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Utilities. We all need them, we all can’t live without them. Unfortunately, this opens consumers up to a minefield of who to trust to supply a service, how much we should expect to pay and how should we pay.
In the UK homes are run on mostly electricity and gas and in some cases, oil. All homes will use water. This guide will help you to make an informed decision on choosing the right supplier and tariff for you.
Table of Contents
Current payments
Firstly, take a look at your current tariff, are you tied into a contract or are you free to choose a new supplier? Do you currently have a dual fuel tariff or do you pay separate bills for each utility?
To get the most accurate estimated costs it helps to have a recent bill to hand with your current average usage.
Electricity
Some homes run solely on electric which can become costly as electricity is around 3-4 times the price of gas per Kwh. If your home is run on purely electricity you’ll definitely want to look around for the cheapest tariff to avoid shouting at the kids constantly to turn the lights off!! Looking at a comparison site such as Uswitch is your first step at looking for the best deal for you, just be sure to go via Quidco to take advantage of any additional cashback – currently, this is up to £25 per switch!
Bulb are also worth a look if you are looking for a green energy supplier who only charge you for what you use each month (providing you read the meter/meters monthly). You are also given £50 each time you refer a friend and they are given £50 credit too as a thank you for being referred.
Gas
Although one of the cheaper fuels used in UK homes, you’ll still want to ensure a good deal is had! Check your current usage if you have it to hand and take a look at a comparison site such as Uswitch to see if you can save on what you currently pay. Again, using Quidco to access Uswitch to make your switch can give you up to £25 cashback which is not to be sniffed at!!
Again, Bulb are also worth a look if you are looking for a green energy supplier who only charge you for what you use each month (providing you read the meter/meters monthly).
Oil
Some more rural homes use Oil to access hot water and heating. Oil prices fluctuate dramatically but a useful site to find the best current deal or to join a buying group is Boiler Juice. They’ll also send you email triggers to let you know when Oil prices have decreased.
Water
Water can be a little more tricky as areas have set suppliers, for example, Bristol Water, whereby all homes in the area receive the supply from the one supplier. However, it could be worth looking into a water meter which allows a household to pay for the water it uses rather than the average cost based on home size. If there are more bedrooms in your house than people or the same number, check out getting a meter. You can take a look at whether a meter could save you money by using this free online calculator.
If you feel as if you are using a lot of water, one top tip is to fill a bottle with the water being ‘wasted’ whilst the temperature rises enough to do the washing up. This ‘leftover’ water can then be used to water the plants or fill the kettle later on. It can be around two litres of water wasted each time when heating water up which obviously adds up and over a week is 14 litres just from washing up once a day!!
