WITH many of us now spending more time at home, we are likely to be using (a lot) more energy than usual.

Here are some handy hints on how to minimise the impact of this on your bill:

While the weather is still a bit cooler don’t be tempted to turn up your heating if you are at home during the day. Putting on an extra layer is a much better option.

Defrost frozen food in the fridge. This acts like an ice pack and helps cool the fridge.

Spending more time at home could mean you need to do less clothes washing but have more dirty dishes. Either way the same principles apply for washing machines and dishwashers.

Always wash a full load if possible. Your appliance will use the same energy per wash however full it is.

And dry the clothes outside - weather permitting - rather than use a tumble dryer.

Use the microwave rather than an electric oven where possible.

Only boil the amount of water you need to use – for cooking or hot drinks.

Switch off devices when they are not being used, eg: don’t leave your laptop on when you finish working.

Finally, even if you can reduce the amount of energy you are using, the amount you pay for each unit of energy will be the biggest factor in how much your bill is.

The cheapest tariffs available are nearly £340/yr cheaper than the cost of a standard variable tariff for typical household usage.

So if you haven’t switched energy supplier in the last 12 months doing it now could cut your monthly cost from £100 to £70.

Mark Gutteridge

Flipper