A warmer home this winter, and a smaller bill.
Ken's plan for homes with a gas boiler. Three two-minute jobs tonight, then one small job a day for 7 days. Nothing needs a ladder, a tool inside the boiler, or the gas touched.
Launch price £9.99 until 30 November. Then £14.99.
In our worked example, an older, draughty home could save about £435 a year on gas. See the sums
- 73 pages, plus 7 to print
- Free 15-page print pack for breakdowns and power cuts
- 7-day money-back guarantee
Does this sound like your house?
Every winter, the same rows
Leave it on low all day, it's cheaper.
What the University of Salford's test house actually found.
Turn it right up, it'll warm up faster.
It won't, and chapter 3 shows why.
That little heater only costs pennies.
Some do. Some are a fire risk. Chapter 7 tells them apart.
Our deal is fine.
Check it against the price cap in ten minutes, with your own bill.
Don't take Ken's word for it. Chapter 9 shows you how to check any change on your own meter, and turn it into pounds.
01 · The sums
Your heating bill, one job at a time
Here's a year of gas for heating in two example homes, worked through in chapter 10. Each job comes off what's left after the one before, so nothing is counted twice.
The first three jobs cost little, with nothing to keep doing. The last two are habits, and only if they suit you.
Get the handbookInstant download · $13.20An example, not a promise. Not every change suits every home, and some cost a little to buy. Never stay cold to save money.
How these figures were worked out
*Only if you're still warm enough, and only if you're out for much of the day. Typical home: 9,500 kWh of gas a year, Ofgem's typical figure. The older home's 15,000 kWh is a made-up example; your bill shows your own figure. Gas at 7.97p per kWh, the Ofgem price cap for England, Scotland and Wales, October to December 2026, with about 8 in every 10 kWh going on heating. Flow temperature: around 8% of gas use (Nesta). Draught-proofing about £55 and reflector panels about £18 a year (Energy Saving Trust), turned into a share of the heating bill. 22°C to 21°C: the Energy Saving Trust puts it at about £120 a year in its example home; heating bills differ, so we've used about 1 in 10 of the heating bill, the usual rule of thumb for one degree. All day used about 31% more gas than twice a day in the University of Salford's test house, which Salford says won't apply to every home. The sources used different homes and dates, so treat the totals as a rough guide. Northern Ireland's prices are different. Examples, not promises: your home and habits change them. Some older homes with small radiators can't stay warm at 60°C. Never stay cold to save money: at 65 or over, keep the rooms you use at 18°C or more (NHS).
Straight from page 10 · try these tonight
Three two-minute jobs, free
No tools, no ladder, and you can undo every one.
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1
Let the radiators breathe
Pull furniture a hand's width away and tuck long curtains behind. Radiators warm a room by moving air.
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2
Draw the curtains at dusk
It keeps the day's heat in the room.
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3
Thermostat down one degree
If you're still warm enough, 22°C to 21°C could save about £120 a year in Great Britain (£80 in Northern Ireland). Keep rooms you use at 18°C or more.
Sources: Energy Saving Trust for the saving, the NHS for 18°C. The book names a source for every fact like this.
Then, the 7-day plan
Seven days. One small job at a time.
No need to do it all in one afternoon. Go slower or skip a day, that's fine. Can't reach something safely? Ask someone to help, or leave it.
- Day 1Safety checks
- Day 2Your heating controls
- Day 3Pressure and radiators
- Day 4Draughts and warm air
- Day 5Your emergency cards
- Day 6Your energy bill
- Day 7Servicing
The handbook walks you through each day, step by step.
Sample pages
Have a proper look inside before you buy
Real pages from the handbook. Tap any page to see it full size.
02 · What's inside
Three parts, ten chapters
Read it in order, one chapter a night.
Part 1 · 2 chapters
Get ready
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1
Your home, your plan. A few questions that show which chapters matter for your house, three jobs for tonight, and the 7-day plan.
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2
Seven checks before the first frost. Pressure, radiators, the timer, the plastic pipe that can freeze, the carbon monoxide alarm.
Part 2 · 4 chapters
Warm for less
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3
The heating arguments, settled. On all day or twice a day, off at night or down.
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4
Your controls, explained. Every dial, button and radiator number, with drawn diagrams.
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5
Warm for less, safely. The boiler setting most people never touch, and warming the person.
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6
Still cold with the heating on? Cold radiators, cold rooms and the draught you can't see.
Part 3 · 4 chapters
Lower bills
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7
Cheap buys: worth it, and dangerous. What's worth a few pounds, and what never comes in the house.
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8
Is your energy deal fair? A ten-minute check against the price cap, and what to say if you'd rather ring.
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9
Test it on your own meter. A simple sheet to see what a change really does.
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10
Your winter, added up. What it could come to in two example homes.
Also: useful numbers and websites in one place, a page for family setting it up for someone, and every fact sourced at the back.
Made for screens, easy on paper
Easy to read on screen. Easy to print what you need.
Tap to jump
Every chapter and page number is a link, and the sidebar lists every section.
Tap to ring
Every phone number rings when you tap it on a phone or tablet.
Fill it in
Tick boxes and write-in boxes on the plan and both worksheets, right on screen.
Print only 7 pages
A separate short file with just the sheets and useful numbers.
Words too small? Pinch to zoom, as with any photo.
Free, and included with the handbook
When the Heating Stops
Ken's free print pack: the safe checks on paper, by the boiler, for the night it stops or the power goes.
- 7 checks to do before the first cold night
- Smell gas, or the CO alarm's going off: step by step
- It's stopped: what to check before you ring anyone
- The frozen condensate pipe, and how to thaw it safely
- Power cut: the numbers to ring, and staying warm
- Your boiler card, heating controls card and power cut card
Pop in your email on the next page and the download comes straight to you.
Is it for you?
Made for gas boiler homes
Made for
- Homes with a gas boiler: combi, system or regular
- Anyone who'd rather be warm than worry about the bill
- Families buying for a parent, with a page for setting it up together
Not for you if
- You heat with a heat pump, oil, LPG or storage heaters only
Some chapters still help (draughts, energy deal, warming the person), but the boiler chapters won't apply.
The deal this book makes with you
Practical, with safety first
- You never open the boiler or touch the gas. Every job uses the outside controls the maker expects you to use.
- Nothing needs a ladder, or tools beyond a radiator key.
- You write your settings down first, so you can always put them back.
- Where a job needs a Gas Safe registered engineer, it says so.
- Every fact comes from boiler makers or official UK guidance, listed at the back.
Who's behind it? The handbook is put together by the team behind Ken Richardson's YouTube channel. It gathers the checks from the videos into one plan, with every fact checked against boiler makers' instructions and official UK guidance, all 67 sources listed at the back.
Questions people ask first
Before you buy
I'm not handy. Is this for me?
Yes. Nothing in it needs tools beyond a radiator key. If a step isn't safe for you, it says who to ring instead.
I'm not much for computers.
If you can open an email, you can open this. It reads on a tablet, phone or computer, and every page prints on A4 or A5.
I haven't got a printer.
You don't need one. Tick things off and fill in the sheets on screen. If you'd like paper copies, family or your local library can print the short "Pages to print" file.
The videos are free. Why do I need this?
Each video covers one question. This puts them in order for your home, with the plan, the sums and the sheets.
Can I get it for my mum or dad?
Yes. There's a page just for you: how to set it up with them in one visit.
Does it work in Northern Ireland?
Mostly. Where the numbers differ, the NI figure is given. The price cap chapter is for Great Britain.
Is this financial advice?
No. It shows you how to check your own bill and where the free official help is.
Will it save me £435 a year?
Not necessarily. £435 is a worked example for an older, draughty home where all five changes suit. Your saving depends on your home, your habits and which changes suit you, and some homes will save much less. Chapter 9 shows you how to check on your own meter.
What if the download doesn't arrive?
Check your spam or junk folder first. Still nothing? Reply to your receipt email and we'll send it again. You can also open it any time from your Gumroad library.
What if it's not for me?
Email within 7 days of buying and you get the full price back, no questions asked. This doesn't affect your legal rights. It's one payment, never a subscription, and updated editions are free.
No catches
Pay once. Keep it for good.
One payment, no subscription
Nothing renews and there's nothing else to buy. Download it and it's yours, on every phone, tablet and computer in your home.
Kept up to date
Prices, grants and rules change. When the handbook is updated, you get the new edition free, by email, for as long as it's on sale.
Money back, no questions
If it's not for you, email within 7 days of buying and you get the full price back. No forms, and you don't have to say why.
Start tonight. Be ready by next week.
The 73-page handbook7 pages to printFree 15-page print pack
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Get the handbookInstant download · $13.20Launch price £9.99 until 30 November. Then £14.99.
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