Nine (completely free) ways to save money on your energy bills

More than a year on, and British homes are still reeling from the effects of upheaval in the energy market, which was upended by the lifting of lockdowns and Putin’s invasion of Ukraine. Within months, households’ energy bills more than doubled, and analysts predict they will not return to pre-pandemic levels for at least a decade.

Amid the panic, energy-saving tips were inescapable, and some were more useful than others. Some companies were legitimately suggesting that households looking to cut down on their usage should ration the amount of time their fridge door was open.

Needless to say, the biggest cost-savers come in the form of home improvements, such as insulation, double-glazing, solar panels, home batteries and the like. But these are expensive and can take years to pay for themselves. There are some far simpler ways to cut down on your energy use and your monthly bills.

Under the energy price cap, which limits what your supplier can charge you for your energy use, each kilowatt hour (kWh) of electricity you use costs 30p – this is known as the unit rate. You also pay a 53p daily standing charge, regardless of how much power you use.

There are separate unit rates and standing charges for gas and electricity, all of which are capped by the regulator, Ofgem, also known as the energy price cap, which will fall from £2,074 to £1,923 from October.

Your gas costs you 8p per kWh, and 29p a day. Electricity costs 30p per kWH, and 53p per day.

Following an announcement by the energy regulator Ofgem, the unit rates for gas and electricity will fall to 6.89p and 27.35p per kWh respectively. And their requisite standing charges will remain the same.

As for which tips and tricks can actually save you serious cash, Telegraph Money crunches the numbers.

Adjust your boiler settings

Understandably, many people are a little cautious when it comes to tinkering with their boilers, but lowering the boiler flow temperature to 60C on a combi boiler could save you £100 a year.

Advice published by the Government says: “Reducing flow temperature isn’t the same as lowering your thermostat and won’t noticeably reduce the temperature of your home, but may increase the time it takes to reach the target temperature on your thermostat.”

However, for those over 65 or with pre-existing health conditions, it is advised to set a slightly higher boiler flow temperature of 65C to ensure your home heats up quickly enough.

Reduce your shower time

Whether you have an electric shower, or one using gas-heated water, they will cost roughly the same: 22p for every five minutes under the January price cap, or £1.52 a week, assuming one shower a day. This doubles to £3.04 for 10-minute showers. A family of four doing this would rack up £12.16 a week on showers alone.

Clearly, this bill can be easily cut if you simply reduce time spent in the shower. You can also cut costs by taking the opportunity to shower at work, or at the gym where possible.

Children taking long showers can be a difficult issue to address, but life insurance comparison site Reassured suggests: “Make sure to not put too much pressure on your kids. Maybe you can make it into a game, who can beat the quickest shower record in your family?”

Consider when to put the heating on

Experts advise you should start putting the heating on once temperatures dip below 15C. If you are the sort of household that turns on the heating for half the year and off for the other, the best dates to make the switch are typically when the clocks go back and forward.

Clocks go forward on the last Sunday in March – which in 2024 is the 31st – making it the ideal time to stop using heating. The last Sunday in October (the 27th) when the clocks go back, is as good an opportunity as any to turn it back on again.

Homes are typically colder in the mornings and evenings, so setting your heating on a timer to turn on an hour before you wake up and within the hour you arrive home is a reasonable timetable. Working from home, inevitably, will also use up more power if you are using heating or electricity all day.

To save money on bills, it is recommended not to use heating at night, or when you are not at home – but if you are going away for several days when it is very cold it is a good idea to put your heating on a timer to prevent pipes freezing up.

Get smart with radiator settings

You might be tempted to turn off radiators in rooms you are not using to save energy, but it turns out that your boiler will have to work harder to increase the temperature when you turn them back on, meaning you will not save money.

Instead, it is best to keep radiator thermostats at a low setting, at between 2.5 and 3 (roughly 18C). Charity Citizens Advice estimates that turning the heating down by even 1C can save up to 10pc on a household’s energy bill.

Slay ‘vampire’ appliances

Some electrical appliances quietly suck up energy even when left in standby mode. For most appliances, the amount wasted amounts to pennies, but these costs can add up to substantial bills over time. Turning unused appliances off at the plug could save £70 a year, the Government says.

However, the true cost of so-called vampire appliances could be much higher, according to Loop, a smart meter data analyst. The company estimated households waste hundreds of pounds a year by leaving appliances on standby.

Having additional fridges in a property – a beer fridge for example – could add up to £119 to your yearly bills. Failing to turn off a desktop computer at the mains, meanwhile, could cost families £95 a year, according to Loop.

Similarly, the cost of leaving a microwave on standby is around £16.37 per year, according to British Gas. The provider estimates a games console left on standby adds £12.17 to the annual bill. British Gas said leaving a TV on standby costs £24.61 a year, while leaving a Freeview box plugged in at the mains adds £23.10 to annual bills. 

The luxury of leaving a microwave on standby costs households an average of £16.37 a year, while a washing machine and tumble dryer add £4.73 and £4.79.

Even small devices like phone chargers left connected to the mains can add up to £1.26 a year, which can quickly accumulate if you have several children with their own phone chargers. But you might be relieved to know broadband routers, which are typically left on 24/7, only cost 7p a day.

Cool down clothes washes

You really do not need to be washing your clothes at 40C – newer washing machines can rid pretty much all stains and germs at 30C.

Not only is 30C a perfectly fine temperature to wash your clothes at, but government calculations indicate three washing cycles at 30C use the same amount of energy as two at 40C.

The Energy Savings Trust estimates households could save around 40pc of the energy used each year just by switching to 30C washes. Your washing machine is also an example of a vampire appliance that uses energy when it is not being used. Turn it off at the wall to save energy.

Give the tumble dryer a miss

Maintaining the fluffiness of your towels notwithstanding, using a tumble dryer over a clothes horse really is not necessary – and it is also incredibly energy-intensive.

Under the January price cap, a single full-load tumble dryer cycle will cost £1.42.

The Government estimates a typical household could save £70 a year simply by opting to use a clothes horse or outdoor washing line instead.

Charge your electric car at night

Households on specialised electric car tariffs can charge their cars overnight at a rate of 12-18p per kWh, but the daytime rate is more expensive at 51-53p per kWh.

For most homes the higher daytime rate will not be an issue as they will be out during the day and at home overnight. Electric car drivers can also bolster savings by selling surplus electricity back to the grid, or using it to meet their home’s electrical needs.

Public charging is more expensive than charging at home, but costs are not governed by the price cap. Typical public charging rates are around 55p per kWh for slow-to-fast chargers, and 80p per kwH on rapid-to-ultra-rapid chargers, according to comparison site Zapmap.

Consider getting a smart meter

While some people have very strong opinions about smart meters, which will not save money in and of themselves, knowledge is power.

A smart meter can be installed for free, and energy providers are very keen for households to do so. The technology will give you live updates on how much energy you are using, which can give you more of an indicator of where you could cut back.

Reassured also has some amusing advice for how to use your smart meter to drive down your children’s energy usage: “If you have a smart meter in your home, you could maybe run a contest to see if you can lower last week’s usage.

“This way they can also see how much energy is being used and gain more understanding.”

This article was first published on May 16, 2023. It is kept updated with the latest information.