As Saga urge wealthier pensioners to donate their fuel allowance payment, we offer top tips on how to save money on your utility bills this winter.
Insulate your home
There's no point in spending money heating your house if it is simply leaking into the atmosphere, so make sure your home is as insulated as possible. According to the Energy Saving Trust, cavity wall insulation is the most effective energy-saving measure you can take.
This simple measure, which involves injecting foam into the gap between your walls, can save £110 a year. There are grants available for installing this, especially if you are over 60. Try the Energy Saving Trust's grant search tool on www.energysavingtrust.org.uk
Loft insulation, which saves around £40 a year on the average house, can also be installed at a subsidised cost, if you can get a grant. Most homes have some loft insulation, but normally fall short of the recommended level of 220mm.
Switch to the cheapest provider
Switch to the cheapest provider
The biggest change you can make to energy bills is by making sure you are on the cheapest tariff for gas and electricity. This won't make any difference to the quality of the energy supplied to you, but it could make a vast difference to the cost.
The average customer can save more than £250 over the course of a year just by switching energy companies, while if you've stayed with the same gas and electricity company for many years you could save far more.
Over the summer price increases took k the typical household energy bill up from £1,132 to £1,293 – an increase of £161, so it is more important than ever to make sure you are with the cheapest possible provider.
Use a comparison site such as uSwitch, Confused or Energy Helpline (who will also talk things through with you over the phone on 0800 074 0745). Have your monthly bills ready, since you'll need this information to calculate which tariff is best for you.
When choosing your tariff consider low-cost options such as online only deals, combined gas and electricity duel fuel tariffs and paying by direct debit.
Give your boiler an MOT
If you buy boiler insurance cover you may get a service with it – however, this has risen by as much as 20pc since last year and now costs between £150 and £200, so it pays to check whether you really need it.
npower recently launched a new boiler care product for £10.50 a month, which is the same as with British Gas' HomeCare cover, but with the twist that if you don't claim on the cover at the end of 12 months you'll get half your money back.
It is possible that you may already have your boiler covered by your home insurance policy; check before signing up to anything. Often it is covered but limits tend to be relatively low. For example, Prudential includes as standard home emergency cover of up to £500 for call-out fees, labour costs and materials.
Sheilas' Wheels also includes emergency cover in its home policies. This pays up to £500 for call-out charges and two hours' labour costs, and parts and materials up to £100 for the sudden failure of the main heating system.
If your boiler is really old and does need replacing, it may pay to do it sooner rather than later. The Energy Saving Trust calculates that the difference between gas bills from a home with an old boiler to one with an ultra-efficient new one is as much as £225 a year for an average three-bedroom semi. Getting a new one sorted before winter kicks in could be sensible if you know that yours is on its last legs.
Keep an eye on your usage
Some companies, are energy monitors out free to customers; or you can buy one from theOwl.com for from just over £20.
These can be attached to your electricity meter, and can act as a powerful incentive to switch off lights and appliances by showing you exactly how much your usage is costing.
Studies suggest you could save 5pc of your electricity bills by using one, although of course this is a behavioural saving – you won't get cheaper bills just from looking at the monitor.
Sadly, these do not yet exist for gas meters.
Stop up the gaps
You can also increase your winter comfort factor by blocking draughts, especially if you have single-glazed windows. Just fitting draught stripping across your doors could save you £25 in winter. Even when the figures sound unimpressive, don't underestimate the extra comfort that thick curtains, draught excluders and other cheap measures can bring.
Rosalyn Dungate, of the Energy Saving Trust, suggests blocking cracks between floors and skirting boards with material, newspaper or decorator's caulking, a cheap home-made solution that could save money and make life far warmer.
Plenty of heat is also lost through your chimney if it is open, so if you're not having fires, try using a chimney balloon to seal it. These are easily deflated and removed.
The average customer can save more than £250 over the course of a year just by switching energy companies, while if you've stayed with the same gas and electricity company for many years you could save far more.
Over the summer price increases took k the typical household energy bill up from £1,132 to £1,293 – an increase of £161, so it is more important than ever to make sure you are with the cheapest possible provider.
Use a comparison site such as uSwitch, Confused or Energy Helpline (who will also talk things through with you over the phone on 0800 074 0745). Have your monthly bills ready, since you'll need this information to calculate which tariff is best for you.
When choosing your tariff consider low-cost options such as online only deals, combined gas and electricity duel fuel tariffs and paying by direct debit.
Give your boiler an MOT
If you buy boiler insurance cover you may get a service with it – however, this has risen by as much as 20pc since last year and now costs between £150 and £200, so it pays to check whether you really need it.
npower recently launched a new boiler care product for £10.50 a month, which is the same as with British Gas' HomeCare cover, but with the twist that if you don't claim on the cover at the end of 12 months you'll get half your money back.
It is possible that you may already have your boiler covered by your home insurance policy; check before signing up to anything. Often it is covered but limits tend to be relatively low. For example, Prudential includes as standard home emergency cover of up to £500 for call-out fees, labour costs and materials.
Sheilas' Wheels also includes emergency cover in its home policies. This pays up to £500 for call-out charges and two hours' labour costs, and parts and materials up to £100 for the sudden failure of the main heating system.
If your boiler is really old and does need replacing, it may pay to do it sooner rather than later. The Energy Saving Trust calculates that the difference between gas bills from a home with an old boiler to one with an ultra-efficient new one is as much as £225 a year for an average three-bedroom semi. Getting a new one sorted before winter kicks in could be sensible if you know that yours is on its last legs.
Keep an eye on your usage
Some companies, are energy monitors out free to customers; or you can buy one from theOwl.com for from just over £20.
These can be attached to your electricity meter, and can act as a powerful incentive to switch off lights and appliances by showing you exactly how much your usage is costing.
Studies suggest you could save 5pc of your electricity bills by using one, although of course this is a behavioural saving – you won't get cheaper bills just from looking at the monitor.
Sadly, these do not yet exist for gas meters.
Stop up the gaps
You can also increase your winter comfort factor by blocking draughts, especially if you have single-glazed windows. Just fitting draught stripping across your doors could save you £25 in winter. Even when the figures sound unimpressive, don't underestimate the extra comfort that thick curtains, draught excluders and other cheap measures can bring.
Rosalyn Dungate, of the Energy Saving Trust, suggests blocking cracks between floors and skirting boards with material, newspaper or decorator's caulking, a cheap home-made solution that could save money and make life far warmer.
Plenty of heat is also lost through your chimney if it is open, so if you're not having fires, try using a chimney balloon to seal it. These are easily deflated and removed.
No comments:
Post a Comment