Experts warning over 65p aluminium foil trick to cut heating bills

It could end up costing you a lot more in the long run

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Experts have warned householders that using 65p aluminum foil from a supermarket to cut your energy bill could be 'a false economy'. People are looking for quick and easy ways to cut their gas and electricity bills as prices soar, with more hikes in your monthly cost due from April.

Simple tricks include turning down your thermostat one degree, plugging all gaps and drafts, wearing warmer clothes and taking shorter showers. One hack people have been sharing is using aluminium foil - bought for just 65op from supermarkets such as Asda, Aldi and Tesco, to reflect heat back into the room behind a radiator.

But experts have said this may not be as effective as you hope - and could cost you more in the long run. According to The Mirror the saving could be "less than £31 a year" - and that figure relates to specialist reflective panels designed for the job rather than the inexpensive hack.

Experts say the cheap alternative will be less effective. According to The Green Age: "[The] approved material does not crinkle and crease like standard kitchen foil – it stays shiny and flat, in the ideal position to reflect heat.

"Foil can also oxidise over time as it is exposed to the environment, and this reduces its reflective properties, whereas radiator reflectors are treated with a chemical to prevent oxidization. Putting kitchen foil behind the radiator is a false economy, as its effectiveness will be severely limited by these effects over time."

Whether you use foil or reflective panels, experts say either will only work in certain cases.

The Green Age says to use panels: "...in exposed areas of the property where the radiator is situated on an exterior wall. Internal walls are not heat loss walls, and therefore you won’t save any heat by installing reflectors there. Party walls between properties normally don’t need reflectors either, unless your next door neighbours don’t heat the house, or there is no one living there."

But DIY expert website AskJeff says it could also cost you much more in the long run. The site says: "Radiators on outside walls are often fitted below windows, and the wall below a window is always prone to being wetted by rainwater running down the glass, especially if the sill overhang is insufficient or the drip groove below the sill has been blocked with paint.

"Keeping the wall warm will help to keep it dry, and avoid the maintenance and repair costs of dealing with blown plaster, stained decorations and possibly rotted skirting boards. So, on balance, I would say the soundest financial option is not to fit reflective panels or foil."

Emma Gunn of This is Money said: "Unfortunately it doesn't seem as though this is going to be a life-changing trick to slash your energy bills.

"But if you are thinking of giving it a go, make sure not to obstruct your radiators or cover them with curtains if they are underneath a window, otherwise you will likely cancel out the work of your reflective sheets.

"And if you do try using kitchen aluminium foil, the general advice is that while radiators don't reach great temperatures you should, of course, be careful."