I live with my two children and partner in a small semi-detached house. During the winter we use more heating and electricity as we’re home more. Do you have any tips on how I can keep the cost of my energy down during the winter?
There are a few things you can do to save some money during the winter period. Check when your energy contract is due to expire. If you’re at the end of your contract use energy compare by Citizens Advice to see if you could save money by switching supplier or tariff.
If you’re on a prepayment meter you could save money by replacing your meter with one that lets you pay after using energy rather than in advance. Most suppliers won’t charge for removing a prepayment meter, though many will run a credit check or ask for a deposit.
You may also be eligible for certain grants and benefits these could include Warm Home discount or help with energy debt.
Here are a few practical tips to help keep costs down:
· Using a timer for your heating, lowering your thermostat and using radiator valve controls could save you over £100 per year
· Changing light bulbs to more efficient ones could save £50 over the lifetime of the bulb
· Turn appliances off standby mode to save around £30 a year
· Seal cracks in floors, skirting boards and add draft excluders to letterboxes, doors and windows.
· Some energy suppliers also offer grants to allow improvements to your home, like insulation or a new boiler. What help you can get depends on your circumstances and what would help your home. You don’t need to be a customer of one of these suppliers to apply but you’ll Need to check your eligibility. If you would like help with the any of the issues above, please contact Ash Citizens Advice on 01252 315569.
Citizens Advice Ash is an independent local charity. We depend on local funding from local authorities, local charitable trusts, local businesses and private donations. Our highly trained volunteers, who give their free time to help local people, are currently working from home providing free independent telephone and email advice service. We have recent funding from the CO-OP to help us continue to provide this service post the pandemic, helping us to return to face to face services in a safe and secure environment . If you would like to support us you can do this by going to the CO-OP website and becoming a CO-OP member https://www.coop.co.uk/membership?
Citizens Advice Ash is open Monday to Thursday 9.30 am to 4 pm for telephone advice (01252 315569). Email advice is available via our website: www.ashcab.org.uk.
By Sandra Luff