• 98% of people in the UK have taken at least one energy-saving measure this winter but research reveals many don’t know most effective measures
• 4 in 10 people don’t think energy bills will ever return to prices seen in 2020
• Nesta and Energy and Business Minister encouraging people to take Money Saving Boiler Challenge in January
• 170,000 have already turned down boiler flow temperature using Nesta’s tool, saving £18m on energy bills and £9m for the Treasury

Four in ten people fear that higher energy bills will never return to the level they were at in 2020, before the current energy crisis, new research from the charity Nesta and the Behavioural Insights Team finds today.

Concerns about higher energy bills have pushed almost all households in the UK (98%) to try to save energy in at least one way. But despite most people trying at least one energy-saving measure, many still don’t know which are the most effective.

The research undertaken by the Behavioural Insights Team – which included a wide-ranging survey on the energy crisis and an experiment that asked people to rate 11 energy-saving measures by how much they save and tested people’s understanding of energy bills – found:

• taking showers instead of baths and turning off lights when they are not in use were rated the joint fifth highest, despite saving the least of those listed (approximately £16 and £25 a year respectively)
• air drying laundry was highest rated, when in fact it is not one of the most effective measures (saving approximately £70 a year)
• turning down boiler flow temperature was the third lowest rated despite being one of the most effective measures householders can take to cut bills with savings of around £112 a year
• people thought there was relatively little difference in how much energy different actions saved, with the highest average score being only 1.4 times that of the lowest, despite the difference in savings ranging from £16 to £309.

The UK Government’s Energy Price Guarantee limits the annual energy bill for a typical household to around £2,500.

Under the Government subsidy, the amount each household actually pays depends on the amount of energy it uses, but BIT’s experiment revealed that many people don’t realise that, even with the Energy Price Guarantee in place, their energy bill will vary depending on how much they use. Among those who knew about the Guarantee, 4 in 10 (41%) incorrectly believed that the £2,500 that a typical household would pay was a maximum threshold.

In October, Nesta launched the Money Saving Boiler Challenge with an online tool that walks users through turning down their combi boiler flow temperature with simple step-by-step guidance. It is run in partnership with Which?, Energy UK, EDF, E.ON Next, Octopus Energy and Heating Hub and features in the Government’s Help for Households official advice, as well as on the Money Saving Expert website.

More than 170,000 people have already used the tool, which can help people save around £112 on average per year on bills. This means that the Money Saving Boiler Challenge has already saved around £18 million on people’s energy bills and £9 million for the Treasury through savings on the Energy Price Guarantee subsidy. Nesta is calling for people worried about paying their bills to take the challenge and save money this January.

Madeleine Gabriel, director of sustainable future at Nesta, said:

“Energy prices have caused seismic shocks to people’s finances over the last year and many now think high prices are the new normal.

“Most people are already taking action to cut their bills but they don’t necessarily know which measures will save the most. While every little helps, it makes sense to focus first on the most effective actions. Many of these are free and just need to be done once, rather than things you need to remember to do every day, such as turning off lights.

“In just two minutes anyone with a combi boiler can turn down their boiler flow temperature. This can save around £112 a year, which is why over 170,000 people have already done this with our simple step-by-step guide. All together those who have used the tool will save up to £18 million over a year and, because the Government is subsidising bills through the Energy Price Guarantee, the Treasury will save a further £9 million. We estimate 10 million homes with combi boilers could lower their flow temperatures and if all did so, annual savings could be as high as £1.5 billion. We hope that with the Government’s help to get the message out about the Money Saving Boiler Challenge more people will save money on their bills and reduce their carbon emissions.”

Energy and Business Minister Lord Callanan said:

“The Government’s ‘It All Adds Up’ energy saving campaign is getting important messaging out to millions of households across the country, showing them low and no-cost tips to cut their energy use and bills this winter.

“Simple steps like turning down the flow temperature on a boiler, switching appliances off at the plug and putting draught excluders around doors can help to cut energy bills by hundreds of pounds a year, while keeping homes warm and safe.

“It all adds up, so I urge people to take note of the advice and follow the easy steps to cut their fuel bills.”

Combining energy-saving measures

Previous research from Nesta found that combining energy-saving measures can save households even more money. If a household with average gas consumption lowers its combination boiler flow temperature to 60°C, reduces the temperature of hot water and adjusts thermostatic radiator valves in some rooms, it could save around £180 on annual energy bills. Nesta calculates that five free energy -saving measures could save £3 billion on household bills and £1.5 billion for the Government if adopted by all eligible homes. In addition, topping up loft insulation or adding a smart thermostat could bring savings up to £230. Nesta estimates that if everyone who could put these measures in place was supported to do so, total household energy demand could be reduced by 20% over a year.

Experiment findings

The full list of energy-saving measures in the BIT experiment and how effective people thought they were, as well as approximate annual energy bill savings for comparison, is:

Ends

Notes to editors

1. The Behavioural Insights Team, part of Nesta since 2021, ran an online experiment on the energy crisis with a sample of 2,022 UK adults collected between 4th to 17th November 2022.
2. Nesta commissioned Cambridge Architectural Research (CAR) in 2022 to model the savings that can be made through lesser-known, free or low-cost measures. This work was supported by an academic literature review by the Energy House Labs Team at the University of Salford. Nesta has summarised these findings and published the full table of CAR’s findings on its website.
3. Nesta commissioned Salford University to test how much gas is saved by lowering flow temperatures in a real-world environment. These show that reducing flow temperature from 80°C to 60°C can save 9% of total gas use, or £112 for an average home.
4. The BIT experiment looked at how effective people think different energy saving measures are using Cambridge Architectural Research data from 2022 and from its 2012 report for the UK Government, using the 'most likely' raw energy saving per households data, rank-ordered.
5. For figures for ‘approximate £ saving on typical annual energy bill’, Cambridge Architectural Research figures (2012, 2022) were used, except for turn down the boiler flow temperature on your combi boiler, which uses Salford University data and turn off lights when they are not in use, which use Energy Saving Trust data. For air drying laundry instead of using the tumble dryer, we have used Cambridge Architectural Research’s 2012 annual figure, but have reduced it based on the fact that air drying clothes inside may not be feasible all year round and therefore the figure is based on air drying clothes outside in the warmest months.
6. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that households can save £70 per year by air drying laundry instead of using the tumble dryer and £25 by turning off lights when they are not in use in its Warm Homes Hacks guide, from November 2022.
7. For more information on the analysis or to speak to one of the experts involved, please contact Kieran Lowe, Media Manager, on 020 7438 2576 or [email protected]. Spokespeople are available for broadcast interviews.

About Nesta

We are Nesta, the UK's innovation agency for social good. We design, test and scale solutions to society's biggest problems. Our three missions are to give every child a fair start, help people live healthy lives, and create a sustainable future where the economy works for both people and the planet.

For over 20 years, we have worked to support, encourage and inspire innovation. We work in three roles: as an innovation partner working with frontline organisations to design and test new solutions, as a venture builder supporting new and early stage businesses, and as a system shaper creating the conditions for innovation.

Harnessing the rigour of science and the creativity of design, we work relentlessly to change millions of lives for the better. Find out more at nesta.org.uk

About the Behavioural Insights Team

The Behavioural Insights Team (BIT) is one of the world’s leading behavioural science consultancies, working around the world to improve people’s lives.

BIT works in partnership with governments, local authorities, businesses and NGOs in over 30 countries, often using simple changes to tackle major policy problems and deliver improved public services and social outcomes.

BIT was established by the UK government in 2010. In 2014 it became an independent social purpose company, part owned by the Cabinet Office and innovation agency Nesta, and since 2021 has been entirely owned by Nesta.

For more information on our work and our team visit www.bi.team and follow us on LinkedIn, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube and Medium.