It was a similar situation in 2023 and 2022. This year, however, it’s expected that almost 2 million households won’t be switching their heating on due to heating cost worries. This is around 970,000 more people than in 2023. Some 55% of those who said they won’t switch their heating on stated it was due to the cost of living. Around 25% of pensioners blamed it on the loss of their winter fuel payment. These figures come from data produced by Uswitch.
While these figures are worrying, it’s not the full picture, as an additional 1 million people are expected to hold off turning their heating on until December. Most will be expecting to switch their heating on sometime in early October.
Worsening Energy Costs:
Household energy bills have increased 27% compared to before the cost of living crisis.
Data from the consulting firm 4most reveals that household energy bills have risen 27 percent compared to before the cost-of-living crisis. Consumers spent 24% more on gas and 30% more on electricity in Q2 of this year (April to June) than they did before the cost of living crisis.
Local Space Heating – Options to help you save:
According to the Energy Saving Trust, people can save around £80 a year for every 1c reduction in thermostat temperature. By using local space heating, such as gas or electric fires or wood-burning stoves, people can turn their thermostats right down and use a local space heater to help maintain a comfortable room temperature. The rest of the house they’re not in will still have some degree of warmth, perhaps not enough to relax in during the evening, but warm enough when they go to bed.
If more people adopted this approach, then local space heating would play an even larger part in helping people save money this winter and significantly reduce the carbon footprint of homes around the UK.
If your local space heater is a wood-burning stove, here are five essential tips for clean and efficient wood-burning:
#1 Always burn the best fuel you can afford. Hardwood logs are the best and can be bought kiln-dried ready for use.
#2 For maximum safety, always fit a CO (Carbon Monoxide) detector in the same room as a solid fuel combustion appliance of any kind.
#3 Don’t slumber your stove (burning very slowly) as a habitual operating method. The smoke and chemicals that can be released will shorten the life of the stove itself, the chimney, and particularly flue liners.
#4 Reduce the amount of smoke, and keep the glass of your stove cleaner during ignition, by using the top-down ignition method. Put two small-diameter logs on the grate of the stove, two further logs crossed over the first pair, followed by a firelighter and a “Jenga” style criss-cross crib of kindling on top. The wood must be fully dry, but once the fire lights, it should burn down to the base logs and be ready for the next fuel load with little intervention.
#5 The best fuel for stoves is hardwood logs, having no more than 20% moisture content for the best burn. Kiln-dried or seasoned work equally as well, but they must be seasoned long enough to achieve low moisture levels.
When you burn wood, you need to be responsible and be aware that you just can’t throw any old rubbish on it. Once you know what to burn and how to burn it, you will enjoy clean, cheap, efficient heat for your home.
A final consideration:
Whatever your financial position is, there are ways to deal with the high cost of heating. Sometimes, it just takes some planning and consideration. However, despite your best efforts, if you are still finding you are struggling, there is help available. Below is a link to a page on gov.uk website for those needing urgent help with their heating – https://www.gov.uk/get-help-energy-bills which covers a range of options, including the Warm Home Discount Scheme, which opens in October and offers a one-off £150 discount off your electricity bill.
To qualify for this scheme, you will need to be living in England or Wales, get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit and/or are on a low income and have high energy costs.
