It’s Official - 30% Energy Bill Hike on the Cards!

The Guardian has recently published a shocking report claiming the UK is due for yet another outrageous spike in its home energy bills. The newspaper states that we are all due for an enormous 30% rise by 2020 on our home electricity and gas bills. Ben Moxham is the senior policy adviser for energy and the environment to Prime Minister David Cameron. The Guardian claims that Mr Moxam believes that the Department of Energy and Climate Change (DECC) is wrong to think that the 30% rise would be offset by reduced energy consumption. The newspaper further claims that he wrote a handwritten note to other senior Number 10 advisers to that effect. The note is reported to have also been seen by The Telegraph newspaper and apparently reads that the “"DECC's mid-case gas price scenario sees policies adding 30% to consumer energy bills by 2020 compared to a world without policies."

 It’s safe to say we all know that politics can be a murky world at the best of times. So for this and a myriad of other compelling reasons, I believe that now really is the time to start giving your home a green makeover as far as energy bills are concerned. After all, it’s unlikely that bills will ever go down over time! There are so many easy ways you can cut your bills at home.

Here’s five easy ways to get started:

1. Laundry is one surprisingly great place to start. Tumble dryers are the most expensive large domestic white goods appliances to run. Instead, use a modern line dryer or clothes airer and pay nothing for electricity, tumble dryer fabric softeners and tumble dryer maintenance or repairs. Extend the life of your appliances using a Scalewizard to prevent limescale costing you a fortune in unnecessary repairs.

 2. If you’re not using a chimney, seal it up now with a chimney balloon - your warm air is escaping and cold air is rushing in! Meaning you’ll want to turn the heater up sooner rather than later.

3. Use an energy meter to see where you could save electricity.

4. Powersavers effortlessly turn your appliances off when they’re not in use. Don’t rely on your memory - most of us forget. It’s an expensive habit which you can easily avoid.

5. Use home heating controls to make sure your boiler and radiators are operating at maximum efficiency. Modern state of the art controls mean you can maintain a pleasant temperature without burning money on fuel bills, even when you are not at home to turn things on and off.

 Photo credit: Currency T-Shirts by Piotr Bizior.