4 Tips to Make Your Energy Bills More Affordable

According to a recent study by Citizens Advice, around 400,000 people in the UK are forced to go without heating and electricity as they can’t afford the costs of energy. 

These results are shocking; nobody should have to go without energy. We wanted to help in any way we can, so we’ve put together 5 tips to make your energy bills more affordable.

1. Reduce Your Electricity Usage

Electricity makes up around half of the average household’s monthly expenditure on energy. You can help keep the costs of this down by reducing your electricity usage. There are lots of ways to do this, but one of the best is to switch over to energy-saving appliances.

Installing energy-saving appliances like lightbulbs, dishwashers, ovens, and freezers can save you a substantial amount of money. For example:

• An A+ efficiency-rated electric oven uses 40% less energy than a B-rated oven.
• Super-efficient LED bulbs can save you up to £240 per year
• An A+++ fridge freezer saves, on average, around £190 more than an A+ model over it’s lifetime.

You should also get into the practice of turning your appliances at the plug off whenever you’re not using them. 

2. Invest in Insulation

The gas used for heating your home also probably accounts for a big chunk of your monthly energy expenditure. To reduce this, you need to try to use your heating less often, but that’s often just not viable in the winter months as you need to stay warm.

That’s why insulation is so important. By investing in double glazing, draught-proofing your home, and properly insulating your roof, your home will stay warm for longer. This can reduce your heating bills by hundreds of pounds per year.

3. Pick up a Side Hustle

If you’re struggling to pay for your energy bills, the problem might not be that your expenses are too high, but that there’s just not enough money in the pot.

In that case, there are plenty of ways you can boost your income to help offset some of the costs of your monthly bills. For example, you could try picking up a side hustle to earn extra money outside of work, such as Forex trading. You’ll need to learn the basics first, like how to use Forex indicators and devise smart trading strategies but, if you have a knack for it, you might be able to earn enough to pay for your gas and electric every month.

4. Switch to Solar Energy

Solar power technology has come a long way over the last decade. Solar panels are now more effective and affordable than ever. If you can afford the upfront costs required to install them on your home, you could generate your own electricity and cut your energy bills in half. If you’re not sure whether it’s worth the investment, it’s worth noting that there are various government schemes and initiatives in place to make it more affordable. For example, the Feed-in Tariff was set up to encourage more people to install solar panels by rewarding them with money for each unit and paying them for selling extra electricity back to the grid.