Prices for household gas and electricity have been steadily rising for a number of years. Over the last year, however, we have seen dramatic increases in our fuels bills; rises that are not necessarily linked to one major energy supplier. Across the board most service providers have increased their prices for gas and electricity, leaving many people in ‘fuel poverty’.
Those whom the rise price most affects are often the people who can least afford to pay it. The elderly are a prime example of this category of people; they need to use more energy than most due to not being at work and spending a lot of time indoors. Warmth is also an issue for the elderly, meaning that heating needs to be used more than in an average home where a couple go out to work. This increased energy usage means that the elderly are hugely affected by the stark price rises we have seen over recent years.
A household is deemed to be in ‘fuel poverty’ if more than 10% of its disposable income is spent on heating the home. The main contributing factors that lead to a household being in fuel poverty are: rising fuel costs, under occupancy, inefficient insulation and low incomes. This means that anyone who spends a lot of time at home, such as the elderly, and who are on a low income are likely to be living in fuel poverty.
The fact that many of the people who are affected by fuel poverty are on a very low income the huge percentage of their disposable income that has to be spent on fuel means that decisions often have to made between basic necessities; such as between keeping warm and eating decent food. With the cost of food also increasing dramatically this decision becomes even more difficult.
Fuel poverty causes people to struggle to pay for healthy food as well as social activities, which are beneficial to both their physical and mental well-being, because their energy bills are so high. High energy bills can also adversely affect people’s mental health due to the isolation and oppressiveness high energy bills can cause, as well as the stress caused by the inability to be able to pay such bills.
Cold, damp homes that can be caused by families living in fuel poverty due to the high cost of energy can also lead to a wide range of physical health problems, such as asthma, emphysema, bronchitis, heart disease and stroke.
Luckily fuel poverty is not something that affects all of us, however it is a growing concern and if energy bills continue to rise then the figure of 4 million people living in fuel poverty is only set to rise further.
Whether or not you are categorised as living in ‘fuel poverty’ it is clear that energy bills are encroaching more and more on every family’s disposable income. The necessity to be able to save energy is becoming ever more important, from a financial viewpoint, with every rise in energy prices. From an environmental stance it is also vital we reduce our use of fossil fuels; our domestic carbon emissions are set to rise by 6 per cent in the next ten years unless we find a way to reduce our reliance upon non-sustainable fuel resources.
The need to reduce our energy consumption is more important than ever; we desperately need to reduce our energy bills as well as reduce our carbon emissions in order to try to slow climate change. Increased energy bills are certainly make people assess and take stock of the amount of energy their household consumes- and environmentally at least this has to be a positive thing.
What can we all do to reduce our energy bills?
Whether or not, when categorised, we are classed as living in ‘fuel poverty’ each and every one of us is experiencing the rising price of fuel to some degree. Increased bills inevitably lead to a reduction in disposable income; something no-one enjoys!
So, what is the best thing we can do to reduce our fuel bills? The answer has to be- use less fuel!
There are many way to use less fuel, most of which have been discussed in previous editions of The Green Issue. Here is a brief list of ten easy changes you can make around your home:
Turn off lights when you are not in the room. Every year in the UK we waste £140 million worth of electricity just by leaving lights on alone. This figure means that not only could we significantly reduce our carbon emissions by turning lights off, but we could also save a huge amount of money; both individually and as a nation as a whole.
Change all your light bulbs to energy saving models. It is possible to save up to nine pounds a year, per bulb, just by changing each to an energy saving model. This is because they can use up to 80% less energy than a tradition light bulb! Surely it’s worth the change!
Unplug your phone charger- believe it or not your mobile telephone charger uses nearly as much electricity when plugged in and not in use as it does when charging your phone. By unplugging it when not in use or once your phone is fully charged you could save yourself money. The same principle applies for ‘ipod’ chargers, laptop battery chargers and even when we use rechargeable batteries.
Say bye-bye to stand-by! Leaving our appliances on stand by £740 million worth of energy per year and causes more than four million tonnes of carbon emissions to be produced! Therefore, if you turn your television, computer and stereo off instead of leaving them on stand by you could save yourself a significant amount of money!
Wash your clothes at lower temperatures- By reducing your washing temperature by just ten degrees, from 40 degrees to 30 degrees, you can reduce the energy consumption of your washing machine by up to forty percent! This will reduce the cost of the energy you are using for washing significantly.
Turn down the heating! Even by just lowering the temperature of your thermostat by only one degree you can cut your heating bill by up to ten percent! Reduce the temperature even more and even bigger savings can be made. Reach for a jumper- not the dial!
Don’t overfill the kettle- If you simply boil the water that is needed each time you boil the kettle it will take less time to boil and therefore save energy. Not only that, but you’ll also get that cuppa quicker!
Keep refrigerators and freezers at the right temperature- If these appliances continuously run at a temperature that is too low they consumer vast amounts of energy- up to twenty percent of your households’ entire energy consumption. Believe it or not keeping them full also reduces the energy they use! So fill the space with jugs of water if necessary!
Use solar lights for the exterior of your home, and set timers or motion sensors on ordinary external light bulbs- Instead of leaving external lights on all night use motion sensors or timers to reduce the amount of energy these devices use unnecessarily.
Buy energy efficient products- When replacing household appliances look out for products carrying the Energy Saving Recommended logo. This logo indicates that the appliance is energy efficient and will ultimately cost less energy to run by saving energy, despite the fact it is not necessarily more expensive to purchase.
As well as the tips mentioned above that save energy and therefore reduce our energy bills there are also direct methods we can use in order to cut the cost we pay for the energy we use within our home.
These do not necessarily reduce our energy consumption, so are not beneficial when looking at reducing our carbon emissions; however they can help you to pay less for the energy it is necessary for you to use.
· Change your method of paying- Change so you pay your energy bills monthly by direct debit and manage your bills online and you could save money in charges incurred by the late payment of quarterly bills.
· Check your own meter readings and regularly update them online- This means you do not receive any nasty surprise in your bill and that you are only being charged for energy that you actually use.
· Check your supplier- Shop around and compare all energy suppliers on the market to make sure that you are paying the cheapest possible price for your gas and electricity usage.
The best way to cut your energy bills, however, is to cut the amount of energy you use. Not only will your pocket benefit from this, but the planet will also.
