During winter the average price of gas will rise by 17.4 percent with electricity rising by 10.8 percent. The price hikes are conveniently timed to correspond with the nation’s peak demand; however, a significant proportion of UK residents are willing to forgo heating this winter in an attempt to save money.
A recent poll by MoneySupermarket.com revealed that 6 percent of consumers can’t afford to even turn their heating on, whilst a further 17 percent said that they would wait until the weather gets really cold before turning their heating on.
Scott Byrom, an energy expert from MoneySupermarket.com, said: “With the cost of living soaring, particularly driven by higher energy bills, now is the time to be apathetic, especially as we head into winter where bill payers typically use around 40 percent of their annual energy consumption.”
In response to the poll, Housing Energy Advisor has published a list of tips for UK consumers to help save money on bills this winter:
- Install cavity wall insulation and/or loft insulation. Insulation radically reduces a heating bill as the majority of heat escapes from a house through the walls and roof. The government’s CERT scheme helps those people who are on benefits, over 70 or whose incomes are lower than £16,190 a year by paying the full cost of the installation.
- Invest in double glazing to help trap heat and reduce the time needed to heat a home.
- Use an energy comparison site to compare prices. “Finding the right tariff means bill payers could save on average £237 per year,” said Byrom.
- Invest in a home energy monitor to help monitor energy expenditure and eliminate wastage.
- Generate energy by installing a solar PV system. A solar PV system will provide a property with energy independence for the next 25 years.
The tips outlined above by Housing Energy Advisor should help bring consumers’ winter energy bills down to a more manageable level whilst simultaneously reducing the UK’s carbon footprint.
