£100s could be saved with a switch (Image: Getty Images)
UK homeowners are steeling themselves for another spike in energy bills come January 1, as the Ofgem price cap is set to rise again. The regulator is hiking the cap from £1,717 annually for a typical dual-fuel household to £1,739, marking an increase of £21 following the previous £149 rise in October.
The cap will be adjusted in line with tariff changes as electricity rates ascend from 24.5p per kWh to 24.86p per kWh and gas from 6.24p per kWh to 6.34p per kWh. Standing charges will see a slight decrease from 60.99p to 60.97p for electricity and 31.66p to 31.65p a day for gas.
As winter officially begins on December 21, according to the astronomical definition, we are still very much in the colder months of the year and many people will be worried about how these price cap changes will affect their energy bills. Octopus, Britain’s largest energy supplier, suggests one significant change you can make to stay warm that could save you as much as £347.
They are offering heated throws that are far cheaper to run than your central heating. The company emphasised that even if you don’t qualify for one of its free blankets, it might be worth buying your own to keep bills down in the coming months.
A simple switch from having the heating on every night to snuggling under a heated throw could result in substantial savings, reports
A 100W electric blanket/throw running for an hour uses 0.1kWh. At the new January price cap rate of 24.86p/kWh for electricity, it would cost 2.5p an hour to have it on.
Experts advise against leaving electric blankets on all night, so you wouldn’t be spending much to get under it for an hour or so while watching some TV or reading before going to sleep. The Octopus throw can be put on a high setting for one hour and then automatically drops to a lower setting if left on any longer.
This is far cheaper than having gas central heating blazing away for hours on end. According to Octopus, heating an average home with gas for a day costs 67 kWh, and at the new price cap rate of 6.34p/kWh for gas, this would cost you £4.25.
Remember, your boiler only works at full power for an hour or two to get the house warm and then cuts out, only firing back up again to maintain the temperature at the setting on your thermostat. Since January 2022, Octopus has been sending out its heated throws to customers who are most in need.
It says those who have received the electric blankets have reduced their energy bills by up to 20 per cent compared to a control group. This would see customers save as much as £347 a year on their energy bills under the new price cap starting in January.
Octopus Energy has highlighted a clever heating hack, with one of their experts pointing out a common inefficiency: “One of our boffins realised that some customers were paying to heat their entire homes, even if they lived alone. He did some calculations and found out that where heating a whole home costs around £4 a day, an energy-efficient electric blanket can heat a person for just 2-4p an hour.”
They went on to explain the advantages: “This means an electric blanket is a vastly more cost-effective way to stay warm: particularly for people with mobility issues, for example, and those who spend a lot of time in one spot. Or those with medical issues that mean they feel the cold more, or are more prone to illness.”
Emphasising safety and efficiency, they continued: “Modern electric blankets, used according to their instructions, are safe and energy efficient. We’ve been really trying to target people who need a blanket most: so we haven’t offered one to every customer, and we’ve tried to keep it to one per home so that we can support as many people as possible.”
Octopus also shared evidence of savings: “We ran some analysis on customers who got an electric blanket and found that they saved up to 10-20 per cent on their bills on average in the winter months after getting their blanket. Over a year, that’s a massive £300 saving.”
The company emphasised their commitment to aiding the most vulnerable, stating: “We know everyone’s worried about bills right now, but some people are struggling much more than others. We only have 10,000 blankets to give away, and need to prioritise customers who’ll benefit most: the elderly, and those with mobility issues or other medical conditions that mean they’re more impacted by the cold.”
They also highlighted the cost-effectiveness of their product: “These blankets start at around £40 and can save you £300 or more, so they’re really worth the investment. If you can consider buying one yourself, please do – there might be someone else out there who truly can’t afford to buy one.”