How To: Reduce the Cost of Your Bills This Winter

There’s been a bit of uproar recently with the big energy companies upping the price of gas and electricity in the winter, inevitably increasing the amount it costs to keep your house warm.

The big energy companies in the UK are already making something stupid on the price of their energy at the minute and with the winters getting colder for longer, it’s making it hard for a number of different groups of people in the country to stay warm.

From students to the elderly to young families, the greed of the big energy companies is costing some of these a lot more than to keep warm. Well, here at Planet South Lakes we’ve got a few tips for you this winter to help keep the cost of your bills down.

Switch Tariffs

This is something you may think isn’t worth doing but it costs absolutely nothing, nil, £0 and it could save you up to £200 per year. That’s an extra £16 a month.

Switching is often very straightforward and you should switch to the cheapest possible tariff that’s available. Typically, you’ll save the most money with a dual-fuel tariff, paying by monthly direct-debit and managing your accounts online.

Another plus point about switching tariffs is that you’re well within your rights to notify your supplier that you refuse to the price increase within 20 days of receiving notification of the price hike.

Then, proceed to tell your supplier that you’re going to be leaving, either in writing or via email and you’re then going to have 15 days to find a new provider and then you will stay on your current tariff until the switch goes through which tends to take around six weeks.

Make Changes

Making some small changes can make a world of difference. Again, this is something that costs you £0 and it can save you up to £55 a year. That’s around £4.50 a month!

So, by turning down your heating by just 1C could reduce the cost of your heating bills by 10%. All of this is according to the Energy Saving Trust.

Another tip, if you have any rooms that you never or rarely use in your house then why not fit tin foil behind the radiator. This will reflect heat back and reduce heat loss. As they say, every little helps!

Smart Meters

This is yet another change that can be made that will cost you absolutely nada. The government is rolling out a new scheme and they plan for every home in the country to have a smart meter by 2020.

These meters are free and they started being rolled out in the middle of last year. The smart meters tell your energy supplier directly about your use of energy and will no longer be based on estimates. You end up benefitting from more accurate bills.

The big thing about these meters is that they have a screen on them that show you how much energy you’re using in real time so it will mean you’re more likely to make a conscious effort to change your habits. The government are estimating that this will cut around £23 a year off most gas and electricity bills. That’s an £11.50 a month saving!

So with all of our handy tips, you could find yourself saving an extra £32 a month. That £32 every month could do go an awfully long way to ensuring you stay healthy and warm in winter. That could go toward a weekly food shop or it could pay for someone’s present in the lead up to Christmas. Where it goes, you decide.