Households are being urged to check whether they can make certain changes at home to save hundreds of pounds on their energy bills.
The Energy Saving Trust has updated its savings tips in line with the new gas and electricity prices, which increased on January 1 after Ofgem raised the price cap again. Subsequently, the energy efficiency experts have calculated that households can save as much as £648 a year if they follow certain measures.
Ofgem’s energy price cap sets the maximum amount that suppliers can charge for units of gas and electricity and is updated every three months.
For households in Great Britain who pay for their gas and electricity by direct debit, the unit rate increased to be capped at 28.62p/kWh for electricity, with a daily standing charge of 53.35p, and 7.42p/kWh for gas, with a daily standing charge of 29.60p.
According to Ofgem’s Typical Domestic Consumption Values, which provide an idea of a household’s average annual energy usage, a typical household can expect to pay around £1,928 per year on their energy bills. This reflects an increase of £94 compared to the previous quarter.
However, there are ways people can make savings on their energy bills while staying warm and comfortable this winter, and here are Energy Saving Trust’s (EST) updated tips.
Switch off – save £80 a year
According to EST, people can save as much as £55 a year by turning appliances around the home off standby.
People can save a further £25 a year by simply switching off the lights in rooms that aren’t used, as per EST’s calculations.
In the kitchen – save £79
To save as much as £29 a year, EST urges households to wash laundry at at 30C and reduce the load by one run per week.
Meanwhile, people save £14 a year by only running the dishwasher when full and cutting one run per week. People can save a further £36 a year by only boiling the amount of water needed in the kettle and fitting a kitchen tap aerator.
Keep the heat in – save £210
Reducing heat loss is one of the most effective ways to save money on energy bills, as heating systems won’t have to work so long and so hard to warm up rooms. Fitting DIY draught-proofing strips to windows and doors can save as much as £45 a year, according to EST’s new tips.
Meanwhile, sealing suspended timber floors could save £50; fitting a chimney draught-excluder on open chimneys could save £65; and topping up hot water cylinder insulation from 25mm to 80mm could save up to £50 a year.
In addition to these tips, EST suggested investing to insulate against future price rises. Insulating cavity walls and the loft could cost a typical three-bed semi-detached home around £2,700.
However, households who do so could expect an annual saving on energy bills of around £280.
