Wanting to know how to save money on utility bills? You can start by checking your current tariff and provider and check that they are still giving you good value for money. This can save you hundreds of pounds per year.
You can do this by using comparison sites or doing some independent research yourself. We had previously created a piece on doing your own research whilst using comparison sites.
We suggest using sites that Ofgem recommends and that have been accredited with the Confidence Code. That’s because these sites will:
- help you find the best deal for you in your local area
- provide a free and easy-to-use switching service
- give detailed information on each tariff, including gas and electricity unit prices
- detail any discounts available.
You can then choose the deal you want and it should take you no longer that 21 days to switch.
If I auto renew my tariff will I save money on my utility bills?
Research suggests that auto renewing with your current provider can actually be more expensive than switching to a new provider. This is because some providers do not give you a current quote they go off the last one. They are also less concerned with current customers as they want to gain new ones and so sometimes off new customers better deals than their current customers, this being the reason many go elsewhere.
How can I save money with my current provider?
Some providers may offer you incentives such as reduced fees for referring people to join with them. Although this is a great way to save some money on your bills, it’s not a sustainable source of reducing your bills.
So, what can you do to reduce your utility bills?
The obvious answer is to use less energy! This can be seen as a blanket term that is self explanatory, but let’s unpack what we really mean.
How to use less energy?
There are obviously simple ways that you can use less energy such as;
Doing less loads of washing; why not try and save your washing to twice a week, once for lights and once for darks. By waiting until you have a full basket before you wash your clothes could save you lots of money per month if you’re used to putting a few things in the wash each day.
Turning your lights off when they are not needed.
If you can put your heating on an automatic timer to turn on and off, you could save money by only heating the house when needed. (Bonus is you can heat your house up so it’s warm before you get home from work)
If you have an old boiler, it may be cost effective for you to buy a new one. This is because it might use more energy each year to heat up than it would cost you to get a new one.
You can also look into if getting solar panels is a viable option to help save you money.
So although changing providers may save you money, there are small changes that you can make to save energy without having to switch. You can use these even if you have already switched as they will help you to save additional money on top.
