Why Has My Heating Bill Gone Up?
It’s that dreaded time of the month when your utility bill arrives. With gas and electricity costs becoming more expensive, not to mention everything else, the cost of heating is no joke.
But sometimes, your bill seems to spike or rise significantly when compared to the past years or months. Have you ever wondered what could be causing this?
To aid in the journey towards saving money and reducing impacts to the environment, we’ve identified a few of the culprits that could be behind the astronomical rise in your electricity and gas bills. The goal? To help you minimise your power consumption and save money.
Here are the topics that we’ll cover:
The top 5 reasons your household’s power consumption bill is so high
How to avoid these in the short and long term
The best insulation installers you can trust
5 reasons why your electricity bill is high
#1 You're using vampire appliances
No, these are not blood-sucking creatures who roam the night, but they are a drain on your life. We’re talking about the appliances in your home that could be a contributor to the spike in your bill.
We refer to them as vampires because they are usually constantly plugged in and slowly zap the electricity into a pit of nothingness when not in use. Approximately 25% of your electricity bill is attributed to appliances left plugged – especially appliances that require a lot of power to function.
The ones to watch are ovens, toasters, washers and dryers, and the like. Modern appliances like these draw electricity even when switched off. Sitting idle, they pile the pounds onto your energy bill month by month.
Solution:
Simply unplug appliances when not in use. Finished with the coffee machine? Unplug. Finished heating up the microwave? Unplug. It may be a strange thing to get used to at first, but over time, it’ll quickly become second nature.
#2 Inefficiently using appliances that hog electricity
Big, heavy-duty appliances such as dishwashers, laundry machines, and dryers love using up power.
This inevitably increases your electricity bill. Even more so when you don’t fully take advantage of their capacities. For example, you only load your dishwasher halfway instead of filling it, meaning you do multiple loads each day.
Or maybe, you throw a couple of shirts into the washer instead of waiting for your laundry pile to fill the machine. One of the biggest crimes against efficiency with washing machines is not using an eco-setting or quick wash where possible
Solution:
Be sure to fill these machines to their full capacity and ultimately decrease the number of times you use them each week. For example, laundry can be done once a week and place your settings on the most efficient program possible.
#3 Incorrectly placed lights around the home
Here’s something you maybe didn’t know, lights can be placed in inefficient ways that cause you to use them more often. This results in a higher electricity bill.
What do we mean by “inefficient placement”?
Well you see lights are designed to light up specific areas right? So a light in a bedroom would light just that bedroom, and a light in a kitchen should light just the kitchen.
The problem is when homeowners decide on full room ceiling lights, that’s when they’ll start to notice their bills increase. This is because you’re inefficiently lighting the entire room when you only need to light a specific area, you’ll end up using more energy, more often.
Solution:
Speak with an expert or a designer to see if you can position lights in your home in places that will reduce energy waste. They may also be able to recommend bulbs and other methods which would improve efficiency.
#4 Using old/outdated appliances
Over time, old appliances become more and more inefficient. They degrade and need more power to function. In addition to that, your older appliances aren’t equipped with energy-saving features anymore.
Another thing to watch out for is outdated heating measures also having the same issues.
Boilers, electric storage heaters and the like all get less efficient over time. If you have a boiler and its over 7 years old, simply by upgrading or replacing your boiler you’ll find your bills dramatically reduce.
So even though your device is working fine, they are definitely hogging more electricity.
Solution:
Switch out old appliances. Make sure to select appliances that are energy efficient for even lower bills.
#5 You’re spending more time at home
With non-essential venues such as shops, restaurants, leisure centres, and gyms closing, inevitably we find ourselves spending more time indoors.
With working from home becoming the new norm, we’re also likely to find our laptops constantly on charge, the heating switched on and tv/music playing away in the background.
We’re now at home more than ever and where we would previously have been warmed up at work for eight hours a day at no cost to us, we’re now finding that the heating is on both day and night. It doesn’t help that we’re well into winter right now.
Solution:
Add warm layers that are comfortable enough to wear at home such as cardigan sweaters. If you’re working from home, consider detaching your laptop from the charger when it’s fully charged.
5 reasons why your electricity bill is high
Ultimately, the best way to reduce your energy bills is to switch to more energy-efficient methods where possible. This can be achieved by using mainly renewable energy sources, such as solar energy, and by improving the insulation in your home.
Euro Energy Group can advise you on the best insulation solutions for your property to help you reduce your energy bills. We work alongside government initiative that encourage homeowners to make their properties more efficient.
Euro Energy Group has the best deals and high quality insulation services if you genuinely want your heating costs to come down for the long run.
If you’d like to find out more about the Green Homes Grant and ECO3 schemes make sure you get in touch today!
