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How to cut your energy bills Energy saving tips: Five ways to cut costs this winter
(17 days later)
Energy bills went up at the start of October, with households in England, Wales and Scotland using a typical amount of gas and electricity now paying significantly more. Winter weather has arrived, but many people are struggling with the cost of heating and other home energy bills.
Energy-saving measures won't make up for the sharp rise in prices. But taken together, lots of small changes could save hundreds of pounds a year. Here are some ways to help keep costs down. While the actual savings differ for different people, at the end of each section we explain how the savings figure was worked out.
What is the energy price cap and what will I actually pay? 1. Using the thermostat and timer to take control of your heating settings could save you about £150
1. Use an air fryer or microwave instead of an oven Most of the energy we use at home goes on heating.
Ovens can be an inefficient way of cooking as they involve heating a relatively large space. Using a microwave, pressure cooker or air fryer instead could save money. But turning the thermostat down by just one degree could save you about £150 annually.
Microwaves usually save energy as they cook faster. For example, a baked potato could take 70 minutes in an oven, 60 minutes in an air fryer and 8 minutes in a microwave, according to energy efficiency website Sust-it. Also consider using your boiler's timer - if it has one - so that your heating switches off when the house is empty.
However, be aware there are a number of variables that will affect the amount of energy you use. The efficiency of your oven, for example, will be affected by its size and how well it is insulated. While it might be tempting to avoid using the heating to save money, the government recommends a room temperature of at least 18C. Older people and those who are ill or disabled may need it to be warmer. 
2. Switch to LED lightbulbs If your house is too cold it could encourage damp - which can lead to mould. People living with mould are more likely to suffer from respiratory illnesses, infections, allergies or asthma.
Lighting makes up 11% of the average UK household's energy consumption, according to The Energy Saving Trust and Which? How this saving is worked out: Experts at Cambridge Architectural Research (CAR) found that turning the thermostat down from 19C to 18C would save 13% on an average annual gas bill - that's about £157 now. It suggests 68% of homes could benefit. Its findings are based on estimated energy use in 12,300 homes surveyed by the English Housing Survey. CAR was asked to carry out the study by the government in 2012. The Energy Saving Trust estimates a saving of £145 a year, if temperatures are reduced from 22C to 21C in main living areas.
Switching to LED bulbs can make a big difference. Who will get £900 to help with energy bills?
A household using a dozen 40W incandescent or halogen bulbs for four hours a day could spend about £238 per year, Sust-it estimates. LED equivalents would cost £41.70 - a saving of £196.30 a year. What does an unheated room do to your body?
LED bulbs can cost more, but have a longer lifespan and will save money over time. 2. Reducing your combi boiler flow temperature to 60C could save you about £100   
3. Take control of your central heating If you have a combi boiler, try reducing the flow temperature for the water heating your home to 60C. This is the temperature of the water the boiler sends to the radiators.
Set your thermostat at the lowest comfortable temperature (often 18 to 21C). A higher temperature will heat your home faster, but it could also mean higher bills.
Turning your thermostat down just one degree could cut bills by about £145 a year, the Energy Saving Trust says. This is based on a semi-detached house with the heating on between 7am-9am and 4pm-11pm on week days and between 7am-11pm at weekends. That's because combi boilers tend to capture and recycle heat less efficiently at higher temperatures - meaning it requires more gas to heat your home.
In smaller homes, like a terraced house or a flat, the savings will be lower. If you have a conventional boiler (ie a system with a hot water tank), you could try setting it to 65C. It's important not to set it any lower as it could create a health risk - legionella bacteria could develop in the water.
You can also turn the heating off in rooms you're not using. If you want to consider adjusting the flow temperature, the Energy Saving Trust has more information and the Nesta charity has a guide to walk you through the process.
Bleeding radiators to remove trapped air and moving furniture away from them helps warms air flow more easily around a room. If you rent your home you might want to check with your landlord before making changes.
4. Insulate and draught-proof your home How this saving is worked out: CAR modelled the saving for reducing the temperature of combi boilers from 75C to 60C. It found this would save 8% on an average annual gas bill - about £97. It suggests 38% of homes in the UK could save money with this measure. The study was carried out in 2022.
3. Installing a water-efficient showerhead or having showers in four minutes could save you about £90
There are a couple of ways to save money when you shower.
Firstly, shorter showers could save you about £84 a year.
This is based on cutting the length of an average shower from about seven minutes to four.
Secondly, you could consider buying a water-efficient showerhead - which will cost from about £10. (Check they are compatible with your shower before buying one).
They work by restricting the amount of water coming through the head. This means you use less hot water for the same length of shower. This could mean a saving of about £98 a year if you don't have shorter showers.
How this saving is worked out: CAR assumes that each household takes two showers a day, that an average shower lasts seven minutes, uses eight litres a minute and has a temperature of 41C. It says four-minute showers would save an average of 24 litres of hot water, resulting in an energy saving of 1.1 kWh per shower, or around 800 kWh per year for a household. CAR also estimated that a low-flow shower head would save an average of 28 litres of hot water, resulting an energy saving of 1.3 kWh per shower, or around 950 kWh per year for a household.
4. Turning down radiator valves in less-used rooms could save you about £70
Radiators in many homes have valves which control the temperature in each room.
If used correctly, these thermostatic radiator valves - often numbered one to five (sometimes up to six) - can save you money.
In rooms you use less often, consider turning the valve to the midway point (this should still heat the room to 18-20C).
Keeping doors closed will also help trap heat.
How is the saving worked out: CAR's study found that homes with radiator valves are likely to have partially adjusted them so that rooms outside the main living area are already 1.5°C cooler. However, reducing the temperature by a further 1.5°C could save 5.5% of the total gas bill (a saving of £68). Its modelling found that 76% of UK homes could save with this measure.
Turning down radiator valves in less-used rooms could save you around £70
5. Draught-proofing your doors, windows, chimneys and floors could save you up to £215
If your home is poorly insulated it will lose heat more easily and be harder to keep warm.If your home is poorly insulated it will lose heat more easily and be harder to keep warm.
Insulation and draught-proofing - to stop heat escaping around doors and windows - helps trap heat. Draught-proofing is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to save energy.
Professional draught-proofing might cost about £225, the Energy Saving Trust says. However, it can save about £125 a year - based on a typical semi-detached home. To stop cold air getting in and heat escaping consider:
DIY options like self-adhesive strips for window gaps and heavy curtains can also save you money. Adding draft-proofing strips around doors and windows
"It's not necessarily going to be a huge cost saving, but what it will do is make your home feel more comfortable at a lower temperature," says Emily Seymour, sustainability editor at Which?. Adding strips along the edges of external doors and a brush at the bottom
Most heat is lost through the roof, so loft insulation should be a priority. Installing a letter-box cover
For renters, installing insulation may not be an option as landlords are responsible for major improvements. However, landlords can be fined for renting properties which don't meet minimum energy efficiency standards. Using sealant to close gaps between suspended floorboards and skirting boards
How can renters make their homes warmer and greener? Adding a chimney draft excluder to unused chimneys
How can better insulation cut energy bills? If you intend to carry out any draft-proofing, do not block extractor fans, wall vents and airbricks. These are necessary for ventilating certain rooms (like your kitchen and bathroom).
5. Make better use of appliances The cost will depends on how much and which areas you want to draught-proof. Professional draught-proofing could save more energy because they should know which materials to use. The Energy Saving Trust has further advice.
Washing machines and tumble dryers can be energy hungry, according to Emily Seymour. But there are ways to use them efficiently, she says. How this saving is worked out: The saving is based on a typical three-bed gas heated, semi-detached house using a gas price of 10.3p/kWh and electricity price of 34.0p/kWh. The Energy Saving Trust's figures are based on the government's methodology for energy modelling in homes.
Use any eco settings and turn your machine down - particularly if clothes aren't that dirty. I'm freezing - can I get a cold weather payment?
Washing clothes at 30 C and using one less cycle a week could save £28 a year, the Energy Saving Trust says. What help can I get with home insulation?
If you can, dry clothes outside instead of in a tumble dryer. It will cost at least £36 a year to run an energy efficient dryer from October, based on average usage, or as much as £159 for an inefficient models, Sust-it says. Note: All savings figures are based on a typical gas-heated home in Great Britain with an annual usage of around 12,000 kWh of gas and 2,900 kWh of electricity, using a gas price of 10.3p/kWh and electricity price of 34.0p/kWh (based on Energy Price Guarantee October 2022).
Not using an inefficient dryer for four months during the summer could save up to £70 a year, according to the Energy Savings Trust. Combining all measures could potentially save a typical household £530 per year, according to Nesta/CAR/Energy Saving Trust calculations. Due to the potential for double counting, this is less than the £625 total of adding up each individual measure in this article. There are dangers in overly severe energy rationing - underheated and damp homes come with health risks.
6. Take shorter showers These tips have been chosen in collaboration with UK broadcasters - including the BBC, ITV, Sky, Channel 4 and Channel 5 - as well as Citizens Advice, the Climate Change Committee, Energy Saving Trust and Nesta.
A typical household with gas heating will see about 12% of its energy bill used to heat water for showers, baths and taps, the Energy Saving Trust says.
However, if you have a power shower the saving could be less as you'll use more hot water.
Meanwhile, cutting your shower time from eight to four minutes could save £70 a year. This is based on five showers a week.
Correction 20 October: An earlier version of this article contained figures for an oven that were not adjusted for thermostatic controls and for a microwave that did not reflect inefficiency. These have been corrected.
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