12 Ways to Cut Your Energy Bill Without Freezing

Energy is the bill most households overpay on, mostly because it is invisible until the statement lands. The fix is boring and effective: know your unit rate, cut standby waste, and stop heating rooms nobody uses.

Start with your unit rate Find your last bill and write down two numbers: the pence per kWh and the daily standing charge. Everything else in this article is measured against those two numbers. If you cannot compare tariffs, you cannot tell whether switching is worth the paperwork.

The 30-minute jobs that pay - Turn your combi boiler flow temperature down to around 55C. Same warmth, less gas burned. - Draught-proof the letterbox, loft hatch and the gap under external doors. - Move furniture off radiators so heat reaches the room instead of the sofa back. - Run washing at 30C and skip the extra rinse.

The habits that compound Heating a room you sit in beats heating a whole house you walk through. A cheap thermostatic valve set low in spare rooms typically saves more per year than every gadget you can buy on a deals page.

When switching is genuinely worth it Switch when the new tariff beats your current unit rate after exit fees, and when your usage is stable enough to predict. If your usage swings wildly month to month, a fixed tariff can cost more than it saves.