WE’RE all increasingly conscious of how much household and energy bills are going to cost this winter.
But, luckily, a line-up of energy, consumer and finance experts have come to the rescue and revealed their clever tips on how to save big money as we welcome the colder weather.
As part of Channel 5’s helpful one-off programme 30 Tips To Cut Bills, the panel took it in turns to lift the lid on the things they’ve implemented to cut their bills down.
So here we detail nine of their insider tricks on how to save our well-earned cash – but with minimal effort…
Even before you’re reaching for your winter coat and boots, you should be paying careful attention to the radiators around your home.
Which? Consumer Rights Expert Harry Kind explained that it was important to start bleeding your radiators in preparation for the plummeting temperatures (but remember to top up the central heating pressure once you’re done).
He explained: “Bleeding your radiators will absolutely save you money because the boiler system won’t have to work as hard to keep the room warm.
“It will vary from home to home how much that will be but it’s one of the easiest ways to boost the temperature in a room.”
James Lawrence, who works at Plumberperts, added: “If the top of the radiator is cold, that means we’re having less BTUs (British Thermal Units) of heat going into that room.”
On top of this, the show revealed that reflective foil behind a radiator can help spread heat around the room more efficiently, while simply cleaning the airways can also be a key factor.
While many people have invested in smart thermostats to help reduce their bill prices, the old-fashioned way is just as good.
Harry Kind told viewers: “You can be your own smart thermostat if you can’t afford to buy one.
“You can be there lowering your temperature. Every degree should reduce your bills by about ten per cent.”
While Lynn Beattie, a personal finance expert from Mrs Mummypenny, says: “Get the temperature right on your thermostat.
“The average is about 23 degrees, which people would have had it at last year, so I would recommend to put that down to 20 or even 19 if you can bear it.”
Every degree should reduce your bills by about ten per cent
If you have a condensing boiler that was installed after 2005, there’s one simple thing you can do to reduce money – and it’s all to do with the operating temperature.
On the front of the boiler will be a dial, which you should turn down slowly but surely until the temperature in the room has noticeably dropped.
Jo Alsop, who is the founder of Heating Hub, explained to the Channel 5 audience: “That will help the boiler spend more time in what is known to be condensing mode.
“But actually it’s recycling mode – it helps to capture waste heat that would be thrown out through the room and recycle it back into the boiler.”
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We all know how integral it is to keep the hot air in your home and cold drafts out.
So as well as ensuring all doors and curtains are closed where possible and placing rugs on hard flooring, there’s a couple of additional genius techniques that can help you save up to £45 a year.
Draft excluders can be purchased cheaply from stores or online and placed over problem areas, such as key holes.
And Lynn Beattie revealed it’s just as easy to create your own. She explained: “I’m going to quote my mum’s super tip here.
“Take an old pair of tights and cut the legs off and then we’ve all got odd socks, as the washing machine eats socks.
“Fill up your pair of tights with your odd socks, turn it into a snake, make it into a draft excluder and put it on your front door and back door.”
Fill up your pair of tights with your odd socks, turn it into a snake, and make it into a draft excluder
It’s a British cliche that we solve all of our problems with a single cup of tea – but ironically that may also be the case when it comes to our energy bills.
Experts say that rather than overfill your kettle and waste lots of water, you should memorise exactly how much water is needed to make each cuppa.
Harry Kind explained: “The thing about a kettle is that it uses a lot of energy but does it in a very short space of time.
“The easiest way to get around that is to not boil more water than you need.
“Get to know your kettle – know where you have to fill it up so that it will make exactly one cup of tea.”
The easiest way to get around that is to not boil more water than you need
It sounds simple, but switching off all appliances and gadgets at night rather than keeping them on standby can really help out.
According to a recent report by British Gas, if you take all appliances that are over five years old off of standby, you could save up to £147 every twelve months.
Lynn Beattie said: “If you’ve got a smart metre, you can actually see what your minimum energy usage is in your house.
“If you have everything left on standby, look at what it is and then switch everything off and see how much it is – and you’ll see how much it is costing you.
“So I run around every night, which my children absolutely love, and I switch off everything – wifi, everything, apart from the fridge.”
SWITCHING energy providers can sound like a hassle - but fortunately it's pretty straight forward to change supplier - and save lots of cash.
Shop around - If you're on an SVT deal you are likely throwing away up to £250 a year. Use a comparion site such as MoneySuperMarket.com, uSwitch or EnergyHelpline.com to see what deals are available to you.
The cheapest deals are usually found online and are fixed deals - meaning you'll pay a fixed amount usually for 12 months.
Switch - When you've found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.
It helps to have the following information - which you can find on your bill - to hand to give the new supplier.
It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.
It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply won't be interrupted in that time.
How’s this for a light bulb moment? Just one simple swap will see you gaining anything from £1 - £4 a year per light bulb.
Halogen light bulbs, which are popular in households up and down the country, are much more costly than the more efficient LED light bulbs.
Harry Kind explained: “LED light bulbs are fantastic. They’re so cheap, they last for years and years and years.
“If you have any bulbs left that aren’t LED, really consider replacing them because they’re the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to keeping prices down.”
They’re so cheap, they last for years and years and years
There’s a common misconception that the more you have in your freezer, the more expensive it will be to run.
However, the reality is quite different and the experts encourage that you have a full freezer to help reduce costs. In fact, a freezer runs best at 70% capacity.
So, if you’ve not got enough food to fill each shelf, it’s time to get creative.
Finance expert Emmanuel Asuquo continued: “What you can do is fill up water bottles and put them in your freezer to take up the space and that will make it run more efficiently.”
Meanwhile, social media users have suggested cheap loaves of bread also help fill the gap and can be used to make toast.
Fill up water bottles and put them in your freezer to take up the space
If you’re choosing to switch on your oven, rather than trying out a cheaper slow cooker or air fryer, you may as well make the most of it.
Harry Kind concluded: “If you’re going to make the effort to heat up your whole oven, don’t just put one thing in there.
“If you’re cooking a chicken, chuck some roast veggies in there, and maybe try to bake something in there as well.
“Even if you have to cook more than you’re going to eat – you can freeze that and have it at a later date.”
Another great idea is to use the heat of the oven to help warm the rest of the house.
Emmanuel Asuquo said: “Another use for an oven is that after you’ve finished cooking you can leave it open. It can potentially heat up your house depending on the size of your house.”
30 Tips To Cut Bills is available to watch now on My5
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