Are being mugged by your utility provider?

How to save electricity

Everytime I pay my utility provider it feels like I am being mugged for cash as the cost just keeps rising.  It often feels like my home is a supply station providing free gas and electricity to the all the homes in my area when I look at my gas and electricity bills.  Dick Turpin at least wore a mask when he was robbing. So faced with increasing utility costs I started to investigate how I could reduce my gas and electricity costs. Here are my findings.

Government Grants website

Start by using the Government Grants website which provide a source of information for UK grants for gas central heating, loft insulation and cavity wall insulation. Government grants from 40% to 70% are available to homeowners and tenants for loft and cavity wall insulation. These grants are funded by the utility companies and are non-refundable. These grants will not be around forever and once the funding that has been allocated is exhausted they will finish. They also offer a solar heating grant of £400 towards the cost of installation of solar panels which cost around £4,000 depending on the size of your home. If you do not meet their eligibility criteria for free insulation, then grants from around 50% are available for loft insulation and cavity wall insulation, so you can still achieve a massive saving on the normal cost.

The Governments’ Energy Saving Trust Website

There are grants available to help us implement energy saving measures and help reduce our carbon foot print. The Governments’ Energy Saving Trust website provides grants and they have a wonderful search tool to help you find grants or offers that are available for you in your area. All you need do is complete the questions asked on their search for grants and offers page. You will then be presented with a list of providers offering discounted prices or grants in your area. This is a brilliant site and is packed with great advice and help for reducing your energy, saving money and reducing your carbon dioxide emissions from your home.

The future looks good!

What Savings can I expect from loft and cavity wall insulation?

Our homes lose 35% of their heating through the walls and 25% through the roof. At the Governments Energy Saving Trust website they have an Energy Saving House where they show you a full range of energy saving measures. For example by insulating the loft and having cavity wall insulation with a grant you could reduce you’re heating bills by around £365 a year and reduce your home’s carbon dioxide emissions by up to 1.5 tonnes.

You can complete their online Energy Savers report which allows you to understand your homes energy efficiency performance to reduce your energy use andbe more efficient. The average cost seems to be between £225 to £249 for either cavity wall insulation or loft insulation depending on the size of your home. I did discover that B&Q the DIY store was charging £199 for either cavity wall insulation or loft insulation depending on the size of your home. If you are over 70 years old you can receive loft insulation and cavity wall insulation for free from the Energy Saving Trust or the Government Grants website.

Old central heating boilers are inefficient

Changing you’re a central heating boiler that is over ten years old will reduce your gas bill as it is thought that these older central heating unit are only 70% efficient. This means that for every £1 of gas that you buy your old unit wastes 30pence of the money you pay for your gas. Add some heating controls taps to your central heating radiators and they could help save you a further 17% of your heating bill when fitted with a condensing boiler along with an upgraded heating control and you could be looking at a total reduction of as much as 40% of your heating bill providing a saving of £275 a year depending on the size of your home.

How to reduce your monthly utility bill

Here is a list solutions that are available to help you reduce your gas and electricity bill. The grants and discounts available will vary according to the size of your home, your location, your annual income and your age.

• Consider a portable Wireless Energy monitor to control your electrical wastage
• Grants for gas central heating depends on age and benefits being claimed
• Grants and discounts for loft insulation from £199
• Grants and discounts for cavity wall insulation from £199
• Grant of £400 towards the installation of Solar panels
• Replace existing light bulbs with Energy Saving Lightbulbs, they cost around £2 per bulb and you could expect to reduce around £45 before it needs replacing. These bulbs use 80% less electricity and will last ten times longer than a standard light bulb. Count the number of bulbs you need and see the savings.
• Update your Central heating unit if older then 10 years. Consider either a condensing boiler along with an upgraded heating control unit or replace it with a Combi Boiler as this will do away with a conventional hot-water storage cylinder and water tanks in the loft. Costs from £2,000
• Add heating controls tap to all your radiators, they cost from £7.99 each
• Switch Utility providers for a better deal.
• Switch your gas and electricity providers to a duel fuel provider if you have not already done this for further savings, save around £115
• Pay your utility bills monthly by direct debit for a further discount from your provider.
• Switch to an online account with your utility provider. You can now read your gas and electricity meters monthly and update the information for an accurate bill. This will prevent over billing from estimated assessments of your usage.
• If you are on a coin operated meter for your gas and electricity then consider switching as you are paying a premium for this facility.
• Switch off all light switches and plugs when the appliances are not in use.
• An estimated £910 million is wasted in the UK every year by people leaving televisions, computers, TV set-top boxes and radios on standby.
• Use a timer to turn your central heating on and off as required.
• Consider switching to Energy Saving Recommended household appliances as they could cut your energy consumption by up to a third compared to your old appliance. Obviously only do this as you replace broken or old appliances.

For further ways of reducing your gas and utility bill then you should visit the Energy Saving Trust website where you will find a mountain of further money saving ideas and help.

Wireless energy Monitors
If you’re serious about cutting your electricity bills, then fitting a wireless energy monitor should be your number one priority. Even though we all have electricity meters in our homes, they’re no use hidden away in a cupboard outside only to be read once or twice a year. You need to know how much electricity your home is using at anytime of the day or night.  A wireless energy monitor will show you instantly how much electricity you’re using twenty four hours a day. Its reported by the manufacturers that you can save up to 20% off your electricity costs.

Furthermore, the Government are convinced that these ‘real time energy monitors’ will enable consumers to make genuine and sustained reductions in their energy usage habits that they intend to incorporate them into the proposed ‘Smart Meter’ roll out due to complete in 2020. This proposed upgrade to metering of energy in the UK is good news, but 2020 is a long way ahead. However, you don’t need to wait for one of these new Smart Meters to be installed before reaping the energy saving benefits of a wireless energy monitor. There is a good selection of wireless energy monitors available which can quickly and easily be added to any standard home electricity meter, so you can start making savings today.  The prices of these monitor systems starting from just £24.95, the payback period for an average household should be considerably less than a year.

Anyone can reduce their Gas and Electricity bills

Anyone can reduce their Gas and Electricity bills by at least 20% following the sixteen ways listed above. Unfortunately, like most things you need to spend some money to make these reductions; but the rewards will return each month. By implementing a few of these thrifty ideas at home you will reduce your gas and electricity bills in the future. You are probably thinking I cannot afford to make all these changes. Start with the changes that cost the least and then work your way through the list above. Remember by making these changes you will not only save money each month but you will be helping our planet HOME by reducing your carbon dioxide emissions.

Your thoughts, experiences and comments are welcome. Just CLICK on the green coloured COMMENT bar below and Leave your thoughts or experiences today!

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