Living in the UK: How to Stay Warm and Reduce Energy Costs this Winter
As the days grow shorter and the temperature drops lower, one thing will become a pressing concern for all of us very soon - how to cut your energy bills while staying warm?
Yes, in the UK, households spend an average of over £1100 on energy bills (electricity and gas) every year, according to the Office of Gas and Electricity Markets (Ofgem). That sounds astronomical to us Hong Kongers, who are generally used to having a cheaper energy bill - and a shorter and much warmer, brighter winter too. So, what are some practical ways to cut your energy costs?
Switch the Energy Providers
Unlike in Hong Kong, where you get stuck with one electricity provider for as long as you live in a certain area (and one towngas provider for life), in the UK you can often find multiple energy providers serving your area. This gives us the unique opportunity to compare the providers and find the biggest bargain! And it is very easy to switch suppliers even if you are only renting the place. Follow the step-to-step guide on Ofgem’s website, and you can find out all about how to switch your energy suppliers, starting from how to find out about your place’s current supplier, Ofgem-accredited price comparison websites, to learning about energy tariffs and how to deal with mis-sold energy plans… Really, just save this website address for later use. You will probably have to return to this website more than once in your life in the UK here.
The Energy Efficiency Labels are Your Guides
Image from Paul Downey, MHCLG Digital (2019), licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
Similar to Hong Kong’s Mandatory Energy Efficiency Labelling Scheme, the UK also has its Energy Efficiency Labels. Rating from A to G with Group A being the most energy efficient and G the least, you can switch your appliances and gadgets (and even your boiler!) to more energy-efficient models and so save your money and protect the environment, all in one go!
...And So are the Energy Performance Certificates
One thing less familiar to us would probably be the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). In the UK, the property owner or landlord is responsible for ordering for an EPC for you as a potential buyer or tenant. So you can ask for this information before deciding on your new accommodation. Apart from a rating from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient), this EPC also contains information about the property’s energy use and typical costs, as well as recommendations about how to reduce energy use. So you can easily find out if you need to spend a lot of money keeping your home warm and cosy in the winter.
If you already bought the house or flat before finding out that it is not particularly energy efficient, you can also consider insulating your home by getting some double-glazing done, or draught-proofing your place by sealing up cracks in floors, boards, or installing plastic lining for your windows. You might also want to look into insulating the roof in the long run.
Getting to Know Your Thermostat and Mechanical Boiler Timer
Unless you are completely revamping your home, thermostats and boiler timers are probably something that comes with the place you are buying / renting. So installing new smart thermostats and timers in order to save energy might be out of the question for now. But, we can still take time to read the manuals, or ask your local friends to help you to figure out how to reset your thermostat and boiler timer to a temperature setting and routine that will work for you and your family. For example, you can choose to keep different rooms at different temperatures, or you can reduce room temperature settings slightly - you can save £55 per year just by turning the thermostat down by 1ºC! So you might want to consider putting a jumper on or hugging a fleece blanket while keeping your home 1ºC cooler. (Please keep in mind that babies, older people, and people with impaired mobility will have different needs when it comes to a good room temperature. So this 1ºC method might not work for every household.)
And Take a Closer Look into Your Habits
Let’s admit it: because in Hong Kong energy bills are cheap, some of us have grown careless over the years. But it is okay - it is never too late for us to learn some new habits here! Start unplugging appliances when not in use, switching off your computer, television set or wifi router instead of keeping them on stand-by mode 24/7, and switching off lighting and the heater when you are not in the room… and you will see a reduction in your energy bills in the long run.
