After another price rise five ways to help cut your energy bills

With domestic energy prices going up in January for the second time in three months what can householders do to keep their bills low?

Midlands green energy Ron Fox gives his five recommendations after it was forecast that a home using a typical amount of gas and electricity will pay £1,738 annually or £21 a year more from the new year with bills now over 50 per cent higher than pre-Covid levels.

“Although it is only a 1.2 per cent increase in the Energy Price Cap, it comes on top the average 10 per cent rise on October 1 this year,” said Ron, of Noreus Ltd which is based at Keele University’s Science and Innovation Park.

Energy regulator Ofgem, who set the quarterly cap on the cost of each unit of energy, announced the latest increase on Friday (November 22) which will affect about 26 million households in England, Wales and Scotland, but different rules apply in Northern Ireland.

This cap from January 1 to March 31, limits the maximum price that can be charged for each unit of gas and electricity, rather than the total bill. This means people in larger properties will tend to pay more overall owing to higher energy usage, and those in smaller properties tend to pay less.

Although it is 10 per cent down on the same period last year, Ofgem said many billpayers would still be stretched, particularly those millions of pensioners who have lost the winter fuel allowance.
Also, a period of high prices – which analysts say is likely to continue – means households have collectively built up a debt of £3.7bn to suppliers with the average household in arrears owing more than £1,500 for electricity and £1,300 for gas.

“There seems little chance of a big drop in the foreseeable future although experts expect the energy price cap will drop slightly in April 2025 and again in October 2025,” added Ron.

With some charities concerned about how less well-off households will cope during the colder months, Ron gives five suggestions for cutting costs.

Shop around: He said there was now a greater choice of fixed-price tariffs for customers. Although the best deals are cheaper, anyone signing up could risk missing out if prices were to fall later in the year. But some customers could immediately save £100 a year by moving from paying their bill every three months to paying by direct debit.

Going down: Turning the thermostat down by just one degree – from 19C to 18C – could save you about £113 annually. You can save an additional £12 each year by using your boiler’s timer – if it has one – to ensure your heating switches off when the house is empty. But beware if your house is too cold, it could also encourage damp and mould which can cause older people and those who are ill or disabled to suffer from respiratory illnesses, infections, allergies or asthma.

What a shower: Investing in a more water-efficient showerhead costing about £10 – could save you around £71 over the year. They work by restricting the amount of water coming through the head, meaning you use less water for the same length of shower. You can also save up to £61 a year by cutting your time in the shower from seven to four minutes.

Taking the heat out of a room: Many radiators have valves that control the temperature in each room. Consider turning down the valve on radiators in rooms you use less often to the midway point, which can help save £50 a year.

Stop feeling the draughts: Poorly insulated homes lose heat more easily and are harder to keep warm. Draught-proofing is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save energy. So, consider adding draught-proofing strips around doors and windows, installing a letter-box cover, using sealant to close gaps between suspended floorboards and skirting boards and add a chimney draught excluder to unused chimneys. But do not block extractor fans, wall vents and airbricks. These are necessary for ventilating certain rooms, like your kitchen and bathroom.

For more advice on cutting energy bills contact Ron Fox on 0845 474 6641.

Caption: Turning down the valve on radiators in rooms you use less often can help save £50 a year.