Our exclusive survey shows that 82 per cent of you are worried how you’ll pay to heat your homes this winter.
There’s been plenty written about energy price rises and how much more it will cost to heat and light homes this winter.
One of the more controversial comments came from energy secretary Chris Huhne.
He came under fire after he was quoted in the Times newspaper in September saying consumers “do not bother” to shop around for cheaper gas and electricity and spent more time shopping for a “£25 toaster”.
So we thought we’d ask those affected – you, the great British public – about how this latest round of price rises will affect you and what you plan to do about it.
Worry over rising bills
In our exclusive survey, 82.1 per cent said you are worried about being able to afford gas and electricity bills this winter.
Around 65 per cent of you said that you are cutting back on other things in order to pay your energy bills.
Cutting back
Socialising is your number one area for making cutbacks according to 90 per cent of you, while 75 per cent are cutting back on buying clothes and 58 per cent are putting off buying smartphones and laptops.
Around 43 per cent say they’ll be cutting back on food, while 26.5 per cent are being stringent with other household bills to afford increased energy costs.
Many of you say you will cut back on your motoring expenses as well and plan to use less petrol by walking more and using the car less.
Your energy-saving tips
We asked you to share your best tips for saving money on gas and electricity bills and the responses flooded in.
The simple but practical tip “wear more clothes” was a popular one among those polled. Insulation was another popular recommendation.
One reader said: “Insulate! Insulate! Insulate! Every gap, pipe, water heater. Close curtains and put them behind radiators before nightfall. Use heavy curtains over exterior doors to keep draughts out and heat in.”
Read our guide to insulating your home for less here.
Another reader advised: “Make sure your furniture is not blocking and absorbing the heat from your radiators. Moving a sofa from in front of the radiator can mean you can have a warmer room at no extra cost.”
More cost-cutting tips
There was a range of domestic tips as well, including: “Use a multi-steamer if you are cooking a variety of different vegetables and if your cooker has two ovens use the smaller one when necessary.”
Another said: “Make sure you have a full wash in your washing machine each time you do your washing. Maybe you will be able to save up to one wash a week. Conserve!”
And there were some choice tips from parents: “Wear a jumper and turn the thermostat down then regularly check the teenagers haven't turned it back up!”
And from retirees: “Go to bed earlier and stay in bed longer (we are retired and can do that)!”
One reader mentioned fitting thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) to radiators. These allow you to vary the temperature of individual radiators – so you don’t need to heat the whole house just to get one room warm.
Switch and save
We’re pleased to see that you’re a savvy lot, with 80 per cent of you having switched energy supplier to find a cheaper deal on your bills.
However, the majority of you who have yet to do so - 54.5 per cent – believe there’s no point as all suppliers are expensive as the next one.
But Confused.com energy expert Lisa Greenfield disagrees.
£1.5bn could be saved
“The average annual UK bill* for someone who has never switched gas or electricity supplier is £1,316**.
“But this falls to £1,032 on the current best buy deal from First Utility, on their iSave 8 dual fuel tariff (where gas and electricity is supplied by the same firm), when paying by direct debit.
“That’s a saving of £284,” says Greenfield.
“With around 26.5m homes in the UK, if 20 per cent have never switched supplier according to our survey, that’s 5.3m households who are paying over the odds for their energy.
“These households are collectively wasting more than £1.5bn each year – that’s a shocking figure, especially when it’s so easily remedied.”
Switching: The simpler way
Others polled say the reason they haven’t switched supplier is because the process is too confusing or time-consuming. Well, we’re on hand to make the process simpler for you.
We’ve put together a price rises guide which includes step-by-step instruction on how to search for the best deal.
We’ve also answered the five questions to ask before switching energy suppliers.
Energy best buys
The cheapest dual fuel tariffs, for a medium energy user, paying by direct debit, as at 21 December 2011*.
*Average annual UK bill, based on a medium energy user, defined by energy regulator Ofgem as using 16,500 units of gas and 3,300 units of electricity a year.
**Based on a medium energy user with electricity supplied by the local supplier (with this cost averaged across all 14 UK regions), gas supplied by British Gas, paying on receipt of bills.
