With winter still feeling far from over and temperatures dropping, many UK households are looking for ways to keep their homes warm without the additional price hike.

To help with this problem, Stephen Hankinson, energy efficiency expert at Electric Radiators Direct, has shared his best tips to keep your home warm this winter, while saving some cash.

His first tip is to lower the hot water temperature.

Most UK water heaters are set to store water at around 60-65°C - far too hot to bathe in (and hotter than is usually needed for a washing machine or dishwasher load), so you’re essentially spending money over-heating.

Instead, set your water heater to a more comfortable 49°C.

This is usually warm enough for most household needs and it can reduce your heater’s energy consumption by 4 to 8%, which can be a saving of around £20 a month over winter.

You can also save money but only preheating the oven when the recipe specifically calls for it.

If a recipe doesn’t specifically require preheating, skip it and pop your food in straight away as it can be starting to warm through as your oven heats up, reducing overall time that your oven needs to be on for.

Once you’ve done cooking, switch your oven off and open the door to let the warmth flow into your home.

If you only need to reheat something small, use the microwave. Microwaves typically use less energy as they heat food more quickly, and this can save you money.

Another great way to save some money is by optimising your appliances.

Make sure to only run your dishwasher and washing machine when they have a full load and with the eco or energy saving setting on.

When it comes to the dishwasher, you can also save by skipping the drying cycle and air-drying dishes instead.