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Thousands of people already struggle to cope with rising energy prices and plummeting temperatures; however this year's winter is set to be one of the coldest in history. In order to combat your freezing house and ever increasing energy bills, here are a few ways to cut the amount you're paying for your heating.
Cutting your energy bills is all about reducing the amount of energy you waste, and there are a number of steps you can take to save the pennies in your pocket instead of wasting them on unused energy. First things first – turn down your heating. It may sound confusing, but reducing your thermostat by 1 degree could cut your gas bill by 10 per cent.
Secondly, turn down your water temperature. Ideally, your water cylinder thermostat should be set around 60 degrees, and anything more will see your energy bill head skyward. The third step is to try and keep out the cold! Again, we know this seems obvious, but looking into simple measures to protect and insulate your home could save you a decent sum of money. Try installing draft fitters to exterior doors.
Make sure you also fix any leaking taps as these are major culprits of energy waste - a single leaking tap can fill up two bathtubs of water each month! Additionally, try to save power anywhere you can. This means tuning off all the lights and appliances when you leave a room, doing full loads of washing instead of half loads, and switching to energy-saving light bulbs. If you want to go the whole way and turn your heating off during the winter, get a new warm bed from Archers Sleep Centre.
As the cold weather approaches and you feel that you're not getting the best deals from your energy supplier, it may be time to look for other suppliers. Firstly, getting your gas and energy from the same supplier is a great way to reduce your energy bills, and you'll be able to contact the same customer service team if you have a problem instead of waiting in two separate telephone queues.
Secondly, try switching your payments to direct debit and paperless statements. A variety of energy suppliers offer discounts to those looking to reduce paper waste and their carbon footprint, so instead of receiving a bill through the post, it will be sent straight to your email address. You'll also want to take regular meter readings, as your bill is determined by meter estimations. You may find that your energy supplier is overcharging you for energy!
One of the easiest ways to reduce your energy bill is to actually monitor your usage. Many people fall asleep with their televisions and heaters on a night, and if you total this up over the year, you're actually wasting a lot of money on unused energy. Furthermore, people who use machines to dry their clothes are also susceptible to high energy bills. Drying machines use up to twice the amount of energy as a washing machine, so if it is dry outside, why not hang your clothes out to dry?
