Energy Experts’ Tips

British households facing another jump in energy costs are being told by experts to start with the cheapest fixes: use less heat, stop draughts, and cut waste from everyday appliances. (ofgem.gov.uk) The backdrop is the United Kingdom’s energy price cap, which sets a maximum unit rate and standing charge for households on default tariffs rather than a total bill. Ofgem said the cap for a typical dual-fuel home paying by Direct Debit was £1,720 a year from July to September 2025, then £1,758 from January to March 2026, before falling to £1,641 from April to June 2026. (ofgem.gov.uk 1) (ofgem.gov.uk 2) Plymouth Live’s roundup asked specialists in economics, sustainability, engineering and the environment what they do in their own homes before a widely reported bill increase of about £200. The common theme was not one expensive retrofit, but a stack of smaller habits that cut gas and electricity use. (msn.com) (moneysavingexpert.com) Heating is usually the first target because it is the biggest part of many winter bills, and the price cap itself is built around per-unit charges for gas and electricity. Ofgem’s April-to-June 2026 cap put average direct-debit rates at 24.67 pence per kilowatt hour for electricity and 5.74 pence per kilowatt hour for gas, plus daily standing charges. (ofgem.gov.uk) That is why thermostat cuts and shorter heating hours keep showing up in expert advice. MoneySavingExpert said about 65% of homes in England, Scotland and Wales are on standard variable tariffs, and its April 2026 guide said supplier forecasts were already pointing to a rise from the £1,641 cap in July 2026. (moneysavingexpert.com) Draught-proofing is the low-cost measure that comes up most often because it stops warm air leaking out around doors, windows, floors and pipe gaps. The Energy Saving Trust says older homes often need extra care, and the Natural History Museum, citing the trust, says draught-proofing windows and doors can save around £40 a year. (energysavingtrust.org.uk) (nhm.ac.uk) Laundry is another repeat item in expert checklists because most of the power goes into heating water. The Energy Saving Trust says washing at 30 degrees instead of hotter settings can cut the energy used over a year by about 40%, and it advises avoiding half-loads unless the machine has a half-load program. (energysavingtrust.org.uk) (argos-support.co.uk) Standby power is smaller than heating, but it is one of the easiest losses to stop because it needs no new equipment. MoneySavingExpert, citing the Energy Saving Trust, says switching appliances off at the plug instead of leaving them on standby can save about £45 a year. (moneysavingexpert.com) The thread running through the advice is that the cap is an average based on “typical” use, not a promise about any one home’s final bill. Ofgem says the actual amount depends on how much energy a household uses, where it lives, how it pays, and what kind of meter it has. (ofgem.gov.uk) So the practical message from the experts is simple: trim heating demand first, seal leaks second, and then work through routine habits like cooler washes and turning things fully off. In a system where every kilowatt hour is billed separately, the cheapest unit of energy is still the one a household never uses. (ofgem.gov.uk)