Octopus Energy gives exact temperature for showers and baths with £65 at stake

Octopus Energy has given households an exact temperature to set their boiler for having a shower or bath this winter to make a £65 saving.

If you find yourself diluting the hot water with a splash of cold when having a soak, or quickly turning down the temperature when you step into the shower, you could actually be costing yourself money. It means that not only is your water temperature too hot, but you're unnecessarily wasting money by having to add cold water. According to Octopus Energy, there is an ideal sweet spot to set your boiler temperature that means you won't have to keep adjusting it all the time and you'll save yourself up to £65 on your energy bills in the process.

The major energy supplier says households should set their boiler temperature to at least 55C to save money this winter.

Normally, a boiler's flow temperature is set too high by default so it may unwittingly be costing you a lot of money. But turning the temperature down slightly, to no lower than 55C, will mean your water will still be warm, but you'll save some extra pennies.

Explaining the ideal temperature for hot water in winter, Octopus Energy said: "Your boiler's flow setting controls the water temperature when it leaves your boiler. Its default setting is usually too high.

"Turn it down a bit and your home will feel just as warm, but you could cut your energy bills by 12% and save up to £65 according to Nesta. If you have a combi boiler, we recommend setting your flow temperature to 50C for heating and 55C for hot water to save energy.

"If you have a boiler and a hot water cylinder, we recommend setting the flow temperature on your boiler to a few degrees over 60C for heating and hot water, and setting your hot water cylinder to 60C (you'll usually find the control for your cylinder of the way up the tank)."

Now is the ideal time to make small cost-saving measures around your home as energy bills increased for more than seven million households on standard energy tariffs last month when Ofgem's new price cap took effect.

The energy regulator raised its price cap by 2% on October 1 taking the average bill for households in England, Scotland and Wales paying by direct debit for gas and electricity up from £1,720 per year to £1,755.

The price cap sets the maximum rate per unit and standing charge that customers can be charged by suppliers for their energy use but not the total bill, so those who use more energy ultimately pay more.

While the price cap won't affect households on fixed tariffs, it still pays to cut costs where you can and adjusting your boiler temperature is a very quick and simple way to save money.