Case studies - Find out about other homes saving money
Find out how people across Gloucestershire are saving money on their energy bills and how much they pay for energy in different types of houses.
In June 2025 one Gloucestershire resident replaced his gas ‘combi’ boiler with an air source heat pump, to provide heat and hot water for his family of four in their Victorian semi. He tells us why he decided to make the change now, what he’d do differently, and how it’s going so far.
In June 2025 one Gloucestershire resident replaced his gas ‘combi’ boiler with an air source heat pump, to provide heat and hot water for his family of four in their Victorian semi. He tells us why he decided to make the change now, what he’d do differently, and how it’s going so far.
I live in a two bedroom terraced house, which was built in the last 30 years and is well insulated. Two adults live in the house, we have a tumble drier and washer but no dishwasher. We would describe ourselves as very energy conscious. Our electricity and gas cost around £90 a month and this went up to £150 a month during the cold snap and energy price rise in December.
My energy saving tips:
- Use an electric blanket to warm your bed up at night or use a hot water bottle rather than heating the room.
- Our hot water isn’t heated on demand, so we only turn the hot water on for an hour or so in the morning.
- We keep the thermostat on a low temperature (around 18 degrees).
I live in a two bedroom terraced house, which was built in the last 30 years and is well insulated. Two adults live in the house, we have a tumble drier and washer but no dishwasher. We would describe ourselves as very energy conscious. Our electricity and gas cost around £90 a month and this went up to £150 a month during the cold snap and energy price rise in December.
My energy saving tips:
- Use an electric blanket to warm your bed up at night or use a hot water bottle rather than heating the room.
- Our hot water isn’t heated on demand, so we only turn the hot water on for an hour or so in the morning.
- We keep the thermostat on a low temperature (around 18 degrees).
I live in a rented two-bedroom flat, which was built over 200 years ago, and has little insulation and is quite draughty. Two adults live in the house, we have a dish washer and washing machine but no tumble drier. We would describe ourselves as very energy conscious. Our electricity and gas cost around £100 a month and this went up to £145 during the cold snap and energy price rise in December.
My energy saving tips:
- Invest in decent, thick, draught-proof curtains
- Use hot water bottles and thermal clothing to keep warm, with blankets available around the house
- Keep your doors and windows closed when you have the heating on, and make sure you turn off radiators in rooms that you are not in regularly (For example, during the day you can keep them off in bedrooms, hallways, spare rooms, and concentrate on living/working spaces)
I live in a rented two-bedroom flat, which was built over 200 years ago, and has little insulation and is quite draughty. Two adults live in the house, we have a dish washer and washing machine but no tumble drier. We would describe ourselves as very energy conscious. Our electricity and gas cost around £100 a month and this went up to £145 during the cold snap and energy price rise in December.
My energy saving tips:
- Invest in decent, thick, draught-proof curtains
- Use hot water bottles and thermal clothing to keep warm, with blankets available around the house
- Keep your doors and windows closed when you have the heating on, and make sure you turn off radiators in rooms that you are not in regularly (For example, during the day you can keep them off in bedrooms, hallways, spare rooms, and concentrate on living/working spaces)
I live with my wife, and at present one of our adult children, in a 25-year-old four-bedroom detached house. The house was built to be reasonably energy efficient, but we have added to this by installing cavity wall insulation and replacing what were draughty external doors.
The house runs on a conventional heating system of gas boiler and large insulated hot water tank. We heat the water for around 30 minutes in the morning and find this typically lasts for 24 hours and only occasionally have to boost it. Our central heating is set to come on first thing in the morning for 30 minutes to remove the chill and then again for four hours in the evening. To save energy the heating is timed to go off an hour before we typically go to bed with a house staying warm until we retire. We use thermostatic radiator controls in the bedrooms and do not heat unused rooms. When working from home I avoid using the central heating to warm the entire house and have a small, 500-watt, fan heater that keeps the study warm at around 17°. Our energy provider uses renewable electricity and, helped by the mild weather earlier this year, total energy bill until the recent cold snap has been approximately £100 per month. This is monitored closely by a smart metre, and unfortunately more likely to be around £200 for December.
My energy saving tips:
- We save energy by using our washing machine, fully loaded, at a low temperature and short wash.
- Clothes drying is on heated airer that uses less energy than a tumble drier.
- We shower rather than using a bath in order to save both energy and water. The same reasons apply to us using a dishwasher rather than hand washing.
I live with my wife, and at present one of our adult children, in a 25-year-old four-bedroom detached house. The house was built to be reasonably energy efficient, but we have added to this by installing cavity wall insulation and replacing what were draughty external doors.
The house runs on a conventional heating system of gas boiler and large insulated hot water tank. We heat the water for around 30 minutes in the morning and find this typically lasts for 24 hours and only occasionally have to boost it. Our central heating is set to come on first thing in the morning for 30 minutes to remove the chill and then again for four hours in the evening. To save energy the heating is timed to go off an hour before we typically go to bed with a house staying warm until we retire. We use thermostatic radiator controls in the bedrooms and do not heat unused rooms. When working from home I avoid using the central heating to warm the entire house and have a small, 500-watt, fan heater that keeps the study warm at around 17°. Our energy provider uses renewable electricity and, helped by the mild weather earlier this year, total energy bill until the recent cold snap has been approximately £100 per month. This is monitored closely by a smart metre, and unfortunately more likely to be around £200 for December.
My energy saving tips:
- We save energy by using our washing machine, fully loaded, at a low temperature and short wash.
- Clothes drying is on heated airer that uses less energy than a tumble drier.
- We shower rather than using a bath in order to save both energy and water. The same reasons apply to us using a dishwasher rather than hand washing.
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