Cost Of Living John on 12 Dec 2008 04:44 pm
How To Reduce Your Electricity Bill
As wholesale energy prices have increased this year the electricity firms (and all the other utilities for that matter) have been quick to pass on the increased costs. As a result the average household now spends around 47% more on their electricity bills than they did a year ago (Source: Telegraph).
As we use most of our yearly energy during the winter months, now is a great time to start thinking about reducing your electricity use and therefore your bill. So how can you do so?
Well many would tell you to switch providers, but I’ve never been convinced that it’s really worth the effort and according to Ofgem 30% of the population agrees with me (or is too lazy to bother :-)). I seem to recall seeing a recent press article that stated that most people who switch actually end up worse off too, unfortunately I can’t find it again.
Next, if you pay by direct debit check your bill, in the last couple of weeks I’ve found that I’m in credit with my provider to the tune of nearly £200 and my mother in law is in credit to the tune of around £500! If you find yourself in such a situation phone up your provider and demand you money back then stick it in a savings account where you’ll at least get some interest - besides the banks need your money far more than the utility firms, just avoid any of those excellent Icelandic banks.
However the real gains come from cutting your use. Don’t fill the kettle to the top, only add the exact amount of water needed, one acquaintance of mine claims that step alone has cut 30% off his electricity bills - although that might say more about the amount of coffee he drinks than the amount of energy you’ll save.
Turn off the damn lights too, far too many of us leave lights on when we’re not in rooms (yes darling I’m thinking of you). Turn them off. Next turn off the television, video, DVD player, Sky TV (in fact why not cancel Sky TV), turn off the computer and unplug the mobile phone charger when they’re not in use.
Finally for those things you really need (light) invest in low energy equivalents, low energy light bulbs use a fraction of the electricity of normal bulbs and if you’re a geek like me a modern laptop of energy efficient PC uses far less power than a standard desktop.
So what are you waiting for, stop wasting electricity reading this! :-) Oh and the great thing is by reducing your electricity bill you’re also reducing your carbon footprint - you save money and get to be green, what a bonus!
