Save while you sunbathe: Uswitch hacks to cut your home bills while you're away

Bye bye, Alexa: Before you zip up your suitcase, check if there are any internet-enabled devices you can turn off while you’re away. While online doorbells are worth keeping on for home security, smart speakers like the Amazon Echo can be safely powered down.

Streaming suspension: Unlike TV bundles from companies like Sky and Virgin Media, most streaming services offer rolling contracts, making it much easier to cancel. So if you’ve got a fortnight in the sun lined up, cancelling for a month could save you up to £15.99 on Netflix, £7.99 on Disney Plus and £4.99 on Apple TV.

SIM-ple life: If you’re taking a European break and it’s with a mobile provider that has reintroduced EU roaming fees, you’re likely to have to pay a few pounds a day to use your normal allowance. A cheaper option is to buy a one-month SIM-only contract with a company still offering free roaming, like Lebara. For £4.95 you will get 4GB of data and unlimited calls and texts to use in 40 European destinations.

Downgrade your TV deal: If you’re going away for at least a fortnight, see if there are any extras on your pay-TV contract that you can shed. If you have a TV and broadband bundle with Virgin Media you could benefit from their new Stream service, which allows you to easily add or remove channel subscriptions each month.        

Check the fridge: Make sure you’ve removed any food that could rot while you’re away. If there’s nothing perishable left, you could increase the temperature of the fridge to save energy. Putting bottles of water in your fridge will also help keep it cold, and mean the compressor doesn’t have to work as hard.

Turn off the hot water: Most households will have turned their heating off during the summer months, but make sure your hot water is also switched off before heading on holiday. Letting a 2kW water heater fire up for two hours a day of a 14-day holiday could cost you more than £15. 

Unplug your devices: Most gadgets continue to use a small amount of power when they’re turned off, so unplug computers, laptops, televisions, smart speakers and mobile chargers before you go on holiday. 

…but maybe not all of them: Use common sense with items like your router, which is designed to be on permanently. Turning them off and on frequently can make your internet provider think the line is faulty, and you could end up with slower speeds. Most routers use less than 10W of power, which will only cost you 48p over a week’s holiday. 

Drive a hard bargain: If you’re going to be taking your car on holiday, why not put that empty driveway to good use and make some money at the same time. Many parking space rental companies allow you to list for free, and then charge a small commission when you rent it out. You can rent your space by the day, week or month. Having a car parked outside your house could also be a deterrent for any would-be burglars.

Make sure you’re insured: If it's been a few years since you took out your home insurance policy, the value of your contents may have increased, renovations may have boosted your home’s worth, or pricey new gadgets may not be covered. Check your policy is up-to-date to avoid returning to a nasty shock if something happens while you're away.