How to Manage Your Bills and Finances this Winter
Government Energy Bill Support
Previous Support
The energy rebate to council taxpayers has already been delivered, the changes to the Warm Homes Discount could see 800,000 more homes in receipt of the support between December and March, and the winter fuel payment has been streamlined for pensioners.
Energy Price Guarantee Scheme
The government’s energy price guarantee scheme sometimes called “The Energy Cap” had some confusing coverage in the media when it was launched a month ago. It is important for people to be aware that the scheme is not a cap on the amount you will pay rather a cap on the usage rates that all electricity and gas tariff are based on. This means that it should soften the impact of energy price rise but customers will still pay for the energy they use, meaning if you use lots of energy you will still be faced with a large, expensive bill.
Energy Saving Tips
As the cost of energy continues to rise and other factors put a squeeze on household incomes, we want to take the opportunity to share with you some of our energy saving tips. The Green Doctor team have come up with a selection of our favourite energy saving tips which we can all do in our own homes quickly and easily. The advice we give covers a wide range of issues and specificities but here are our top 5 applicable to most households
A degree can make a huge difference: turning your central heating down by 1°C could result in a saving up to £120+ a year on your heating costs. If all UK households who normally set their thermostats above 20°C turned down by 1°C, it would be an overall saving of £1.4 billion.
Improve the EPC rating: if you are out of the house during the day set your programmer to turn the heating off 30 minutes before your normal time to leave and to turn it back on again 30 mins before you arrive home each day. And if you have a home with a low EPC rating try to improve the rating as high as possible – if you are on a low income look out for government grants that can help you. An EPC rating is considered low below a D.
Go Eco-friendly: check to see if any of your appliances have an eco-mode. Usually found on washing machines/dishwashers, this programme uses less water or a lower temperature and so uses less energy per wash.
Switch the light bulbs: you can save up to £13+ per year for each low energy bulb you replace – and LEDs are considered the best to swap to because they can last up to 50,000 hours.
Turn off standby mode: 85% of energy is wasted on appliances being left on standby like TVs, microwaves and laptops. It is important to fully shut them down and stop paying money for when it is sat there idle not being used. This is why we give out small energy measures like Power down units which plug into the socket and device and can turn items off easily with a small remote saving customers from reaching into difficult places behind masses of wires and furniture and saving them money.
To find other useful energy-saving tips we recommend the following reliable resources:
- National Energy Action
- Home Energy Advice
- Money Saving Expert
- Tips on how to combat rising energy prices
Disclaimer: Please note that Green Doctors South are not in any affiliation with the above groups or responsible for their views and content on the sites.
Previous Post