10 Practical Tips to Lower Your Gas and Electric Bills

As we all know, the cost of heating your home is pretty horrible at the moment, and we know this is going to get worse as the year continues, but there are ways to reduce the cost of heating your home, and here are my top 10 ideas...

1. Lower the temperature on your boiler as most boilers have a pre-set temperature, which may not be the most cost-effective solution for you, so check what the heating and water temperatures are set to, and make sure you change them to:

• If you have a combi boiler, set your flow temperature to 50c for heating and 55c for hot water – it's potentially going to take a little longer to heat up if you need to turn up the heating as it's a chilly day, but the gas and CO2 savings make it worthwhile.

• If you have a boiler and a hot water cylinder, set the flow temperature on your boiler to a few degrees over 60c for heating and hot water, and setting your hot water cylinder to 60c. Don't go lower than 60 to stop bacteria like legionella from multiplying, which isn't relevant for combi boilers, as it doesn't store water.

The saving on your gas for reducing the temperature is around 8%, which is a decent saving!

People I have spoken to have said that surely the water will be too cold if you turn it down. Still, the best way to check is to run your shower without turning on the cold water, and if it feels really hot, and you would typically instinctively add cold water by reducing the temperature via the dial, then your water is too hot! The turning of the dial adds (mixes) cold water into the stream of hot water to lower the temperature, meaning that you have had to reduce the temperature of the water as the boiler has heated the water to a temperature that you can't stand to be subjected to, which is a sign that you can reduce the temperature of the water!

You can always play around with the temperature to see what works best for you, but any reduction, even 1 degree, WILL save you money; it's that simple!

2. Use cold water for washing your hands. It’s the soap that kills the bacteria, not the hot water, so you can save the cost of heating the water!

3. Wash your clothes at a lower temperature in your washing machine. 30 is plenty for most clothes; you don't need to wash at 40 or higher. Many washing machines are cold fill, which means it takes in cold water and has to heat it to get to the temperature you have selected when choosing the programme. It takes a lot of energy to heat the water, so the lower the temperature, the less energy needed to run the machine.

Set your washing machine or dishwasher to run its programme overnight, as energy is cheaper when everyone is in bed. Most machines have a time delay function, so you use that to have the appliance turn on in the early morning, so it's still finished when you may need it in the morning, but has cost you less to run. It's not recommended to run your tumble dryer at night for safety reasons; you want to run that when someone is around; if there is an issue, it's best that everyone isn't asleep and can be aware of a problem. I know that sounds alarmist, but it's from experience in my earlier years that happened to my bosses parents, and it could have ended very badly, so I never leave the tumble dryer on when I'm not about!

4. When it comes to tumble dryers, using an air dryer instead can result in a saving of over £ 40 per year.

5. When replacing a light bulb, opt for an LED bulb if your budget allows. They have dropped in price recently, and they last far longer than a standard bulb, being up to 90% more energy-efficient. They will pay for themselves pretty quickly!

6. Turn off the lights when not in use! My dad always said it to me, and as a kid, and needless to say, I wasn't that bothered, but now I pay the electricity bill, and I do my best to drill it into my family, that turning off a light when you leave the room will save money, and is more energy-efficient! It's suggested that the average family can save around £20 a year just by turning off the lights, and the more lights you have, the more significant the saving!

You can always use a timer to turn off lights at certain times of the day to ensure they are off. I use Smart power switches, which I control via an app (Kasa), allowing me to monitor which lights are on and turn them on and off from anywhere in the world. Please read my blog post, which talks about Equiwatt, an energy-saving app that pays you to turn off nominated electrical appliances for up to an hour during special Equivent events; it's made me several hundred pounds over the last two years!

7. Turn the equipment off standby! I know it's easier just to hit the standby button on the TV, but you could save £30+ a year by properly turning off appliances, so it's worth taking the extra 5 seconds to do it properly.

8. Invest in a service such as Hive, if you can, as this has saved me a lot of money over the last three years as it's a device that connects to your boiler and allows you to change the temperature of the heating, using an app, or using the control unit, with the click of a button.

What I've found to be really handy is that you set temperature limits, so you aren't overheating your house, and most importantly, it can be controlled from anywhere, as it's connected to your internet connection, so you can keep your heating off during the day, or when nobody is at home, and then manually turn it on before you get home, so you aren't heating an empty house, but get home to warmth, which is super helpful! It also sends you reports about your home heating, allowing you to see when it's being used the most compared to last month's usage, so you can identify areas for improvement and reduce your consumption. You can read more about Hive in a previous blog post.

Wood and Pellet Stoves

If you're fortunate enough to have either a wood fire or food-fired heating system, it always pays to have a reliable supplier of firewood that can keep you supplied with high-quality, properly stored wood to ensure you get the best results.

Wood and pellet stoves provide direct warmth. They use wood logs or pellets as fuel.

These stoves create a cozy atmosphere in the home. Pellets burn cleaner than wood. They are a good backup option during power outages. Modern stoves are efficient and produce less smoke. A chimney or vent is required for safety. Some stoves can heat multiple rooms. Regular cleaning keeps them working well. This heating method is best for rural homes. In addition to wood and pellet stoves, propane space heaters are also a strong backup option during power outages. They offer clean-burning heat and are ideal for rural homes where electricity may not be as reliable.  Propane can be easily sourced from trusted providers such as KellyPropane.com, ensuring households have access to a steady fuel supply when it’s needed most.

8. Take a shower instead of a bath if possible, as you use less water, thereby reducing the amount you spend on heating water and the amount of water you use, which is particularly helpful if you are on a water meter. You may also be able to get free water-saving devices from your water supplier to reduce your water consumption, which I've written about previously HERE

9. Don't overfill your kettle! If you are making a cup of tea, you don't need to fill the kettle up; it wastes water and costs more to heat up. If you aren't sure how much water you need, measure the water in the cup you plan to drink from, as this will ensure you get the correct amount.

10. Check your meter readings. You may find that your meter readings are estimated and not as accurate as sending a meter reading directly to your supplier; therefore, you may be paying more than necessary.

It's worth mentioning that your estimate may be lower than what you are currently using. It's tempting to ignore this and pay your bill, but beware: you will likely find that a meter reading is taken by the supplier at some point, and you will then receive an adjusted bill for the excess energy used. Since prices are still expensive compared to what they were, this could be substantial.

Therefore, send the reading over and pay what's owed now rather than running into financial issues later on. I'm aware of many people who have had bills of several thousand pounds hit the doormat, as they didn't send a reading over and hoped it wouldn't be noticed, and it's not a good position to be in.

If you are struggling with your energy bills, don't bury your head in the sand (Yup, I've been there, and it's not good for your wallet or your mental health), and get in contact with a dedicated energy helpline for those people who can't afford their bill, Simply Energy Advice is a decent one, and they offer impartial advice, plus their website gives extra information on schemes such as Winter Fuel Payments, Warm Home Discount and Cold Weather Payments, plus info on grants and other helpful advice.

For general debt related advice, organisations such as Citizens Advice, Stepchange, National Debt Line and Christians Against Poverty all give good advice, but what I would say is to explore all your options before agreeing to set up an IVA or Bankruptcy petition as they have long-reaching implications and should always be an absolute last resort, (And yes I know as I've previously had to file for bankruptcy, and years on, I'm still dealing with the financial repercussions, which is a blog post that I need to write soon!)