Which? reveals cheap and simple changes to help cancel out energy price cap hike pain
As the cap for a typical household on a variable tariff increases by £149 per year, Which? is advising people to check whether there are steps they can take - some of which won’t cost a penny - to soften the blow.
The latest energy price cap hike comes as Which? launches a new home energy planning service to help people reduce their energy bills and get their homes fit for a greener future.
As a first step, the consumer champion recommends checking energy bills to see if there are savings to be had. While you’re unlikely to save a huge sum by switching provider or tariff, consider paperless bills and paying by direct debit if you haven’t already.
You could save over £50 per year by switching to one of the cheapest deals on offer (based on a typical household) compared with the price cap. If you want to fix an energy deal, look for one that costs less than the October price cap. A couple of firms are selling tariffs which track a set amount below the price cap. Don’t tie yourself in for too long, in case energy prices change, and watch out for high exit fees.
We’ve seen some tariffs with these early exit penalties set as high as £125 per fuel.It may be possible to make small improvements to a property’s insulation - but those can add up to significant savings. It can cost as little as £15 to fit insulation around exposed hot water pipes. More insulation will add up to more money off your energy bills.
Draught proofing will make energy bills more cost effective and does not have to be complex. It can save consumers money if they consider draught proofing places in their house including sash windows, loft hatches, cracks in walls and floor and skirting boards. Consider purchasing a draught excluder or make one yourself by filling a large piece of fabric with old clothes or rice.
Using appliances efficiently is also a good way to save money as many, including washer dryers and condenser tumble dryers, are costly to use. To save money, do laundry at 30 degrees instead of 40 as it makes it 38 per cent cheaper, according to Which?’s tests. Stacking dishwashers efficiently so that every item gets cleaned well - and only running the machine when it is full - will also shave a few more pounds off your bills.
If you have a condenser tumble dryer it will be particularly expensive to run- while heat pump tumble dryers cost an average of £50 a year to run, owners of condenser tumble dryers pay considerably more to run them. Average annual running costs will be £127 from October. The most expensive condenser model will cost £171 a year to run. Heating water is another expense that can lead to mounting energy bills.
If you have a hot water tank, save money by using heating controls to turn your water heating on and off so you only heat as much water as you need. If you have a combi boiler that heats water on demand, try setting your water temperature a little lower if you find you usually have to mix it with cold water anyway, and avoid running hot water for a long time when you’re washing dishes or showering.
For heating your home, heating controls enable consumers to set their heating and hot water to turn on and off to suit them, heat only the parts of their home that need it, set different temperatures for different areas of their home and keep their home at a temperature that is comfortable, without wasting heat. If you don’t have them already, install a room thermostat, programmer or thermostatic radiator valves (and use them well). This could save a typical household over £100 per year on energy bills each year, according to Energy Saving Trust. A study published by the Heating and Hotwater Industry Council (HHIC) in its Heating Up to Net Zero white paper showed that you can also make a saving of 6-8% on your gas bills by lowering a combi boiler's radiator flow.
Some are set as high as 80 degrees, but depending on your central heating system you may find your radiators heat up to a comfortable with a flow temperature of 60 degrees or less. You can do this yourself, by following your boiler’s manufacturer instructions, or ask your boiler engineer to show you how to do it during a service. Make sure to get your boiler serviced every year and ask your engineer to make sure it is running as efficiently as possible, so that you are ready to heat your home effectively when temperatures drop.
If your boiler is very old and faulty, a new model will likely be cheaper to run. Buying a new boiler can cost around £3,700 according to the Energy Saving Trust, including installation and new radiator valves, so you need to weigh that up against any potential savings. We don’t recommend replacing a boiler until it is at the end of its life.Similarly, newer white goods are likely to be more energy efficient than old models. When your current appliances reach the end of their lives and you need to replace them, choosing energy-efficient ones can save hundreds of pounds each year in running costs compared with the most power-guzzling products, which can mean you save in the long run even if they cost a little more upfront.
Which?’s tests look at the most cost-effective and sustainable options for consumers over time.If you are interested in bigger home improvements to boost your energy efficiency, and considering updating your insulation or installing a new heating system, there are a range of schemes and grants to take advantage of. This includes the Boiler Upgrade Scheme which offers consumers in England and Wales up to £7,500 to replace their current gas or oil heating with low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps.
A similar scheme is available in Scotland. Residential homes are responsible for a fifth of the UK’s CO2 emissions. If the country is to reach net zero by 2050, millions of people will need to get work done on their properties to make them more sustainable and energy efficient. Which?’s home energy planning service is a free online tool that helps users build a personalised plan for improving the energy efficiency of their home. It’s simple to use. Users just need to enter their postcode and select their address. The tool then pulls together data about the property, suggests improvements that could be made and provides estimated costs and potential savings on energy bills. It checks for available grants, provides information on ways to pay and even helps users find trusted installers to do the work. The home energy planning service can help with providing detailed advice, as well as estimated costs and savings for a specific property for many of the tips covered here, including draught proofing, home heating control and boiler replacement, as well as checking for available grants.
Emily Seymour, Which? Energy Editor, said: “Many households will understandably be worried that the energy price cap is rising tomorrow - a time of year when we all start to use more energy.
"There are simple steps you can take right now that won’t cost a penny but could help you to cancel out the cost of the increase in the price cap.
“Anyone looking to upgrade their home with improvements that could reduce their energy bills should use the free Which? home energy planning service to get a free personalised plan."
ENDS
Notes to editors:
The home energy planning service will be live from 30th September at which.co.uk/home-energy.
Use the home energy planning service to:
-Explore your options with confidence
-Build a personalised plan
-Make choices that work for your budget
-Find an installer you can trust
-Improve your home’s energy rating
-Lower your energy bills
-Reduce your carbon footprint How to get the best energy deal
Energy price cap
Between 1 October to 31 December 2024 the energy price cap is set at £1,717 per year for a typical household who uses electricity and gas and pays by Direct Debit. This is an increase of 10% compared to the cap set between 1 July to 30 September 2024 (£1,568).The price cap is based on typical household energy use. The energy price cap sets a maximum price that energy suppliers can charge consumers for each kilowatt hour (kWh) of energy they use. These ensure that prices for customers on default energy tariffs are fair.
Energy schemes and grants
The government has announced a new Warm Homes: Local Grant. Local authorities can express an interest and the level of funding will be decided in the spending review. It will deliver home insulation and low carbon heating in low income households, households in receipt of specified benefits or households in specific areas. It is available for homeowners and for private landlords (one property + 50% reduction on any additional properties) The Home Energy Scotland Grant and Loan Scheme provides homeowners in Scotland a grant of up to £7,500, interest free loan or a combination of both to install clean heating systems and energy efficiency measures.
There is also the Energy Company Obligation Scheme to help with insulation and energy-efficiency measures for those on low incomes. The Great British Insulation Scheme is open to anyone living in a home in council tax bands A-D in England and A-E in Scotland and Wales that has an Energy Performance Certificate rating of D-G. The Boiler Upgrade Scheme offers consumers in England and Wales up to £7,500 to replace their current gas or oil heating with low-carbon heating systems such as heat pumps.
About Which?
Which? is the UK’s consumer champion, here to make life simpler, fairer and safer for everyone. Our research gets to the heart of consumer issues, our advice is impartial, and our rigorous product tests lead to expert recommendations. We’re the independent consumer voice that influences politicians and lawmakers, investigates, holds businesses to account and makes change happen. As an organisation we’re not for profit and all for making consumers more powerful.The information in this press release is for editorial use by journalists and media outlets only. Any business seeking to reproduce information in this release should contact the Which? Endorsement Scheme team at endorsementscheme@which.co.uk.