Martin Lewis has explained the exact temperature your fridge and freezer should be set at.
The MoneySavingExpert.com founder ran through ways to prepare your home for winter during an episode of the Martin Lewis Money Show Live on ITV yesterday evening. One of his tips was to check the temperature of your fridge and freezer, so you’re not wasting energy. He said: “Five degrees is the right temperature for a fridge, no colder. Minus 18 is the right temperature for a freezer.”
The Ofgem energy price cap currently sits at £1,834 a year - this is based on the typical household using 2,700 kWh of electricity and 11,500 kWh of gas. Ofgem recently changed its methodology, due to people using less energy to save money - under the old formula, the price cap is set at £1,923 a year.
But Martin explained how people will be paying more compared to last winter, as the Government isn't giving households a £66/£67 monthly discount like it did last year. Energy bills are also still much higher than they used to be. The price cap stood at £1,277 a year in October 2021 and £1,042 a year in October 2020.
Martin shared more ways to get your home in order for winter, including how to get free water-saving gadgets and an important radiator check. He said: “Get yourself some free water-saving equipment, if you can, like a shower head that uses less water.
"Why? Because most of the water that we use is heated. So using less water, we pay for less heat. There’s hundreds of thousands of these freebies available from Save Money, Save Water. Walk around the house and make sure the radiators are off in the rooms you are not in. Simple as that."
Finally, he issued a reminder to check the temperature of the flow rate of your boiler - and warned most people have theirs set too high. Martin said: “Combi boilers have a flow right rate, the temperature of the water flowing around the system. Often it’s set at an insufficiently high rate and turning it down, you won’t notice any difference, the heating won’t change but it can save you £100 a year. There’s a website to take you through it step by step, moneysavingboilerchallenge.com."