Feeling powerless against rising energy bills? The latest price cap announcement allows suppliers to increase their prices by up to 4% per unit, meaning households will pay more for gas and electricity. While the price cap was originally designed to protect households from extreme price hikes, it must also be set at a level that prevents energy suppliers from going out of business. This means switching providers is no longer a reliable escape, and that the smarter long-term solution lies in home improvements that permanently cut energy usage.
While there are potentially small savings to be had by switching to a fixed-rate contract, the greatest gains come from reducing your energy consumption, as that directly lowers costs no matter which tariff you’re on.
Opportunities with Electricity
Switching to electricity opens new avenues unavailable with gas or oil. By using time-of-use tariffs, you can schedule energy-hungry tasks for when electricity is cheapest. Overnight rates are often a fraction of daytime prices, letting you run appliances, charge an electric vehicle, or heat water for much less. This simple shift offers more control than any flat-rate fossil fuel tariff.
A Step Further?
Agile tariffs change prices every half-hour, reflecting the wholesale market. This encourages you to shift consumption to cheaper periods, for example, midday in summer when solar power is abundant, or overnight in winter during windy conditions. Programming appliances to run at these times can significantly cut costs. An agile tariff rewards you for using power when the grid is cleanest and cheapest.
Reducing Consumption
The most immediate savings come from lowering demand. Focus on your building’s fabric and systems first:
- Upgrade Insulation: Insulating walls, floors, and lofts is the most effective way to prevent heat loss. Using sustainable materials such as wood fibre or recycled cellulose improves performance while reducing environmental impact.
- Control Airflow and Recover Heat: A Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery (MVHR) system provides fresh, filtered air while recovering up to 90% of heat from outgoing stale air.
- Choose Smart Lighting and Appliances: LEDs and A-rated appliances drastically cut electricity use without changing habits.
- Install Renewable Heating: Replacing a gas or oil boiler with a heat pump can provide up to four times the heat for each unit of electricity used.
Generation
Generating your own power at home is a major step towards energy independence, with both solar panels and wind turbines offering distinct pros and cons. Solar panels are practical for most homes, providing clean daytime electricity, though they only convert 20–30% of sunlight and don’t work at night without batteries.
Wind turbines are more efficient and operate 24/7 in the right conditions, but require high upfront costs, space, and can be visually or audibly disruptive, best suited to rural or exposed areas.
Batteries help balance generation, though some energy is lost in charging and discharging.
How We Can Help
Every building is different. We can be your trusted guide, helping you choose the most impactful and cost-effective improvements for your heritage property, whether insulation, heating, or renewables, so that all upgrades work together to create a more efficient, comfortable, and future-proof home.
Our goal is to help buildings use less energy. Insulation can halve heating demand, and a heat pump uses a quarter of the energy of a gas boiler. With lower demand, bills fall, and less on-site generation is needed. Flexible electricity use can unlock further savings.
If you own a heritage building or home and want tailored advice on reducing energy use without compromising its character, get in touch with us today.