It’s no secret that the energy market has been volatile in recent memory. From changing price caps set out by regulator Ofgem, to providers folding under the weight of an ever-evolving landscape of wholesale gas and electricity prices, it’s been one of the most turbulent times for all involved.
That’s especially true for consumers, who’ve found themselves pushed from pillar to post, only to be left dangling at the precipice of energy uncertainty. Fluctuating energy prices and the ebb and flow of price caps and tariffs all contributes towards what can be a daunting thing to consider.
Fortunately, the energy experts here at Tariff are on hand to help you navigate what all of this means. From our comprehensive energy jargon buster, to our exploration of what to expect from your utility bills, we’ve long been committed to helping consumers to traverse the changing tides of energy.
Our latest piece is one that’s designed with that exact sentiment in mind. We’ll be outlining 7 key steps to save money on your energy bills, as well as the steps you can take to ensure that you invest in habits that are only set to improve the future of you, your community, and the planet as a whole.
We’ve compiled just 7 of the most integral tips and tricks for ensuring your energy prices stay low, and that you’re getting the power you need at the price you deserve.
Arguably the most important tip anyone can follow, and one that’s often recommended for a huge variety of issues relating to finance, is to switch your energy provider. That’s naturally something we’re incredibly passionate about as a dedicated energy switching service for businesses, but the benefits are actually incredibly surprising.
There’s first the savings to consider. Conservative estimates place this in the region of a £300 saving every year for those who’ve never switched before, with similarly impressive figures for those who’ve already switched in the past, with sources placing this at around £180 worth of saving. This is, understandably, the major draw for consumers.
A saving of that nature also takes into account that more modern energy providers have introduced schemes that aim to reduce customer demands, and rewards them for using “off-peak” electricity with lower tariffs. Octopus Energy, for instance, are among several big providers to offer discounted electricity rates during later hours.
These tend to be during late evening into the early hours of the morning (some suggest a timeframe of between 10pm and 6am), and are equipped to allow for more efficient and cheaper charging of electric vehicles, as well as those who work unsociable hours.
All of this combined allows for more effective and economically viable deployment of the electricity you use, when you need to use it. Most older tariffs simply won’t support initiatives like these, but it’s clearly something that many larger scale providers (such as the aforementioned Octopus, British Gas, and EDF) are adopting for a more sustainable future.
It’s natural that we’d want to be warm in the winter, especially with climate change set to disrupt our weather further in the coming years. There’s a catch, though. With every toasty day we have at home, we’re paying an inflated rate, and are only likely to see the results of that in the final, shocking bill.
Small adjustments to temperature are the way forward here, and research shows that we’re unlikely to notice a major difference to our body temperatures, or the warmth of our home. Although we’re often tempted to crank up the thermostat on a chilly Winter’s eve, the science actually supports temperatures in the home being that little bit lower than we’d expect.
The World Health Organisation, for example, recommends that modern homes should sit at around 18°C for average residents, with those who are unwell, or the young or elderly, advised to have an environment at around 20°C.
Guidance from the Citizens’ Advice Bureau supports that too, and takes it a step further. Their findings state that a reduction of temperature by just a single degree can save the average home up to 10% on their total energy bills.
Our levels of water consumption are often where many of us see the more eye-watering bills. Whether we pay monthly, biannually or yearly for our water use, there’s very often a sting in the tail when it comes to seeing just how much water we’ve used, and how much it costs us.
That’s further compounded by the temperature you wash at, and how that can make a huge difference to the prices you pay for your energy. We’ll use the classic debate of washing at 30° vs washing at 40° as the key example here.
According to consumer association Which, the comparative savings between washing at the two temperatures is quite substantial. Their findings point towards reduction of 38% in the energy you use when washing at 30° as opposed to 40°C, with a substantial saving of 62% if you opt to wash at 20°C.
Using a simple calculation, we can work out how much energy your washing machine will use, and therefore how much it’ll cost over the course of a year. An average washing machine is around 2,100 watts. We divide this by 1000 to find the kWh consumption (2.1 kWh), which is how much power your average washing machine will use each hour.
Using the latest prices (as of April 2024), electricity costs around 31 pence per kWh. An average household will do 3 washes per week, meaning a total cost of 93 pence for running your washing machine at the standard 40°C. Over the course of a year, that equates to a total cost of around £48.
Washing at 30°C means a saving of 38%, reducing the yearly cost of using your washing machine by about £18, to approximately £30 a year. Washing at 20°C saves even more (saving 62%, reducing bills by £29 to approximately £18.61 a year), but there’s a catch – this lower temperature means less germ-killing power, and can mean viruses and bacteria live for a longer period on surfaces.
Smart meters have experienced a recent boom in popularity, and for good reason. You’ll no doubt have seen many energy providers – especially the most popular or forward-thinking – are already starting to provide these as standard to new and existing customers.
These offer the best of both worlds for providers and consumers alike. Providers are able to more accurately bill their clients, as well as provide additional avenues for customers to follow should they find themselves in difficulties. There’s also less reliance upon customers to provide manual meter readings, which in turn streamlines the whole process.
From a customer’s perspective, smart meters have restored an element of control and power. Consumers are able to understand what they use, where they use it, and – crucially – the areas they can address to save money.
That’s only set to become more interactive and intelligent as technology becomes more readily available and mass-produced for large-scale energy firms. Take EDF’s Chameleon smart meter, for instance – the display allows you to set a budget, and see how much you’ve used in real-time so you can always adhere to it.
Upgrading your boiler is, admittedly, a huge consideration, and one that shouldn’t be taken lightly. A boiler upgrade can cost thousands, and be quite a stressful process if you live in an older home, or haven’t got any experience in looking for the right boiler for you. However, the long-term benefits far outweigh any short-term impacts.
A more energy-efficient boiler, and especially a modern condensing central heating unit or boiler, is one of the most impactful and meaningful changes you can make for your home and business energy consumption. The latest figures from the Energy Saving Trust illustrate just that, finding that upgrading from a G-rated boiler can save upwards of £450 a year on energy bills.
There’s similarly startling statistics when we look at more efficient boilers, with an upgrade from a D-rated boiler (between 78% and 82% efficiency) to an A-rated boiler saving north of £200 for the average household.
Our comprehensive guide to gas boiler efficiency explores the full range of boiler levels, as well as the expected savings an upgrade can bring you in both the short- and long-term. Suffice it to say, though, that upgrading your boiler sooner rather than later is only set to save you a significant amount.
Of course, while we’ve focused more on investments and expenses to save you a substantial amount of money, there are more practical measures you can put into place that are only set to make an immediate difference.
Effective insulation and draught proofing are an ideal example of that. Closing windows, plugging any gaps under doors and entrances, and even closing internal doors in your home can help keep heat enclosed, and reduce the reliance upon your central heating system, as well as keep costs down.
With some capital, you’ll be able to invest in more consummate or long-term term solutions, such as cavity wall insulation, loft insulation, or double (and even triple) glazing in your home. Similarly, draught excluders placed at the bottom of your front and rear doors can help keep out intrusive winter gusts.
The Energy Saving Trust estimates that even basic draught-proofing around your windows and doors can equate to a saving of more than £40 a year. Couple that with some of the measures we’ve suggested above, and those savings mount up substantially, quickly outstripping the initial outlay for any services.
We’ll close out on one of the most often-touted but seldom-used tips when it comes to saving energy – switching off anything that’s on standby. A relic of a bygone era where technology wasn’t the instant access it is now, standby keeps technology in a state of readiness to ensure it’s available as and when it’s needed.
While the savings aren’t perhaps as shocking as some of the other entries in our tips for saving energy, it’s all part of creating a more sustainable future. Consumer watchdog Which found that a television left on standby costs around 51 pence per year, which isn’t the soaring figure that many imagine.
In fact, as part of that research, the most expensive device to leave on standby was found to be a wireless speaker, costing a shade below £6 per year. Other audio devices like soundbars (£4.43 per year) and turntables (£1.50 per year) also featured at the top end of the charts.
Of course, while these are only small amounts, they do mount up. If you’ve got every device listed as part of Which’s survey (which many modern homes do), you’re expending an extra £20.40 each year with zero tangible benefit.
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