Martin Lewis shared a number of energy saving tips – including one about the ‘demon appliance’
Martin Lewis, the personal finance guru, has warned about the biggest energy guzzlers in the home and how to avoid them.
During his BBC Radio 5 podcast, Mr Lewis offered advice amidst skyrocketing energy bills as the weather turns chillier.
This week, shocking figures revealed that households are beginning the winter with a staggering debt of £780 million to their energy suppliers, the highest debt levels seen in eight years, according to a survey conducted for Uswitch. The comparison site reported that an alarming 3.5 million households owe money to their provider, a significant increase of 46 percent from 2.4 million last year.
Mr Lewis pinpointed one particular appliance to use as sparingly as possible – the tumble dryer, which costs £1 for every load. He explained: “Do you know what the real ‘demon appliance’ is in most people’s houses – the one that you don’t want to use because it’s really expensive. Tumble dryers.
“You’re typically paying up to a quid per load so dry your clothes on an airer outside, to shorten the amount of time you’re using your tumble dryer, or avoid using it completely. Those who have dehumidifiers can take some of the moisture out of the air. It’s less wattage than a tumble dryer, so it can be more cost-effective.”
One live listener, Rob, had noticed that his flat was becoming damp since he started drying his washing indoors. He queried: “If I were to buy a dehumidifier, would it be cheaper than using the heating to keep the place dry?”
Martin advised: “Dehumidifiers take water out of the air rather than use the heating and they’re much lower wattage appliances than standard heating. So if the dehumidifier works for you, it will definitely have lower electricity bills.”
One problem is radiators heating areas which do nothing to raise the temperature and escape outside quickly. Speaking previously on his BBC Podcast, Mr Lewis suggested that people should consider using reflective panels behind radiators – to bounce the heat back into the room rather than through the wall to outside.
He recommended: “A tip for you reflective panels behind radiators. Sheets of reflective material can be placed behind radiators. Crucially, this is on external wall radiators, so the heat doesn’t escape. If you don’t want to pay for those, then tin foil can work, although it doesn’t work quite as well.”
Currently, a 4 metre long roll of radiator heat reflector foil can be purchased at Screwfix for £6.38 on offer at 15 per cent off. He also shared other tips for radiators.
He advised: “If you’ve got radiators in rooms that you’re not using, go and turn them off before you turn the heating on so you’re not wasting cash overheating empty spaces.
“Changing the flow rate on your boiler can cut gas bill by over 9% and you won’t notice the change.” And Mr Lewis added that people should avoid using a ‘demon appliance’ as often as possible.
He said: “Other general tips included: “Check your TV’s on a low energy setting too and walk around your house. Be a draft detector – what drafts can you spot as you walk around your house? And then try, if you can, to seal them up.
According to the Uswitch survey, the current average household debt figure of £223 represents a 29% surge from last year’s £173. Across all households, the typical bill payer held £128 in credit last year, but this has plummeted to £98 this year – dropping below £100 for the first time since the energy crisis erupted.
Households typically pay a fixed monthly amount that exceeds their actual summer consumption to accumulate credit for covering costlier winter months. Yet more than two million low-income households – alongside 10 million UK homes in total – lack any energy credit reserves to handle elevated winter bills. Among the 55% of households maintaining a credit balance, this has declined marginally from last autumn’s average of £222 to the present £214.
Recent data from regulator Ofgem revealed that customers owed energy suppliers over £4 billion, marking an increase of more than £750 million from the previous year. Ofgem’s debt figure represents the total amount that customers owe their suppliers for unpaid bills, while Uswitch measures the current balance of a household’s energy account. One in six homes (16%) with a household income of less than £20,000 a year are already in debt to their energy supplier before winter, with indebted homes owing an average of £60.
Ben Gallizzi, energy spokesman at Uswitch, expressed his concern: “It’s deeply concerning to see that household energy debt has soared to an eight-year high, which suggests that many homes may face a bill shock soon as direct debit levels are updated.
“The cost of living squeeze and the end of many government support schemes means that households are getting less help than they used to, causing many to fall behind.
“Households use more energy over the winter, so for those paying via direct debit it’s ideal to have a cushion of about two months’ worth of energy credit at this point in the year. If your energy account is going into debt, or you are behind on your bill payments, speak to your supplier as soon as possible.”