How to make the biggest savings during Big Energy Saving Week

The cost of living crisis is forcing many to choose between heating and eating, and that choice is always more acute in the early months of the year.

Big Energy Saving Week - which runs until January 23 - aims to help people save energy, reduce carbon emissions, and lower energy bills.

Jane Hawkes, one the UK’s leading consumer experts, has created a guide to not just save money on your bills - but get better deals when picking an energy tariff.

Here’s her advice:

How to save money on your energy bills

Calculate, monitor and reduce your energy usage

You can’t make real changes to your energy usage to save money unless you know how much your electrical appliances cost to run. The Citizens Advice website has an online calculator for working out energy usage costs for a range of household appliances. Consider the most cost effective options for cooking and doing laundry. Energy Monitoring Apps such as Energy Cost Calculator enable you to get an overview of your daily, weekly and monthly usage. The calculator is available for both Android and iOs systems.

Think smart

Using smart appliances in your home to monitor energy usage can save you up to 15% on your bills. Examples include smart meters, thermostats and plugs.

Switching off vampire devices which drain power when on standby or when not in use could save you up to £55 per year. Don’t leave chargers plugged to your devices when they are not in use. Look into purchasing energy efficient appliances if you are getting any replacements.

Change your daily routine

By making just a few changes to your daily routine you can save money on energy bills. These include running your washing machine at 30 degrees, avoid using the tumble dryer, reducing shower times to 4 mins, cutting out one bath time a week, filling the kettle with just the amount of water you need, switching off lights when leaving rooms and using the dishwasher less. Find out more at Energy Saving Trust.

How to get the best energy deal

Know what you’re paying now for both standing charge (pence per day) and kWh.

The costs for standing charge and price/kWh will be stated on every bill from your current supplier. These charges are usually stated ex VAT. Domestic energy VAT is 5%.

Know how much energy you use per year in kWh.

This information should be available from your current supplier or you can calculate from previous bills. It should be under the bill analysis and will provide an estimate of annual usage in both kWh and £. If your supplier doesn’t have this on the bill, it can often be found on your online account or by telephoning your supplier.

Don’t use your monthly spend or even annual spend to compare deals '“ use kWh usage.

Comparison sites work better when comparing actual usage rather than monthly or annual spend. If you must use spend in £, use annual spend as usage varies across the seasons.

Take into account both the standing charge and KWh

When making comparisons ensure you compare both the standing charge and KWh. Some suppliers will have a lower standing charge but higher price per kWh. This will cause a significant difference if you are a high user. The more electricity you use annually, the more effect a higher price/kWh has on your total spend. It’s often better to accept a higher standing charge but lower price/kWh. However this depends on your overall usage.

Always pay by DD if you can as this provides the cheapest energy deals

Direct debits are easy to set up and even if you would prefer to pay as you go, they are far more cost effective than ‘cash’ payments. Paying by DD improves cash flow, is flexible and lets you set up and forget.

For more free consumer advice visit: https://ladyjaney.co.uk/blog-posts/