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Consumers are being urged to fight the big freeze by keeping the heating up, but the costs down. The UK last saw such arctic conditions in 1991 when, according to uSwitch.com, the average household was spending £569 a year to keep warm.
Today, however, households are facing an annual average fuel bill of £1,278 a year. And with around 5.4 million households living in fuel poverty, many people will be worried about the cost of keeping warm.
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says "In freezing conditions, the priority has to be to keep warm.
Although energy prices rocketed last year by £381 or 42%, people cannot and should not risk their health by cutting down on heating their home to save money. There are far simpler and safer ways to cut your energy bills, without compromising your safety."
Consumers should help themselves today by making sure they are paying the lowest possible price for their energy and learning to use less of it. Moving to dual fuel, paying by direct debit and signing up to an online energy plan will all help save money - in fact switching to a competitive plan could cut your energy bill by up to £350.
Insulating homes, using energy efficient light bulbs and switching TVs and DVD players off rather than leaving on standby will all help reduce the amount of energy we use.
Consumers should contact their energy supplier or the Energy Saving Trust to find out and what help is available to make their home more energy efficient.
The other danger people face is being left without heating if their boiler breaks down. According to uSwitch.com, households should look into the cost of having heating cover in place to protect themselves against any eventuality.
Only a third (35%) of households currently have some form of emergency heating cover in place to help them pay any unexpected repair bills.
As many as 1.3 million households (5%) may have actually cancelled the cover they did have in place because of shrinking household funds.
But, with nearly one in three boilers breaking down within six years of being installed and with it currently costing around £1,200 to replace four key boiler parts, consumers run the risk of losing more money than they gain by scrimping on cover.
Energy saving tips:
1. Seal all gaps that cause draughts around windows and doors.
2. Fill in gaps in the floorboards and skirting.
3. Only use your dishwasher and washing machine when you have a full load.
4. Switch to a 30 degree wash.
5. Once the freeze is over, remember to turn the heating back down again.
6. Close your curtains when it gets dark to keep the heat in.
7. Fit a nylon brush seal or spring flap to your letterbox to stop draughts.
8. Only boil as much water as you need in the kettle.
9. Have a shower instead of a bath.
10. Prepare food by hand instead of using electric blenders, knives, grinders and processors.
