Watch your energy usage this Christmas

Three tips on saving on your bills over the festive period

That time of year has come around again. Christmas is just a few days away and will be a time for everyone to forget the troubles of the past year and just enjoy the day with their families. But by indulging at Christmas, many people forget to budget and spend loads of presents, food and also energy bills, leaving them going into January with less money than they were expecting.

So here are a few tips on how to make sure you don’t go overboard with your energy usage this festive season –



1. Go easy with the Christmas lights

Do you really need to light your house up like an airport runway?

(Image source - Telegraph)

Decorations are one of the best parts of Christmas. The day you go into the attic, bring everything down and put up the tree is the day Christmas really begins. Families, especially ones with young children, put up all the decorations they can fit in, and on, their house. But although the mass of lights does look pretty when you look at them, it can cost a bomb in electricity bills when January comes around, especially if you’ve had them up since late November, so think about how many lights you really need up. Also, a lot of people will keep their lights on constantly throughout the day and night. Do you really need your lights on through the night? Your neighbours aren’t going to notice them because they’ll be in bed as well. Turn them off when you aren’t there/awake to enjoy them and save yourself money on your electric bill!



2. Turn off the TV

You've probably seen all the stuff on TV before, so turn it off and just enjoy being with your family

(Image source - Telegraph)

A recent study found out that, on Christmas Day, families will watch on average 8 hours of television. Considering the day consists of opening presents (and building the presents for the kids), and having dinner, that’s a lot of TV. But how many people actually pay much attention to the TV when it’s on, especially when the kids are playing with their new toys and the adults are relaxing with a sherry or glass of wine? For most of the day, the TV is just background noise. Another study found out that you can save £100 a year just by adjusting the settings on your TV. So using that logic turning it off Christmas Day might help you save money, even just a little bit.



3. Wear those Christmas clothes

You got one as a gift, so you may as well it wear it

(Image source - BBC)

For a lot of people, Christmas means getting another year’s supply of socks and jumpers. But how many people wear those new clothes on the actual day? Most people just smile at Grandma and put them to the side. But by simply wearing that jumper and those socks you can stay warm for the day, meaning you can turn down the heating, which means saving money on the energy bill.

These ideas aren’t going to save you hundreds of pounds, but they will help in their own way and will get you thinking about how you can save money on your energy bills.

Fuel poverty set to rise

‘Inadequate’ Government policies blamed for increase in households struggling to pay bills

Christmas will be a difficult time for a lot of families as reports suggest another 300,000 households will be plunged into fuel poverty following recent price rises.

The independent Fuel Poverty Advisory Group has warned that nine million homes could be hit by fuel poverty by 2016 and have blamed the Coalition government for doing very little to ‘soften the blow’ of initiatives such as implementing green measures, which could add nearly £100 to the average energy bill, and getting firms to insulate the roofs of poorer customers’ homes, which will add another £100. With these measures, along with the recent price increases from the major energy companies, the average annual energy bill will be around £1,365.

More and more people are struggling to pay the bills to keep their homes warm

(Image source - The Mirror)

A policy announced by the Government which will limit the amount of tariffs energy companies can have and will force companies to offer customers the cheapest tariff has been criticised, as many believe it will actually cause prices to rise because it will effectively end competition for cheap deals and will stop customers switching tariffs regularly.

It has previously been suggested that nearly 90% of people will ‘ration’ their energy this Christmas in an attempt to save money, with elderly people more likely to do so, and more likely to suffer because of it. This Christmas, it is feared that fuel poverty will be directly responsible for over 2000 ‘excess winter deaths’, with that figure looking increasingly likely to rise as winters get colder and prices get higher.

Changing TV settings can save you money

Adjusting brightness level can reduce electricity bill

As we’ve said before on this site, there are so many simple, easy ways for people to save money on energy bills. Some methods, like turning the heating down and wearing a jumper, seem pretty straightforward, but there is something else you can do to save money that you would never have thought of.

Experts have carried out tests and have concluded that by simply turning down the brightness of our television can reduced your electricity bill by around £8 a month, which works out as nearly £100 a year. Vincent Teoh, editor of HDTVTest, which carried out the tests, said “Calibrating your TV is similar to washing at 30 degrees or only putting the right amount of water in the kettle - it’s more environmentally friendly and more cost effective”. 

Something as simple as pressing a few buttons on your remote can reduce your energy bill

(Image source - Daily Mail)

The reason most people have never thought of this before is because all televisions are pre-set to be display a brighter picture, as display models in a shop have to be brighter to attract customers. But when customers set them up in their homes, most don’t think to adjust the picture from its factory settings. The test found that for many HD televisions, energy consumption was reduced by as much as 40% when the settings were adjusted.

Teoh also stated that, by keeping the picture overly bright, the overall picture quality was actually reduced. He explained, “Not only is it unnecessary [the default brightness setting], but it distorts the true performance of the television, both visually and economically.’

Now is the time to switch!

With energy prices going up, make sure you find the right energy provider for you

Over the last few articles, we have discussed ways to save on energy bills in the home, with one of the main tips being to look at switching energy providers following the recent price hike by the major companies. By doing this, you the consumer can find the company with the best deal for you and can also fix your tariff, which in the long run will save you money.

According to a report in the Telegraph, nearly two-fifths of households are seriously considering doing this, with 49%  of people surveyed stating they were ‘angered’ by the price rises this month. MoneySupermarket found that a third of households were worried they could be pushed to breaking point financially due to the rises, as many people are also dealing with rising prices in food and mortgages. 

With Scottish Power, British Gas and Swalec being just some of the companies who have raised prices, now is the time to think about switching providers to make sure you get a deal that is both affordable and tailored to you. 

Money Saving Expert has a guide that gives you advice on how to calculate your energy needs and usage, and uSwitch is a site that lets you compare energy prices from various companies to find the right one for you.

So stop wasting your money and get your own back with

www.homereheat.com 

Energy saving myths

Four things you think are saving you energy but really aren't

With issues like the economy and climate change on everyone's minds, more and more people are looking for simple ways they can save on energy bills. However, a lot of these 'method's are actually making you waste more energy.

1.      Turning the heating up full will make your home hotter faster - 

A common mistake a lot of people make; putting the heating on full ‘for a little bit’ to heat your home up quicker, therefore saving time and energy. However, this doesn’t work, as most heating systems work by heating an area up to the pre-set temperature and then switching off when it is reached. This means it takes the same amount of time for a room to reach 25C when it is set to 25C as it does to reach that temperature when it is set to maximum. It’s just like pressing the button at a crossing; you think that by pressing the button repeatedly makes the lights change faster, but the system starts working straight after the first time you press it.

2.      Hand washing dishes is better than using a dishwasher - 

It may seem hard to believe, but on average a dishwasher uses less hot water to clean the dishes than washing them in the sink, if used properly. Make sure you maximise the use of the dishwasher but only cleaning full loads, by not pre-rising them first (as this doesn’t really help clean them better) and by letting the dishes dry naturally on the side rather than using the machine’s drying function.

3.      Using a portable heater to heat one room rather than using central heating to heat entire house -

This seems to make perfect sense; if you only want to warm your living room then using a portable heater rather than the central heating is surely more energy efficient? Unfortunately, portable heaters are major drainers of electricity, meaning that using them to replace your central heating is actually costing you more. If you do want to reduce heating bills simply lowering the temperature setting by a degree or two is the most effective way to do so. Also, if you are feeling a little bit cold, just put on a jumper or an extra pair of socks and you’ll soon warm up.

4.      Leaving fans/ceiling fans on will cool down a room -

Saving energy isn’t just about ways to stay warm efficiently. When we have hot weather we often resort to using electric fans or ceiling fans to cool us down. Because this method works, a lot of people leave fans turned when they aren’t in the room to maintain the cool temperature in there for when they return. Unfortunately, this doesn’t work, as fans cool people, not rooms. All a fan does to create a breeze which, when it hits your skin, gives the impression of coolness. But the temperature never actually changes, so when you aren’t in the room nobody is getting the benefit of the fan, so it is wasting energy.

Get your own back with home reheat

Due to the unfortunate laws of physics, warm air has an annoying habit of rising, meaning that when you put your heating on, most of that hot air is going to the ceiling rather than where it is needed, at floor level where you are. This might not seem that annoying to some, as you can just turn the heating up so that your level is as hot as you want it. But that means the ceiling is even hotter, and it also means you are paying for heating that you aren’t even getting to use. 

But surely there’s no way to change the laws of physics? Well you’re right; there isn’t, but there is a way to fight them. Stop wasting energy and get your own back with the home reheat.

The home reheater is a brand new product launched by Home reHeat Ltd and is designed to get your heat back to where it belongs. The product collects the warm air from the ceiling and re-circulates it back down to ground level, meaning that none of the heating you’ve paid for is going to waste. The standard model circulates around 60 cubic metres of warm air, an area bigger than most houses, every hour. While different people in different houses may have different energy uses and needs, what can be guaranteed is that the home reheater will save you money in the long run. And at only £59.99, including postage, it will pay for itself in no time.

The home reheater comes in twelve different designs, including bold prints and floral colours, so there’s a design for everyone. You can get a design to match the décor of your home, meaning it won’t seem out of place on your wall. Infact, the home reheater is designed to go unnoticed and just get on with its job, and while it does make some noise, it can be compared to the sound of a mere whisper or refrigerator humming. It is also very easy to install, as its light weight of just 200 grams means it can be put up with small screws, picture hooks or even adhesive pads.

The home reheater doesn’t just help save you money; it can help save the planet as well. The main body is made using recycled materials and can be recycled again, the electrical parts can also be recycled and all metal fittings have to chosen for function to help minimise the use of metal in the product, and can also be recycled. 

So what about the company selling this product? Home reHeat Ltd is a new, small Welsh business based in Ty Menter at Navigation Park, Abercynon. With young Welsh graduates at the helm, we aim to export our product across the globe, in particular to Europe and North America. We understand that, with rising energy prices and the world economy in its present state, many people are finding it difficult to afford to heat their own homes, especially when they losing most of the heat to their ceiling.

So if you are tired of losing heat and paying high energy bills then get your own back with Home Reheat.