Government launches energy-saving campaign with support from Uswitch

The public information campaign has been long expected as the energy market crisis continues and a cold snap drove temperatures in most parts of the UK below freezing, prompting many households to turn their heating on for the first time this winter.

Utrack is Uswitch’s free mobile app, designed to help energy customers check their energy usage, track how much they’re using and take steps to change their habits. Users can then see the impact on their bills through hourly-updated graphs which compare their gas and electricity use by day, week, month and year to help drive consistent and long term changes in behaviour.

In addition to freshly publicising the financial help available to customers this winter, including the ongoing £400 payment to domestic electricity users, the “It All Adds Up” campaign recommends several key steps to take in order to save approximately £350 per year on energy bills:

• Reducing your boiler flow temperature to 60 degrees to save up to £100 per year.

• Turning down radiators to save up to £70 per year.

• Turning off appliances at the socket to save up to £70 per year.

• Washing clothes at 30 degrees instead of 40 to save up to £40 per year.

• Reducing your tumble dryer use to save up to £70 per year.

Customers can then see how much impact these safe and manageable measures have on their overall usage via Utrack.

Richard Neudegg, Director of Regulation at Uswitch, said: "We know many households are actively looking to find safe ways to reduce their energy use to save on bills, and there are straightforward steps to take by making small changes at home. So we welcome renewed efforts to highlight practical tips that can make a real difference.“

Keeping track of energy usage can help people understand what’s most driving their bills and help identify where to make changes. To support households, Uswitch has developed Utrack, a free app which can help people see exactly what they are using and highlight ways to save money.”

For more information, see the government website or find out more about Utrack here.