With summer becoming an ever fading memory, autumn is finally in sight! And while the prospect of crisp, beautifully coloured leaves and magical fireworks painting pictures in the evening skies makes us eagerly await this stunning time of year, it also signifies the start of a season of hot radiators and well-lit households – undoubtedly, therefore, increasing electricity costs considerably.
So, in today’s blog post, we’re banishing the breeze and beating the bills, providing you with a variety of money saving tips to help you out for winters to come. Covering everything from the importance of reviewing your energy supplier and installing a smart technology system in your home, to considering how a home renovation project may help you save money in the long-term, we’re ensuring you’re as prepared as possible for the hat and scarf season.
Review your energy supplier
First things first, one of the best ways to save money is to check your current electricity and heating plan with your energy supplier. If you can’t remember the last time you questioned your energy tariff, or have recently moved into a new property (rental or otherwise) and haven’t thought to change supplier, then there’s a good chance you may be able to pay a lot less for the same usage with someone else. As standard, once your initial contract with the supplier is over, they’ll likely move you on to a default tariff, which is unlikely to be the cheapest deal you could have.
There are significant savings that could be made by spending a little bit of time looking into a variety of tariffs and suppliers to check if there are cheaper ones on the market – so make sure you research your options to avoid any spending hikes.
Invest in a smart technology system
If you think back to the number of times you’ve likely left your house only to realise that you’ve left the heating on, we’re sure it’ll make you wince.
As such, installing a smart home technology system will allow you to control your energy on the go, via your mobile device. Not only will you be able to control the thermostat, but most devices of this type will enable you to control smart plug adaptors, allowing you to turn your heating and other electrical components on and off as needed. Investing and making the most of smart technology can put a stop to the waste of energy and, in return, reduce your bills when those forgetful moments occur.
Consider a home renovation project
A longer term solution to consider once you’ve thought about and actioned short-term methods is to improve your home’s insulation. Whether these are minor jobs such as insulating an unused fireplace or filling in gaps in your floorboards and walls, or you require a bigger project like updating the foundations or roof of your property, you need to work out whether the cost to carry out projects of this nature would be worthwhile in terms of how much you’d save by doing so.
For example, to fit double glazed windows into your property, it typically costs around £400 to £600 per window – but research suggests that, on average, double glazed windows have the potential to reduce your energy bills by up to £110 a year. A job such as this doesn’t come cheaply, however. As such, it may be that you think about taking out a home improvement loan to help front the initial costs. To find out more about whether this could be the right option for you, check out our page where we explain all the pros and cons of this type of secured loan, here.
If you’re tactical and think about it early enough, there should be no need for your energy bills to skyrocket this coming season. Whether you use all three aforementioned money saving tips or simply concentrate your efforts on implementing just one well, we’re confident that you won’t wake up in fear of opening up your energy bill when it inevitably drops through your letterbox.