Ten tips for shrinking your utility bills.
- Should you take the plunge and go on a contract? Think about exit fees – when you take a contract you might have these and they are higher now than last year – on average £75 for each service. Wait till August when we know what the prices will be from October.
- Door curtains are one way to cut down on cold air entering the house.
- Check your bill – are you in credit or debit? If you have a credit balance then you should be able to use that to keep your payments down in the months ahead.
- Is your bill estimated? Then put in a meter reading. This should be done automatically if you have a smart meter. How does it compare to this time last year? Your smart meter does not reduce your bills, it just makes you more aware of what you are using.
- GADGETS Be aware of the running costs of your electrical items. Do you leave your mobile phone charger plugged in even when you are not using it? If the plug is warm, you are wasting energy and it is not a safe thing to do. Why not charge your phone when you are in the car or train if you can. Look at any appliances on standby such as the TV and soundbar and consider if you can switch them off. Make sure you have LED lights.
- ENERGY:- Economy 7 Electricity (where a day and a night tariff exist) is only worthwhile if the night units are at least one third of the total usage of electricity.
- Talk (although this might be an online chat box if they are very busy with calls) to your suppliers – what can they offer you? There are social tariffs that give basic services such as a lower speed broadband. Is that right for you? Are you using your mobile tariff, or could you drop to something that is not “unlimited”?
- Do you have garden security lights that are over sensitive to movement?
- If you are using a tumbler drier that has a container of water, you can put that back into the washing machine. If you are doing a second load, the water may be tepid in temperature so you save on heating water for a cold fill washing machine and you save on water.
- When putting shopping in the fridge, add a chiller block (the sort you use to keep drinks cold when travelling) from your freezer to help the fridge get back to the right temperature.