Financial support and advice

Energy

Feeling comfortable and knowledgeable about your energy and water supplies is important for your financial wellbeing.

We work hard to ensure that your home is running as efficiently as possible, so you get the most out of your utilities.

Even though you’re using less heating during the warmer months, we recommend keeping your direct debit payments the same. This helps build up credit on your account, making it easier to manage higher energy costs in winter. A little extra now can go a long way during the colder months.

Energy efficiency

If your tenancy started after October 2008, please contact us to find out the energy efficiency of your home.

This shows two things:

your energy efficiency rating
the environmental impact rating (the estimated CO2 emissions)

We can let you know what your homes energy efficiency is.

Switching to an alternative energy supplier

Now might not be the best time to switch. Energy prices are set to rise regularly. High energy costs mean fewer deals are available right now. Information about what deals are available can be found on the Energylinx website.

Tips on saving energy

Here are some changes you could make, which could potentially aid in annual energy savings:

Swap a bath a week for a shower (£7)
Reduce dishwasher usage (£10)
Turn off the lights when not needed (£14)
Use 30 degree setting on the washing machine (£20)
Only boil enough water in the kettle (£22)
Reduce drafts around door and windows (£30)
Don’t leave electronics on standby – switch them off (£40)
Avoid the tumble dryer (£40)
Reduce heating by 1 degree (£55)

Take control of the temperatures in your home

Use your heating controls, such as thermostats and timers to heat your home without wasting energy. In doing this, you can make sure you keep your living room (or the room you use most) warm during the day at 21°C (70°F) and heat your bedroom to 18°C (64°F) before you go to bed.

If you can reduce the heating temperatures in your home by an average of 1°C, you could potentially save £55 a year.

If there are rooms in your home that you don't use, turn off the radiators in them and close the doors.

Set the thermostatic radiator valves (TRV)

As with your room thermostat, you should set the radiator thermostatic radiator valves (TRV) in each room at a low level, then gradually turn them up until the room’s left at a comfortable temperature. Turning a TRV to a higher setting will not make the room heat up any faster – that depends on the boiler size and setting, and the radiator size. All it will do is keep heating the room until it’s at the temperature designated by the TRV.

Keep radiators and heaters clear so hot air can circulate

Don’t forget to draw your curtains when its dark and tuck them behind radiators to minimise heat loss. And don’t forget if you are away from your home turn the thermostat off.