Energy bills are soaring and even with a price cap of £2,500 for a typical household we are still looking at double what we were last winter. Don’t be fooled by the cap, it’s not a limit on how much you’ll pay, it’s a cap on the standing charges and unit rates. If you use more than you’ll pay more so knowing, monitoring and understanding your energy usage to save money is more important than ever. Here are 7 ways to do so.
Know what you’re paying for both standing charge (pence/day) and kWh (pence/kWh).
The costs for standing charge and price/kWh will be stated on every bill from your current supplier. These charges are usually stated ex VAT. Domestic energy VAT is 5%.
When comparing energy prices look at both the standing charge and kWh. Some suppliers will have a lower standing charge but higher price per kWh. This will cause a significant difference if you are a high user. The more electricity you use annually, the more effect a higher price/kWh has on your total spend.
Know how much energy you use per year in kWh.
This information should be available from your current supplier or you can calculate from previous bills. It should be under the bill analysis and will provide an estimate of annual usage in both kWh and £. If your supplier doesn’t have this on the bill, it can often be found on your online account or by telephoning your supplier.
If you haven’t been with your current supplier for at least 12 months, the estimate of usage will not be accurate. In this case, it is advisable to get your last 12 months bills across all your suppliers for that period and add up your kWh usage for the 12 months. Each of your bills will have the usage so adding them all together will provide 12 months usage. You need 12 months as usage varies between summer and winter so taking just several months will give a false estimate. Although comparison sites can factor this in, it’s not as accurate as providing your own usage for 12 months.
Think smart
Consider which batteries you buy. Many everyday household electronic devices still take AA and AAA batteries. It is possible to save a lot of money by choosing to use rechargeable batteries with an aaa or aa battery charger over disposable ones.
Using smart appliances in your home could reportedly save you up to 15% on your bills. Examples include smart meters, thermostats, plugs and switches. Exploring whole-home systems for modern Colorado living, or wherever you are based, can transform a house into an intelligent, energy-efficient sanctuary. Such integrated solutions are designed to adapt to your lifestyle, ensuring comfort while significantly reducing utility costs. Reducing costs is something that all homeowners should focus on to ensure that they are not paying too much for their bills, and can live comfortably on what they have.
If you would like to be super savvy and know more about how much energy your devices are using, take a look at the Citizens Advice online calculator or check out Thrifty Chap’s ‘How much does it cost to power...’ energy usage posts. Financial educator and coach Martha Lawton has created a calculator spreadsheet for those of us that don’t do maths!
Customer service across providers varies considerably. The only Which? recommended provider is Octopus Energy and if you sign up via my affiliate link, we both get £50.
Provide regular meter readings
Ensure your current billing is up-to-date by always providing a regular meter readings for your energy usage. It’s always advisable to supply a meter read monthly to your supplier to ensure accurate billing. Doing this routinely means you are less likely to forget.
Download energy monitoring apps
Energy Monitoring Apps such as Energy Cost Calculator enable you to get an overview of your daily, weekly and monthly usage. The calculator is available for both Android and iOs systems.
We use Shelly home automation solutions to monitor energy usage and automatically and remotely switch devices on and off. There are also other ways you can monitor energy to reduce bills.
Check your meter
If you are concerned that you seem to be using far too much energy the meter could be faulty. Your supplier is responsible for making sure it works properly. Contact them to arrange for the meter to be assessed. You may first be asked to take regular meter readings over several days but then will carry out a series of tests. If your meter is found not to be faulty then you may incur a fee so check this first. However if it is running fast or found to be faulty in some way then the price you’re paying could be a whole lot higher.
Compare prices
Even if switching isn’t a viable option in the current climate to save money, it’s worth keeping an eye on the latest price using websites such as Moneysupermarket and Confused.com. Which? also provides a tool for comparing tariffs.
Download my FREE Electricity Tariff Comparison Spreadsheet to compare costs across providers. Just enter your annual usage in kWh and then enter the standing charge and price per kWh for each supplier including current supplier. The comparison sites will display these two costs in the breakdown for each quote – you might need to click on a link to show the expanded calculation. The spreadsheet will automatically calculate savings in both % and £.
