The government has launched its £18m public information campaign to help people keep energy bills down as the cold winter weather looms.
The campaign, called It All Adds Up, includes a website featuring a series of recommendations that ministers think will help knock hundreds of pounds off heating charges.
Its tips include reducing the temperature a boiler heats water to before it is sent to radiators, potentially saving £100 annually while not reducing the temperature felt in homes.
The website runs alongside a wider Help for Households campaign, with adverts on TV, radio, print, digital and billboards rolled out in the coming weeks.
The government has faced criticism for not advising consumers to cut their gas and electricity consumption as Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has seen bills soar.
Research by the Social Market Foundation suggested that households could save between £250 and £400 a year if the UK launched a campaign similar to Germany’s national energy-awareness drive.
Business and energy secretary Grant Shapps said: “No-one is immune to rising energy bills this winter, so it’s in everyone’s interest to use every trick in the book to use less energy while keeping homes warm and staying safe.
“For very little or no cost, you can save pounds. It all adds up, so I urge people to take note of the advice in this new campaign and follow the easy steps to cut your fuel bills.”
Other guidance includes:
- Turning appliances off at the plug could save around £70 per year.
- Reducing heating loss from the property by putting draught excluders around doors or by adding clear film across windows could save around £60 a year.
While the tips are billed as being at no cost to households, the It All Adds Up campaign also highlights longer-term energy efficiency upgrades, including installing loft insulation or fitting double glazing.
Other measures to tackle the energy crisis include the energy price cap, which limits the unit price paid for electricity and gas. It means the annual bill for a typical household in England, Scotland and Wales will be held to around £2,500 for the next two years.
The government has said that without action, energy bills had been expected to hit £3,500 from October rising as high as £6,500 next year.
Households are also getting £400 in energy bill support over six instalments between October and March 2023.
The government also intends to make £1bn available for home insulation projects from early next year, widening access to assistance that was previously only available to poorer households.
Liberal Democrat energy spokesperson Wera Hobhouse called for urgent investment in insulation.
She said: “The Conservative government has doubled people’s energy bills and failed to insulate millions of leaky homes. This all adds up to a tougher winter ahead for families and pensioners struggling to get by.
“Advice and tips are all very well, but we also need urgent investment to insulate people’s homes and cut energy bills in the long term. That is the only way we will tackle the climate emergency, cut emissions and cut people’s bills.”
