uSwitch and Martin's Money Tips have respectively emailed me in the past two weeks. The first predicts as worst case scenario of a 46% price rice in gas & energy prices and a best case of 10%. The second predicted a 35% price rise.
I've no idea whether switching from one supplier to another will make any difference, but here are some things we can do to reduce fuel bills:
Electricity
- Turn off wireless modems when not being used
- Unplug mobile phone chargers
- Switch off anything at the wall with a standby
- Use low energy lightbulb
- Only boil the water in the kettle you need
- Switch computers off / into sleep modes
- Do short washes in your washing machine
I'm good at this lot. With OCD and a thing about plugs, it's dead easy. Small appliances may not seem like big things - but their cumulative effect really mounts up.
Gas
- Use your microwave more, your oven less for basic reheating
- Use a lid on pots to retain heat
- Turn off radiators in rooms you don't use
- If the flame licks up the sides, the heat is too high or the pot too small
- Let things cook in residual heat
Water
And just for good measure, let's save water too. I argued about our direct debit level when we moved here. The water company wanted it higher. Now, even though we're paying the lower monthly level, our account is at least £20 in credit.
- Flush the toilet when you need to, not every time
- Have showers instead of baths
- Don't have the tap running when you brush your teeth or wash your dishes
Now, more than ever, if we use our energy and resources inefficiently, we'll be working to earn money which simply goes down the drain (or up the flue).
There's another load of tips which you can use for more efficient driving (I'm expecting fuel prices to soar too) - apparently it is possible to save 40% of your petrol bill - but I will blog this another time.
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