New Year's Revolution: Bad energy habits adding £285 a year to household bills

Households are being urged to make a New Year Resolution to use energy wisely – with bad energy habits set to add up to £285 to bills this year[1], according to new analysis and research from Uswitch.com, the comparison and switching service. 

Four fifths of households (80%) admit to at least one bad energy habit[1], such as overfilling the kettle or leaving lights on. There are big potential savings on the costs of running kitchen appliances like washing machines, dishwashers and tumble dryers, which are among the most energy-consuming devices in UK households.  

More than a quarter (28%) of people set their washing machine at more than 40oC, potentially costing up to £26 a year more than washing at 30oC, while one in six (16%) run it when it’s not full. With washing machines costing households £38 a year on average, an extra wash every week could add an extra £9 to yearly bills[2].

Running the dishwasher when it’s not full adds an average of £11 a year to energy bills – while not using the appliance’s eco mode could also increase costs by £28[5].

Another costly habit is leaving the hot tap running while doing the washing up. A running hot tap can waste 100 litres in just ten minutes, wasting 34p in energy costs. Households that do this one a week could run up an additional £20 a year[7].

Tea-making is an area where bad habits can quickly increase energy costs. Over a quarter of households (28%) say they fill the kettle with more water than they need, potentially adding £55 to the average £93-a-year cost of tea-making if they overfill by half every time[3].

The UK city with the most over-filled kettles is Brighton, with 38% of households admitting to boiling more water than they need, compared to 28% nationally and 16% in Glasgow, the place least likely to over-fill.

Six million households admit leaving the TV on when no one is watching, potentially adding £2 a year to bills, while a quarter (24%) leave the lights on when no one is in the room, which could add £12 to annual bills. Leaving devices on standby is the most common bad habit, with 40% of households saying they do this. 

Uswitch is supporting the Government’s It All Adds Up energy-saving campaign by offering consumers its free power-tracking app Utrack. Utrack is designed to be linked to a home smart meter to help consumers understand their home energy consumption, monitor when they are using the most power and find ways to cut costs around the home.

Ben Gallizzi, energy expert at Uswitch.com, comments: “At a time of year when we’re all coming up with New Year Resolutions, it’s a great moment to get into good energy habits and save yourself money.

“We’ve all been guilty at times of leaving the lights on or overfilling the kettle, but it’s important to remember that these habits can all add hundreds of pounds a year to our bills.

“Even with the Energy Price Guarantee, bills are higher this winter than they were last year, but there are a lot of ways households can cut down their energy use.

“Doing your best to get into good habits could be a great starting point, and saving money might be as simple as using the eco mode on your white goods and making sure you only run them when full.

“You can’t always tell if changing your habits is making a difference until you see your bill – unless you track your usage. People using the Utrack app can see the impact on their bills with hourly graphs, comparing gas and electricity use by day, week, month and year.”

Track your energy usage with Utrack by Uswitch here.

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Rianna York

Phone: 07817 083 280

Email: rianna.york@rvu.co.uk

Twitter: @UswitchPR

About Uswitch 

Uswitch is one of the UK’s top comparison websites for home services switching, including energy, broadband and mobiles. 

More people go to Uswitch to switch their energy, broadband and mobile than any other site, and we have saved consumers over £2.7 billion off their bills since we launched in September 2000.

Free mobile app Utrack also helps households manage their home energy usage and make potential savings. 

Uswitch is part of RVU, a group of online brands with a mission to empower consumers to make more confident home services, insurance and financial decisions.

Notes

Research conducted online by Opinium, 19th to 22nd July 2022, among 2,000 UK adults, weighted to be politically and nationally representative.

1. Respondents were asked ‘Do you regularly do any of the following?’’ See table for percentage of households which answered ‘yes’ to each bad habit. 

2. Washing machines. On average households spend £38 a year running their washing machine, based on a 0.712kWh cycle, used three times a week at the energy price guarantee electricity unit rate of 34p (0.712kWh x 3 x 52 x 0.34£/kWh = £37.76). Which? Research finds washing at 30C uses 38% less energy than washing at 40C. £37.76 / 0.62 = £60.90. Extra cost of using 40C = £60.90 - £37.76 = £23.14. From April, the electricity unit rate will increase to approx 40p/kWh. Extra cost of using 40C from April = £23.14 x 40 / 34 = £27.22. Annual extra cost = 0.25 x £23.14 + 0.75 x £27.22. Households that fill their washing machine 80% full will end up doing an extra wash every four washes. £37.76 x 5/4 = £47.20. £47.20 - £37.76 = £9.44. Currys research says that using the eco mode on a washing machine saves between 35% and 59% of energy. Taking an average of these two figures gives 47%. £37.76 / 0.53 = £71.24. £71.24 - £37.76 = £33.49.    

3. Kettles. On average, households spend £92.91 a year using their kettle, based on a 3kW device, used for 1.8 hours a week. Assuming that households fill the kettle with 50% more water than they need, 50% of £92.91 = £46. 

4. The current gas and electricity unit rates for the Energy Price Guarantee original October price cap are: 10.5p/kWh for gas; 34p/kWh for electricity. Applying these to Ofgem’s usage profile expected over December, January and February suggests a medium-use household will pay £814.51 for their energy this winter, compared with £382.78 last year. Dividing the £400 energy bill support over six months equates to £66.67 per month. Reducing £814.51 by 3 x £66.67 = £614.50. £614.50 - £382.78 = £231.72 increase compared to last year.  

5. Dishwashers. On average, households spend £49 a year using their dishwasher, based on an average 0.79kWh per cycle, used three times a week. Households that fill their dishwasher 80% full will end up doing an extra wash every four washes. £49 x 5/4 = £61.25. £61.25 - £49 = £12.25. Research suggests using the eco mode on a dishwasher saves 33% of energy. £49 / 0.66 = £74.24 cost of not using eco mode. £74.25 - £49 = £25.24.

6. Tumble dryers. On average, households spend £89 a year running their tumble dryer, based on a 2.5kW model used for two hours a week. Households that fill their tumble dryer 80% full will end up doing an extra load every four cycles. £89 x 5/4 = £111.25. £111.25 - £89 = £22.25. Using the tumble dryer when it’s hot outside wastes energy during the five warmest months of the year. £89 x 5/12 = £37 potential saving. Assume eco mode saves 33% of energy, £89 / 0.66 = £134.85. £134.85 - £89 = £45.84.

7. Hot tap. Research by Tap Warehouse finds ten minutes of rinsing dishes can waste up to 100 litres of water. The energy required to heat 100 litres of water is 3.26kWh, which equates to £0.34 per washing session if using a gas boiler. Assume that this happens once a week, equals £0.34 x 52 = £17.81 a year.