Household energy bills continue to rise and although it is a subject that the Government are keen to be seen getting involved in consumer groups argue that the plans coming out of 10 Downing Street, such as providing a new government website with advice on the cheapest tariffs and ensuring that energy suppliers provide clearer bills will do little to help families combat the increased costs.

Over the last 7 years the average annual bill for a dual-fuel energy customer has increased by 117 per cent, to £1,293.

The energy suppliers would have us believe that they are simply passing on the increases they themselves are finding in wholesale energy market, which have been forced up after the unrest in the Middle East and the nuclear power plant accident in Japan.

It is quite likely that the cost of our energy will continue on the increase for some time to come so it would be prudent to start looking the options available to save money on gas and electricity bills as soon as possible.

Changing Tariff and Paying by Direct Debit can save around £350 a Year.

Two of the biggest gripes of the government are that the huge number of tariffs available is particularly confusing for consumers and that the energy companies themselves are failing to provide the best advice about the cheapest deals on offer.

As an example based on a user consuming 3,300 kWh electricity and 16,500 kWh gas each year, the Scottish Power standard plan costs on average £1,391 a year. This dual-fuel tariff is paid as and when the consumer receives their energy bill. However, taking advantage of the companies Online Energy Saver 16 plan they would pay £1,045 for the same amount of usage – providing a saving of £346.

Regardless of the savings available OFGEM states that only 15 per cent of households switched their gas supplier last year, and only a fraction more changed their electricity provider. No doubt this is mainly due to the complexity of the tariffs rather than a lack of will to save on energy bills.
In addition, your current supplier would far rather you didn’t move to a cheaper provider and don’t exactly go out of their way to make it easy to change. Whenever a supplier announces an increase, customers are given just 30 days to make the switch, after that consumers may find there are additional administration charges to pay which can be in the order of £50.

How Insulating Your Home Could Save You £175 – £300 a Year

Roof Insulation is a simple and effective way to stop heat escaping from your home and costs between £50 and £350 depending on your circumstances and according to the Energy Saving Trust could save the average non-insulated three-bedroom semi-detached house £175 a year.

Even if your home already has insulation of 100mm thickness, increasing that to the recommended 270mm could save an additional £25 each year.

Another effective home insulation for those with homes built with a gap between the inner and outer walls is Cavity Wall Insulation. Filling this with urea formaldehyde foam or Rockwool could easily snip another £135 from annual bills.

Some energy companies offer loft and cavity wall insulation for free, so always check with your current supplier before you get a quote from a third party company.

Monitor Your Energy Use and Save a Further £135

Energy monitors are inexpensive, wireless products that monitor your energy usage although they don’t manage the usage for you users can utilise them to see where savings could be made.
Some energy companies such as Eon and Npower provide free monitors as part of a deal on some of their tariffs but this can work out to be quite expensive in the long run. The better solution is to buy one for yourself for which you can expect to pay around £40.

Energy monitors are not smart meters, which are designed to send accurate energy use information to suppliers. The government wants all homes to have smart meter technology installed by 2020.
More Hot Tips to Save £50 – £450 a Year.

Did you know that turning down your heating by 1C can knock as much as 10% off your heating bill according to official government figures? Turning off radiators in unused rooms can also save another £50 or so on average.

Incandescent light bulbs have already been banned by the European Union opting instead for the various low-energy alternatives. According to Green campaigners, the most efficient of these products can cut around £11 from the average bill.

For a slightly larger outlay fitting energy-efficient glazing in your home should save the average homeowner a further £165 a year. The cost of installation varies considerably between suppliers so shopping around for the best deal is a must.

Got an older style boiler? You may wish to think about replacing your boiler with a new condensing one. The condensing boiler costs are around £500 – £1000 plus the price of installation but could save £300 each year which will provide a fairly quick return on your investment.

Solar Panels and Renewable Energy

Households that install solar panels, wind turbines or hydroelectricity systems all qualify for the government’s feed-in tariff scheme, whereby any excess energy you generate is fed back to your energy supplier who then pays you for the electricity generated.

The average domestic solar electricity system with an installation size of 2.9kWp could make you £1,200 a year profit from the government, in addition to the reductions in your energy bills.
Installing solar panels in your home costs around £10,000 but there are companies out there that will install them for free in exchange for any profits made from the feed-in tariff over an agreed number of years.

So there you have it, lots of ways to save of your energy expenditure throughout 2012 and beyond.