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What are Energy Bills Going Up to? Price Cap Set to Rise in January 2024
In the news this week was what many dread; that energy bills are set to rise again. The price cap is set to increase by £94 (5%) from £1,834 to £1,928 from 1st January 2024 and remain in place until 31st March, at which point it will be reviewed again.
This increase is due to a recent rise in wholesale gas prices because of various global events including conflict in the Middle East.
What Does the Price Cap Increase Mean for You?
Fortunately, this increase is not as large as that which was seen last year, however, many households are already under pressure with how much energy they feel able to use to stay within their financial means.
With the average household fuel bill set to increase by £94 to £1,928, there are steps many homes can still take to maximise efficiency and reduce this additional outgoing at this most expensive time of year.
How to Lower Energy Bills this Winter
At Wiser, energy is at the heart of all we do. In working closely with heating engineers and in helping our customers get the most out of their smart heating, we’ve learnt a thing or two about saving energy.
Read our 11 cheap and easy energy-saving tips to lessen the thump of this latest price cap increase:
- Whether on the hob or in the kettle, take care to only boil the amount of water you need.
- Control your heating room-to-room, to avoid heating unused spaces and save up to 19% energy*.
- Bleed your radiators to remove trapped air and increase efficiency.
- Upgrade to smart heating and you could save £440 a year by utilising energy-saving modes and features.
- Switch to LED lighting – They use up to 80% less energy than traditional light bulbs.
- Reduce your boiler flow temperature to help its efficiency – Find out how to turn down boiler flow temperature.
- Turn your washing machine down to 30°C, or even 20°C, and make use of its eco modes – Today’s detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures.
- Use stickers and visual reminders to turn off your lights and electrical devices when not in use.
- Opt for a 10-minute shower instead of a bath – Even better, a 4-minute shower could save you £65 a year!
- Insulate your heating system by adding pipe lagging and a tank jacket. Read more about our 5 Simple & Cheap Tips to Save Gas
- Optimise your fridge’s efficiency by keeping the empty space filled, if not with food, then simply with bottles of water or cans. Read more about our 5 Simple & Cheap Tips to Save Electricity
How to Save £440 a Year on Energy Bills with Wiser
Thanks to research conducted by *BEAMA alongside Salford University, we’ll show you exactly how you could save big on your annual energy bills with Wiser. Bear with us, there are a few numbers but we promise it's worth the effort.
Let’s take the average annual fuel cost for a UK household from January 2024 of £1,928, as given by Ofgem. According to the Energy Saving Trust, 50% of this bill is down to heating.
- By upgrading to a best practice thermostat with direct boiler modulation, such as Wiser, this alone can save up to 12% heating energy.
- By harnessing smart control via an app, the enhanced control could save you a further 6%.
- Add multi-room heating control into the equation to prevent wasted energy in unused areas, and this could save you a hefty 19% more.
- By enabling Wiser’s smart modes, these efficiency-focused features could save 16% more off your bills.
Now, it’s not quite as simple as adding all these factors together, but we calculate that upgrading to Wiser with multi-room control could save you up to 30% energy per year, and when you factor in enabling Away Mode and Eco Mode, that equates to an extra 16% resulting in total savings of around £440 a year!
Find out more about Saving Energy with Smart Heating by Wiser