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Brits ‘make do and mend’ against rising energy prices

Tahmina Mannan
Written By:
Tahmina Mannan
Posted:
Updated:
30/10/2012

British households are taking energy saving into their own hands as energy companies hike up their prices this winter, says Asda Money.

Households are going back to basics to save on energy.

50% are wearing extra clothing in the house in order to delay turning the heating on, 40% are opting to put an extra duvet or electric blanket to their usual bedding and quarter are restricting hot water usage on baths and showers.

Over half of those asked also opted to switch to energy saving light bulbs.

Many families are resorting to extreme measures with one in twenty saying they’d sleep in one room with the rest of the family to keep warm.

Kirsty Ward, head of Asda Money, said: “Whilst it’s positive to see that customers are making efforts to cut their energy usage in order to cut their bills, it’s worrying to see that only a quarter would consider switching.”

Despite people wanting to take action, only a quarter would consider switching energy suppliers and 9% have maintained that they’d rather stay warm in their house over the colder months, and won’t be taking any measures at all to reduce their energy consumption.

Leaving the lights on seems to be Britain’s pet peeve when it comes to energy wastage, with 50% listing this as their number one annoyance.

Leaving doors open, and boiling a full kettle also features amongst annoying habits.

Ward continued: “It’s even more worrying that households are wasting energy when it is so simple to switch off a light or ration the heating. More than twice as many people consider changing the type of light bulb in favour of changing energy provider – even though you are likely to save up to 4 times more.

“We know the average gas and electricity bill stands at a whopping £1,322 a year and this is only set to rise with energy hikes across the industry.”


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