One thing has been dominating the news for the past couple of weeks; energy prices. When you consider that the wholesale price has soared from around 80 pence at the start of the year to a staggering £2.61 in the past few days, it’s little wonder that many across the country are now beginning to panic as we enter what is likely to be the coldest and darkest months of the year.

National Energy Action has estimated that at least 1.2 million to 1.5 million additional households will be plunged into fuel poverty. What does that mean in reality? Simply, that these people will likely be faced to make the decision between heating their home or buying everyday essentials such a food.

The increases in wholesale energy prices are now also set to be passed onto long-suffering customers. At the start of October, the energy price cap, which limits the impact of rising energy prices on households across the United Kingdom, was raised to take into consideration the rising costs that energy firms are facing. Analysts suggest that may leave an average customer paying as much as £400 to £600 more per year; this is simply several bridges too far for most already struggling to pay bills and trying to rebuild life after Covid.

What can you do?

Price rises are obviously and frustratingly outside of our control, however there are a few things that we can do to ensure we save costs elsewhere. Here are just a few suggestions to lower the cost of running your own home:

Lowering Water Bills

• Have a free water meter installed and give regular meeting readings to avoid being hit with dreaded estimated usage.
• Take less baths and enjoy a good shower!
• It may surprise you to know that the shower head you use can have a large impact on levels of water wastage. Try an efficient head and lower the amount of water you’re using.

Lowering electric bills 

• Many firms offer lower rates for those that switch to monthly direct debit payments – if this is an option for you, then it’s worth investigating.
• Consider turning your thermostats down by a degree, or even lower for parts of the home you’re not using.

Our own solutions

We are also able to offer homeowners a couple of ways to cut back on bills and expense at this time of the year. The first is the PressureSentry device, which fits easily onto your radiator. What does it do? It sends you an alarm as soon as there’s a drop in your heating system pressure. Why do you need to know that? It’s one of the most common causes of boiler damage and heating failure across the UK. If you don’t catch it early, then thousands of pounds of damage can be done, and an expensive heating engineer emergency call out needed.

You can find out about the PressureSentry device here:

https://teddingtonheating.com/pressure-sentry/

Lower household bills with a CombiSave

Our second useful device is the CobiSave and it’s a godsend for any homeowner with a Combination (Combi) Boiler. It’s a simple device that attaches to the pipes close to your boiler and once installed, helps to regulate the flow of water going through the boiler until your water is warm. This means that less water is wasted waiting for it to warm up, leaving you with lower water and energy bills, as well as lowering your carbon footprint; it’s been known to lower bills for a family of four by up to £250 across a year!You can find out more about it here:

https://teddingtonheating.com/combisave/