Britons are being told to avoid common mistake when trying to save money on energy bills | Personal Finance | Finance
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Britons are being warned to avoid a common mistake people tend to make when trying to save money on energy bills as it could end up costing them more. Consumer watchdog Which? said people shouldn’t ditch the central heating for electric heaters as they are expensive to run and this won’t lead to savings.
Many Britons are looking for ways to save money on energy bills this winter but people are being reminded that electric heaters can cost 68p an hour to run per heater.
While gas central heating is slightly more expensive at 84 pence an hour using two electric heaters would work out a lot more.
Instead of ditching the central heating for electric heaters, the experts at Which? recommended six other ways to save money.
One surefire way is to turn down the temperature on the thermostat as this could lead to signifcant savings but there are five other things people could do.
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However, swapping the central heating for an electric blanket could make a big difference and help people reduce their energy bills.
From tomorrow, Octopus Energy is giving away 10,000 free electric blankets to its most vulnerable customers.
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product officer at Octopus Energy, said it ran a similar scheme last year which helped customers pay on average 19 percent less on their bills.
She said: “Heating an individual rather than a whole home can save hundreds off a customer’s bill, and at times that we know how much people are struggling, we hope these blankets can be a real difference maker.”
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The price cap increased on October 1 and will now not exceed £2,500 for households with typical usage – which means it could be more than this if people aren’t careful.
However, by taking five minutes to reduce the temperature to 50°C on their condensing combi boilers, households can save up to eight percent on their gas bill, which adds up to around £300 a year.
Energy Guide spokesperson Jennifer Warren said: “One such step people can immediately take is to reduce the boiler flow temperature on their boilers.
“In fact, a recent report from the Heating and Hot Water Council (HHIC) suggests that households can save 6.4 to eight percent energy by reducing the heating system to the mean flow temperature of 50°C on their condensing combi boilers.”
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