The new Energy Price Guarantee
At the moment the world is experiencing an energy crisis, demand outstripping supply and the wholesale price of energy is skyrocketing. With the Energy Price Guarantee in place, energy prices for the average household are to rise this October to £2,500.00. This has been set by the UK government and will be frozen for two years. Although cheaper than the proposed Ofgem Energy Price Cap of £3,549 per year which was due to come into place in October, the new figure is still an increase that will effect many households in the winter.
The effect of winter on consumer energy bills
As we head into winter, you’ll probably notice that you’re turning the thermostat up, popping the heating on more often, leaving the lights on longer and using more hot water. All of these are natural behaviour changes due to the decreasing temperatures and darker nights. But, keeping your home bright and warm leads to an increase in energy usage, and with the price of energy increasing, heating bills may start to skyrocket.
On average a household uses approximately 36% more energy over winter. But you can think ahead and reduce your energy consumption needs. This winter its especially important to look ahead to the colder months and put strategies (and products!) in place to help keep your home toasty, without leaving the heating running.
Plan ahead and reduce your energy bills this winter
With the cost of living going up alongside energy bills, day to day products, devices and services are set to increase too. That’s why it’s important to plan ahead and prepare for winter now. The sooner you implement heat saving devices, products and habits, the sooner you’ll reap the cost saving benefits. As well as getting them as cheap as possible (as everything is set to get more expensive for a little while…).
Our advice is to get things in place sooner rather than later. Don’t wait until your sat shivering at home before considering heat saving methods. Put them in place now!
Why not take a little peek before reading on? Our range has something for every household.
Heat saving devices you can fit straight away
A chimney draught excluder
Chimneys. We go on and on about chimneys! You wouldn’t leave a large window open during a blizzard, so why are you leaving your chimney open through winter? Fit a Chimney Sheep chimney draught excluder, they’re 93% effective and keep the warm air trapped in your home – where it needs to be. A Chimney Sheep chimney draught stopper can also save you 5% off your energy bill – an average of £125.00 per year (based on the current Energy Price Guarantee).
A door draught excluder
The UK is full of old houses, and with old properties often comes poorly fit, wooden leaky doors (that and plenty of modern houses have questionably fit PVC or composite ones too!). With draughty doors, the culprit is often a gap at the bottom, and the easiest way to remedy this is to fit a heavy-duty door draught excluder. Door draught stoppers stop cold air from seeping under the door, as well as trapping warm air in your home. They come in a variety of different styles to suit all decor. Why not take a look at our 100% wool filled door draught excluders made from natural materials, hand stitched in the UK. Wool keeps the sheep warm over winter, so why not let it keep your home warm too?
Gap filler
Wonky walls, cracks and crevices are almost always features of period homes, of which, we have plenty of here in the UK. But, these crevices often mean you’re left with cold air rushing into rooms where you don’t want a chill. Cracks vary in size, from 1mm gaps around windows, to 1cm crevices around doors, with the occasional bigger crater to be found. Cracks and crevices are incredibly common in British homes. Due to this, we decided to introduce a range of wool filler products. Our wool draught seal tape is just the ticket for sealing off slim cracks around windows. With our wool gap filler better for those deeper crevices around door frames. We’ve even got a little bit of insulation available for bigger openings! All of our wool draught proofing products are 100% natural, chemical free and moth proof.
In fact, we have a whole host of heat, energy and money saving products available on our website. Why not have a browse and make a plan for the winter ahead?
Energy saving measures to try and take before it gets cold
Insulation
Did you know that in the UK there’s over 9.3 million homes with poor, absent or insufficient insulation? A large proportion of these are older properties, of heat-inefficient construction. Improving insulation is one of the best things you can do to improve your homes energy efficiency, internal temperature and climate. Insulating your home has often been thought to be a job best left to the specialists. After all, most insulation products on the market are filled with nasty chemicals, glues and plastics. Not with Sheep Wool Insulation. It’s perfectly safe, chemical free, and DIY friendly! It’s easy to fit, effective and perfect for if you’re up for a DIY insulation project. We appreciate, insulating your whole house might be rather costly and not an option for many people right now, but even if you can just do your loft, it will make a huge difference once the winter weather comes.
Radiator foil
It might also be a good idea to take a peek at your heating system! Many are old, inefficient and very outdated. If it’s in the budget, you might want to consider a full heating system replacement, after all staying warm as efficiently as possible is what we all need to do right now. But, for many this isn’t an option, so making little improvements to make your heating system that little bit more efficient before winter draws in might be just the ticket. One way to do this is radiator foil. This nifty bit of kit is simple to use and very effective. You pop it behind the radiator, shiny side up – and it’ll reflect back all the heat that would have otherwise been absorbed by your wall. You can fit and forget measures like these, so sort them now. It’ll be one less thing to think about when it gets chilly!
Detecting draughts
Draughts exist whether it’s warm or cold outside. Cold draughts are just that bit more noticeable. With winter creeping in, you’ll soon be noticing those chilly winter breezes a little bit more. Why not think ahead? Get draught spotting! The Smoke Pencil draught detector kit is perfect for all your draught hunting needs. Once set up, it blows out a thin stream of smoke, perfect for checking the airflow around windows, doors, cracks and chimneys. Whenever the smoke moves, it tells you there’s a draught and a spot to draught proof . Perfect for planning ahead and getting draught proof before the snow comes in.
Money saving habits you can start making now
Did you know, that on average it takes 2 months for an action to become an ingrained habit? A habit being something you do automatically each day or week. Habits can be tricky to form, but once they’re in place you do them automatically without thinking. Great right?
Take advantage of the less chilly autumn months ahead and ingrain some money saving habits now. Taking steps to modify your energy consumption early will mean you do them automatically come mid-winter, meaning you’ll already be saving money, heat and energy just through your new behaviours.
Things you could start doing right now:
- Turn off electrical appliances when you’re not using them, making sure to leave nothing on standby.
- Reduce your shower time, shaving your shower time down to just 5 minutes could save you up to £50.00 per year!
- Only boiling the water that you want to use. Or even consider boiling water on the hob instead. Kettles are generally terribly inefficient devices, it costs much less to only boil the water you’re using, and even less to boil it on the stove.
- Close all windows, doors and curtains at night. Make sure any and all draught excluders are in place before you go to sleep!
- Instead of leaving the heating on and heating the whole house, simply heat a room at a time. Modular heating systems (heating one room at a time) work out way more cost effective as they’re only heating up the area in use, rather than the whole house.
What if I need advice?
Our friendly team are available between the hours of 9am and 5pm, Monday through Friday. They’re experts on all of the products in our range and can provide you with tailored advice targeted to your energy saving needs. Give us a call with any question or query.
