Today, (Friday, August 26th), OFGEM announced that the energy price cap will be raised by up to 80% in their bi-yearly review of energy price costs.
We know that the cost of living is insane at the moment, and in order to serve our community, we want to give you some little tips and tricks for things you can do to try and combat the cost of living when it comes to gas and electricity in your home.
Look At Energy Deals (Avoid The Scams/Cons)
The cost-of-living crisis is “leaving many household budgets under strain”, said Ruth Jackson-Kirby on MoneyWeek. “If you are in this position, there are frankly no easy answers, but it’s important to look at anything you can do to offset rising bills.”
It is worth, first of all, checking to see if you are paying too much for your electric and gas. With the prices rising, you may not get the best deal switching now, but it is still worth checking to see if you are paying too much.
At Home
Energy costs account for a significant portion of household spending, thus it makes sense to seek ways to lower the amount of gas and electricity you consume. The average home of four people uses around 13 appliances.
Some of the top ways to save energy at home include:
- Turning off standby appliances
- Install a smart thermostat to make heating more efficient
- Turning down your thermostat
- Buy efficient appliances
- Install a new boiler
- Wash clothes at a lower temperature
- Be smarter about water
- Invest in double glazing
- Draught-proof your property
- Insulate the roof
- Monitor your usage
Hacks
When it comes to things like energy costs, hacks are the last thing you really want to be doing. However, according to Rhiannon Philips at Nerdwallet, there are some nifty little tricks you can use in order to save some pennies.
She lists 42 of them on the list linked above, some of our favorites include bleeding your radiators regularly, using LED light bulbs, and double glazing your windows.
We’ve linked the full list here.