YOU could save £1,273 a year by pulling the plug on fuel waste at home.
Regulator Ofgem this week announced that the Energy Price Cap will rise in January, making the average bill £1,928 a year, up £94 from the current £1,834.
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But get into good habits now and you could slash that yearly figure by more than half.
Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at uswitch.com, says: “There are plenty of cheap and easy ways to shave hundreds of pounds off your energy bills.”
Mel Hunter shows how to cut costs room by room.
Bedroom
BANISHING breezes will help you stay warm at night and cut bills.
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When Which? magazine compared four shop-bought draught-blockers with two home-made excluders, it found covering the door with a towel worked best.
It’s totally free and could reduce annual bills by £45.
Using an electric blanket in the bedroom, as well as when you’re curled up on the sofa, will also help cut bills.
Ben says: “Having it on for 30 minutes a night costs just 10p a week.”
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You should also layer your bed with an extra duvet or blanket and wear socks or thermals in the sack.
Joanna O’Loan, of the Energy Saving Trust, adds: “Don’t forget to turn off lights while out of the room. It could trim £20 off bills over a year.
“Turning down your thermostat by one degree could save around £100 a year. The lowest comfortable temperature for most people is between 18C and 21C.”
Kitchen
THE kitchen tends to use the most energy, but Ben says: “It has the most appliances so you can make the greatest savings.”
Using the oven costs around 17p an hour, but swap to a microwave and you could save £60 a year, according to the Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances.
A slow cooker is another option – it runs for just 1p an hour.
To keep the cost of a cuppa down, only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need, and you could cut £11 off your annual electricity bill.
Defrosting your freezer regularly saves up to £150 a year, while keeping it full will make it run more efficiently.
Using eco settings on the dishwasher could save £80 annually.
And only do a full washing machine load.
Joanna adds: “Cutting out one wash a week and washing clothes at 30C rather than 40C can save another £27 a year.”
Using a clothes airer in a well-vented room instead of a tumble dryer will save £55 a year.
Bathroom
AROUND a fifth of a typical household’s energy bill goes on heating the water we use in the bathroom, according to the Centre for Sustainable Energy.
But swap baths for showers and cut your wash time down to four minutes and you could trim £65 off your yearly energy bill.
If you have a water meter fitted, giving up baths and having shorter showers could reduce costs even further.
A typical household would see £65 trimmed off their water bill each year.
Save another £60 a year on energy and water by switching to a water-efficient shower head.
You can get one from £20, though it is not recommended for electric showers.
For £2 you can get a special water-saving bag to put in your toilet cistern.
These reduce the water used for each flush, saving up to 10,000 litres a year and, if you are on a meter, another £30.
Living Room
KEEP the living room cosy by closing doors and moving furniture away from external walls, where it is colder.
Ben says: “A sofa or armchair in front of a radiator absorbs the heat. Allow it to spread around the room by keeping that area clear.”
Tin foil or reflective panels behind radiators makes a huge difference, bouncing 100 per cent of the heat back into the room, trimming around £25 off annual bills.
Joanna adds: “If you have a fireplace you don’t use, a chimney draught excluder costing around £25 stops cold air coming in and hot air escaping, saving you £65 a year.”
Another tip is to heat yourself, not the room.
An electric blanket is about £50 but could cut costs by around £300 a year, according to energy firm Octopus.
Swapping all the lightbulbs in your home to LEDs is a big win, saving £60 a year.
Switching TVs, games consoles and other devices off standby can save £55 a year.
I slashed bills with rules over when to use kettle
TAMING her kids’ energy-wasting habits saved Emma Edgley more than £350 a month.
The 37-year-old single mum who lives in Harlow, Essex, with her children Kye, 19, Kleo, 17, and Annie, ten, saw her bills double in October last year when fuel costs shot up.
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She was putting £100 a week on her Utilita electricity prepayment meter and £30 on gas to keep her four-bed 1960s bungalow warm.
Childminder Emma bought energy-saving smart plugs and timers for some devices, including her son’s PlayStation.
She says: “I bulk-bought LED bulbs from Argos. They cost £55 but I got £15 back using TopCashback and I’ll save in the long term. I also got money back on an energy-efficient vacuum cleaner and kettle that cost less to run. I’ve made £173 from TopCashback in the last year.”
Emma also cracked down on her kids making hot drinks separately.
She said: “Boiling the kettle each time was costing a fortune.” Now she insists they all make brews at the same time. She also restricts them to a daily ten-minute shower.
Her heating is off at night and the daytime thermostat is set to a cool 17C.
She says: “We have blankets to keep warm, and I invested in thermal curtains for £25 a pair. I put tin foil behind the radiators.”
Emma only runs full loads in the washing machine and puts it on at night when her electricity costs less.
She says: “I’ve praised the kids for doing their bit to bring costs down. I couldn’t have done it without them.”
