Price cap and running costs

1 The current cap

Ofgem's figures for the period are averages for Direct Debit customers in Great Britain, and they include VAT: 5% on gas, with no VAT on electricity from 1 October 2026 to 31 March 2027¹. Ofgem says this means costs cannot be compared directly with previous periods¹.

2 What a boiler's gas costs

Ofgem does not publish a boiler cost. Multiplying its own figures gives a rough guide, and this arithmetic is not an Ofgem figure: 9,500 kWh at 7.97p comes to about £757, and 365 days of the 29.68p standing charge to about £108, or about £865 of gas in a year at this period's rates¹. Actual use varies with the house, and rates change every three months, so the sum is not a forecast.

The standing charge is paid whether the boiler runs or not². Heating oil has no cap, so this sum does not apply to an oil boiler¹.

3 Settings that affect the bill

The government's Clean Energy campaign says "Reduce your combi boiler flow temperature to 60C", one of three tips it says together save around £100 a year⁴. It asks for extra care if anyone in the house is over 65, under 5 or has a health condition⁴. See flow temperature. That 60°C is running advice; it is separate from the 55°C design figure in building rules.

The same campaign says to turn radiators down rather than off in unused rooms, because turning them off can raise the risk of damp and mould⁴. For the main living room and bedroom, UKHSA's figure is "at least 18°C"⁵. No official figure was found for what a room thermostat setting saves, so none is printed here.