13 million households go without heating to save on energy bills

As many as 13 million households went without heating this winter to save on energy bills, according to research from uSwitch.com

Despite this being the coldest winter for 30 years, seven out of ten people cut down or rationed their energy usage, while half opted to go without heating in a bid to keep down costs.

Over a third (37%) of those who said that they went without heating only turned it off occasionally, but one in ten (12%) said that they regularly went without.

Almost a quarter (22%) of those polled said that they had been colder than they would have liked in an attempt to cut costs, with a shocking 12% saying that their cutbacks on heating had affected their quality of life or even their health.

Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch commented: "Let us be clear that this is not about people becoming more energy efficient - this is about people going cold.

"And sadly it has taken a bitter winter to bring home the bitter truth about the impact high household energy costs can have on quality of life and health in Britain today.

"The reality this winter is that many households were forced into a self-imposed 'ice age' with people cutting down or rationing their heating due to concerns about cost.

"This isn't just shameful - it raises a huge question mark over the ongoing affordability of energy in Britain and this is something that now needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency."

The poll revealed that many people had changed their lifestyle to try and cut the cost of heating their home - 27% had resorted to only using one or two rooms in their home, 78% had dressed in more layers, 50% had wrapped up in a blanket when sitting down, while 10% had been forced out of their homes by the cold, and had resorted to visiting friends, family and even the local library to keep warm.

Despite making cutbacks, 18% of people said that they were still concerned about their next energy bill.

The cold winter also seemed to have made people more conscious of their energy bills - 89% said that they were now more aware of the cost and 34% said that they are now more likely to introduce energy efficiency measures in their home.

Ann Robinson added: "The good news is that it has woken 89% of us up to the fact that energy bills are now substantially higher than just a few years ago.

"It has made us aware that we now have to start thinking about and managing our energy usage very differently to in the past.

"Households can do this by making sure they are paying the lowest possible price for their energy and learning to use less of it."