The key story this week: the price cap is going up – and gas is the main culprit
Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap will rise by 13% for the period 1 July to 30 September 2026. This cap affects households on standard variable and default tariffs (so, anyone who hasn’t actively moved onto a fixed deal). Ofgem’s update makes it clear the underlying driver is higher wholesale gas prices, with electricity rising less sharply.
For most homes around Bordon, Whitehill, Liphook, Alton, Farnham and Haslemere, that matters because gas still does the heavy lifting for space heating and hot water. Even though we’re heading into summer, the July–September cap sets the tone for what suppliers are charging right now—and it directly affects the baseline you’ll be working from as you prep for autumn.
What actually happened (and what the “price cap” really is)
The price cap isn’t a limit on your total bill. It’s a regulator-set limit on the unit rates (pence per kWh) and standing charges suppliers can charge customers on default tariffs, based on a typical consumption model. If you use more energy than “typical”, you pay more. Use less, you pay less.
There are two practical points homeowners often miss:
- The cap changes every three months. This one runs July to September.
- Ofgem also updates the Typical Domestic Consumption Values (TDCVs) used for presenting comparisons. That doesn’t change the physics of your home, but it can change how “typical bill” figures are communicated and how people benchmark their usage.
So the story isn’t just “prices are up”. It’s “the regulated default price for each unit of gas/electric is up”, which makes efficiency improvements and control settings suddenly worth more in £ terms.
Why it matters: summer is when you lock in the easiest savings
Most people only think about heating when it’s cold. But in places like Haslemere and Farnham—where older properties, extensions and mixed insulation standards are common—summer is when you can:
- get your boiler serviced without an emergency call-out
- tweak controls while you’re not relying on them daily
- set up hot water properly (often a year-round waste point)
- plan small upgrades (smart controls, TRVs, cylinder stats) before installers get booked solid in October
Because this cap increase appears to be driven largely by gas costs, any home that can reduce gas consumption—without sacrificing comfort—gets a bigger payback than it did a quarter ago.
The technical bit in plain English: where your heating money actually goes
When you pay for gas, you’re paying for heat measured in kWh. Your boiler then converts that chemical energy into hot water for your radiators (space heating) and taps/showers (domestic hot water, or DHW). Two things decide how much you spend:
- How many kWh you use (how leaky the home is, how long heating runs, hot water habits).
- How efficiently the boiler turns kWh into useful heat.
With modern condensing boilers, efficiency depends heavily on whether the boiler can condense. Condensing happens when the returning water from your radiators is cool enough for the boiler to reclaim heat from the flue gases. If your system runs at high temperatures all the time, the boiler condenses less and you effectively burn more gas for the same comfort.
Flow temperature: the single most common “silent” cost
Many boilers in homes across Alton and Liphook are set with a radiator flow temperature around 70–80°C because that was historically normal. But for a condensing gas boiler to spend more time in high-efficiency mode, many systems can run comfortably at 55–65°C (sometimes lower), provided radiators are sized appropriately and the home isn’t extremely draughty.
Lowering flow temperature is not about making the house cold. It’s about delivering the same heat more gently and efficiently. If you try this, do it in steps and check comfort room-by-room.
Heating controls: what you actually want them to do
Your thermostat, programmer and TRVs (radiator valves) should work together so the boiler fires only when needed. Common problems we see in Bordon and Whitehill include:
- thermostat placed in a hallway that’s cooler than living spaces (boiler runs longer than necessary)
- TRVs missing or stuck, meaning rooms overheat with no control
- hot water timed “all day” in summer when a short morning/evening heat-up is enough
- incorrect boiler “mode” settings (e.g., constant comfort preheat when not needed)
What it means financially: you can’t control the cap, but you can control kWh
A price cap rise means each wasted kWh costs more. In real terms, the “best” savings now are the ones that permanently reduce demand with minimal disruption.
Here are the areas that typically provide reliable payback for homeowners (and why):
1) Boiler service and combustion check
A proper service isn’t just a box-tick. It includes safety checks, cleaning key components where applicable, and ensuring the boiler is burning cleanly. A struggling boiler can short-cycle (lots of starts/stops), run poorly, and mask small faults that become expensive breakdowns when the first cold snap hits Farnham Park or the higher ground near Haslemere.
Cost-wise, a service is predictable. A winter breakdown is not—especially if it coincides with parts delays or a busy period.
2) System water quality: sludge, magnetic filters and balancing
If radiators have cold spots, take ages to warm up, or some rooms are always “last to heat”, your system may have poor circulation or sludge. That forces longer run times (more kWh) and can cause noisy operation and pump strain.
Two practical interventions we commonly recommend (depending on what we find) are:
- Magnetic filter maintenance (or fitting one if none exists), which captures circulating iron oxide.
- Balancing radiators, so heat is shared correctly across the house and the thermostat reaches temperature sooner.
These are not glamorous upgrades, but when gas prices rise, they become financially meaningful because you’re reducing run time and improving heat delivery.
3) Flow temp optimisation (without compromising comfort)
If your boiler is condensing-capable (most are), optimising the flow temperature can cut gas use noticeably—particularly in milder weather (which is exactly what you get in July–September, and then again in October/November when heating starts back up).
Homeowner approach: reduce the radiator flow temp by 5°C, live with it for 2–3 days, then reduce again if rooms still reach target temperature. If the house struggles on colder evenings, nudge it back up slightly. You’re aiming for the lowest temperature that still heats the home properly.
4) Hot water: fix the summer waste
Even when heating is off, hot water can be a year-round gas cost. Common waste points include:
- combi boilers keeping a comfort preheat on (hot water is faster, but you burn gas maintaining temperature)
- stored hot water cylinders set too hot, or with immersion/boiler schedules that run unnecessarily
- long hot water pipe runs in larger properties outside Alton or on the edges of Haslemere—you pay to heat pipework before water reaches the tap
Practical steps: check whether “preheat” is on; review hot water schedules; and ensure cylinder thermostats are sensible (and that the cylinder has decent insulation). For Legionella protection, stored hot water is typically kept at safe temperatures; don’t change cylinder settings blindly—get advice if you’re unsure.
What it means locally (Bordon, Whitehill, Liphook, Alton, Farnham, Haslemere)
The same cap applies nationally, but local housing stock changes how it hits:
- Bordon and Whitehill: a mix of newer developments and older homes means some households have modern controls while others still rely on basic timers. The latter group often has the fastest wins from control upgrades and balancing.
- Liphook: many properties have extensions and altered layouts over time. That commonly creates uneven heating zones—one thermostat trying to control a house that no longer behaves like “one zone”.
- Alton: a lot of family homes where hot water demand is high. Optimising DHW settings and shower efficiency can make a noticeable difference.
- Farnham and Haslemere: more period properties and larger homes where heat loss can be higher, and where radiator sizing or pipework design sometimes limits how low you can comfortably run flow temperatures. Here, draught-proofing and targeted insulation (loft hatch, suspended floors, chimney balloons where appropriate) can be as valuable as boiler tweaks.
Locally, we also see many households with a gas boiler plus secondary heating (wood burners, electric heaters). With the cap rising and electricity unit costs typically high, it’s worth checking that any electric top-up heating isn’t quietly becoming the most expensive way to stay comfortable in shoulder seasons.
What homeowners should do next (practical steps that stand up in the real world)
Check your tariff position before July hits your direct debit
If you’re on a standard variable/default tariff, you’re exposed to this cap change. It may be worth comparing fixed deals, but be careful: the “best” option depends on your usage pattern and risk tolerance. If you do nothing, your unit rates will track the cap. If you fix, you’re betting that future caps won’t fall below your fixed rate. Also check whether changing payment method affects your rates (Ofgem highlights this), and make sure your meter readings are accurate.
Do a 30-minute heating controls audit
Most households can identify quick inefficiencies by checking:
- programmer schedules (heating and hot water)
- thermostat target temperature (avoid creeping it up “just because”)
- TRVs: are bedrooms cooler than lounges? Are unused rooms turned down?
- combi preheat/comfort mode: on or off, and do you actually need it?
If you’re not certain what you’re looking at, take photos of the controller and boiler display and get professional guidance—incorrect settings can waste energy or affect hot water performance.
Book servicing and small remedial work in summer
In our experience, homeowners in Farnham and Haslemere who wait until the first cold week often end up with limited appointment choice. Summer is when you can sort:
- annual service and safety checks
- noisy pumps/valves before they fail
- stuck TRVs
- system pressure issues and small leaks
- filter cleaning and inhibitor checks
If you’re considering a heat pump later, start with the “boring” prep now
The price cap story is about gas today—but many households in Alton, Liphook and surrounding villages are still weighing up heat pumps. If that’s you, the best first steps usually aren’t the heat pump itself. They’re the foundational measures: insulation, draught-proofing, radiator upgrades where needed, and lower-temperature heating readiness. Those steps reduce required heat output and make any future system cheaper to run.
The bottom line: higher unit prices make efficiency upgrades more valuable
Ofgem’s 13% rise is a reminder that household energy costs are still being pushed around by wholesale gas markets. You can’t control that volatility, but you can control how much energy your home needs to stay comfortable. The homes that feel this least will be the ones with well-set controls, clean and balanced systems, sensible flow temperatures, and heating that’s maintained before it becomes an emergency.
If you’d like Embassy Gas to check your boiler setup, optimise your heating controls or book a service in Bordon, Whitehill, Liphook, Alton, Farnham or Haslemere, call (01420) 558993, email helpdesk@embassygas.com or book online at https://www.embassygas.com/book.