warehouse.
“Since changing the way I heat my home, I’ve noticed my energy bills have dropped dramatically,” she said. “It’s made a big difference to my budgeting.”
According to Raquel, the upfront cost of just over £30 per ceramic heater has been a price worth paying.
“I really do think they’re a great purchase – and a bit of a no-brainer,” she said.
The retiree is now expecting to make good use of her heaters from October until the end of April or until it warms up again next spring.
She added: “This will hopefully translate into even more big savings on my bills.”
Saving on central heating
Given the success she’s had with her ceramic heaters, the Raquel has now bought three more ready for the colder months ahead.
Households are just beginning to feel the effects of the latest increase to the energy price cap. This kicked in on October 1 and means families across the UK have seen their bills hiked from £1,720 to £1,755.
This will hit hard, as early October is exactly the time when many will reach to turn their heating on.
“I now have five units in total,” said Raquel.
“My hope is that with these carefully placed in selected rooms around the house, I won’t need to use my central heating at all this winter.
“I only plan on resorting to switching on the radiators if absolutely necessary – if, say, temperatures drop so low that there’s a risk of burst pipes.”
Raquel retired from her job in insurance in April this year so she would have more time to help care for her elderly mum who has Parkinson’s Disease.
Raquel is in receipt of a private pension, and does some ad-hoc work as a barista – serving coffees outside events at Cardiff castle – partly to boost her income, and also for the social aspect, and to stay active.
Like many others, the retiree has been struggling with soaring living costs in recent years.
She said: “The amount I’ve had to spend on gas and electricity has been making an especially big dent in my monthly budget.”
Another option that she could have considered to save on heating costs is only using the radiators in the rooms she was actually using.
This hack is simple: it just involves using the temperature controls to turn down the radiators in the rooms not being used. This is an easy way to help you avoid wasting energy – and money – unnecessarily.
What do the numbers on my radiator mean?
THERMOSTATIC radiator valves (TRVs) work by controlling the flow of hot water inside a radiator.
These energy-saving gadgets work by detecting the temperature of a room and then controlling how much hot water is let into the radiator.
TRVs have numbers printed on them, which roughly correspond to the room temperatures shown above.
So if the room is colder than the number it’s positioned to, the TRV will sense this and allow more hot water into the radiator to heat up the room quickly.
As the room gets warmer, the TRV will restrict the amount of hot water coming into the radiator to maintain the temperature of the room.
And as the room temperature starts to drop, the TRV senses the temperature and will allow more hot water in again, repeating the process.
The average household can save up to £75 every year if they have thermostatic radiator valves fitted on all their radiators, according to British Gas.
Experts recommend that households should set their TRV to 2 or 3 in the average room.
If you don’t need to heat a room, set your radiator TRV on the lowest setting.
This will give the devices frost protection and will allow hot water to briefly pass through but only if the temperature drops below 7°C.
Potential problems
Condensation can potentially be a problem if you don’t use your central heating, but Raquel says she takes steps to manage this.
“I’m aware of the potential issues,” she said.
“So, I’m proactive about reducing the risk. This includes me regularly opening the windows to air my home, as well as making good use of the extractor fans in both the kitchen and bathroom.”
Raquel is making the active choice to keep her central heating off this winter as she’s found a cost-effective alternative to help ensure her home stays warm.
It comes as more than two million households say they won’t turn on their heating over the next few months, an increase of a fifth compared with last year, findings from comparison site Uswitch show.
Those living alone are the most likely to take this drastic course of action.
Will Owen, energy expert at Uswitch, said: “These figures are concerning. Spending winter in a cold home can be bad for your health.”
Even though containing yourself to just a few rooms will work for some households, such as Raquel, this won’t work for everyone.
“Many cannot and should not live without central heating,” added Will.
“It also could run the risk of allowing unheated rooms to become damp in winter conditions.
People are advised to set their thermostats to between 18°C and 21°C even when trying to save money.”
If you haven’t fixed your energy tariff in a year or more, you’re probably on a standard variable tariff right now.
Will said: “This could mean you’re paying more than you need to. Running a quick energy comparison is the best way to find out if you could lock in a cheaper rate.”
How to save on your energy bills
SWITCHING energy providers can sound like a hassle – but fortunately it’s pretty straight forward to change supplier – and save lots of cash.
Shop around – If you’re on an SVT deal you are likely throwing away up to £250 a year. Use a comparion site such as MoneySuperMarket.com, uSwitch or EnergyHelpline.com to see what deals are available to you.
The cheapest deals are usually found online and are fixed deals – meaning you’ll pay a fixed amount usually for 12 months.
Switch – When you’ve found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.
It helps to have the following information – which you can find on your bill – to hand to give the new supplier.
- Your postcode
- Name of your existing supplier
- Name of your existing deal and how much you payAn up-to-date meter reading
It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.
It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply won’t be interrupted in that time.
