Take the heat off your energy bill with these simple tricks

Now is the time to do all we can to make our homes and lives run more efficiently – but where to start? Anna Tyzack finds out

We had a power cut last week, in the throes of which I tried to persuade my panicking nine-year-old son that people used to live very happily without electricity. He wasn’t convinced and I’m ashamed to say that one candlelit evening without an oven, television or phone charger proved that I’m as much of an energy addict as he is – an alarming reality, given the current crisis. Our already escalating energy bills are set to spike by up to 50 per cent later this year, according to Investec, with the average household spending £3,000.

Yet the experience of no power was also motivating. I’ve got into bad habits – heating rooms that we’re not using, leaving devices on charge indefinitely and forgetting to turn off lights; from now on, I want to be less wasteful. Josh Jackman, from the energy comparison website theecoexperts.co.uk, confirms that small changes in behaviour and a few cheap investments can save hundreds of pounds in energy bills every year. “It’s a myth that you have to spend a fortune replacing old appliances and building a new roof to make a difference,” he says. “We need to stop being stuck in our ways and start adopting moneysaving habits. By turning down your thermostat by just one degree, you’ll save £80 a year.”

First up, he suggests installing a smart meter and asking your energy provider for an energy audit – these won’t reduce your costs, but they will show you where you can cut down your usage. Also, look into any government schemes that might help you make your home more energy efficient. From April, the Boiler Upgrade Scheme will provide grants for homeowners to replace their boiler with a heat pump or a biomass boiler, while ECO4 is the final part of an ongoing government scheme to support low-income households to create more energy efficient homes, offering free electric storage heaters and grants for insulation. There are also boiler upgrade schemes and incentives for generating renewable energy (for more information, see simpleenergyadvice.org.uk/grants).

Then it’s a question of chipping away at your bill, Jackman says, by making energy-saving decisions in every room of the house. “It all adds up – and the great thing is that by being energy efficient, you’re also being greener,” he says. According to Tashema Jackson, consumer champion at energyhelpline.com, these changes don’t have an impact on your quality of life, although you might want to put on an extra layer. “Wearing a thicker jumper is one of the best ways to save money,” she says, not least because you can turn down the thermostat by two or three degrees instead of just one.