Jonathan Scott, the handy half of The Property Brothers, is not just a friendly face on untold HGTV shows about renovating, building, and improving homes; he’s a hands-on sort of guy with an eye for technology and, especially, the intersection of smart home tech and sustainability.

I’ve known the Scott brothers for well over a decade, and I've always been impressed with Jonathan’s worldview. A licensed contractor, he sees a home as more than just a dwelling; it’s an ecosystem, and in his renovations and builds he likes to think from the ground up, and about where and when the best opportunity to include sustainable smarts present themselves.

A few years back we talked about his interest in promoting access to solar technology for homes, and given the ongoing changes in both technology and our climate, I thought it was high time to check back in.

Despite his busy schedule, which includes managing a media empire of TV shows, video content, a magazine, books, making guest appearances and enjoying family life, Scott agreed to speak with me about the importance of planning when it comes to finding the right mix of smart-home gear and eco-friendly (and sometimes disaster-avoiding) technology.

After catching up a bit, we dove into the core subject and talked about intelligent home solutions, big and small, and how they impact cost, energy, sustainability, and more. Our conversation has been edited for space and clarity.

TechRadar: You've helped in building and renovating hundreds of homes over the years, and I'm assuming – and you can tell me if I'm wrong – that some smart home technology is factored in. And I'm kind of curious about that, and how maybe it changes a project as you're going into it.

Jonathan Scott: It all depends. A lot of people, when they think about smart technology, they're thinking, 'Surround sound or cameras so I can creep on my friends and family and make sure they're not sneaking midnight snacks in the middle of the night' or whatever it might be. That's not what I think of when I think of true smart-home technology. I'm thinking of what is going to make your life easier, what is going to make the home safer, what is going to save you money. Those are the things that are all important.

One of the greatest pieces of technology right now is a water-saving piece of technology and catastrophic flood-averting technology. It is an AI-driven leak-detection technology with shut-off. Insurance companies are now starting to require them because they've realized they all but eliminate the possibility of having a catastrophic flood.

In my circumstance, it's not even just about the flooding. It's my kids leaving the taps on and then we get a big water bill because, in the guest house, the tap was running for a week and we didn't know. The technology will tell me within minutes that somebody's left the tap on, even if it's a dribble, it can find leaks in the wall.

That's one of the technologies that I think is incredible… because it's actually going to save you headaches and money at the end of the day.

TechRadar: And you have it on an app, right? You would get the notifications on an app, I'm assuming.

Jonathan Scott: I use Phyn and there's a bunch of different technologies out there. What I have discovered in my research is that Phyn is an ultrasonic technology, and it is hands down the best technology and price point on the market. There are other ones as well that don't use ultrasonic.

They have a little cog wheel inside. That's how they measure the flow and everything. The problem is if you have any hard water or mineralization over time, it gunks that up, and it stops working.

You want to always go with something that's going to last so that you don't have to worry about it. And when there is an emergency, it handles the job. That's why I like that. But it's one of those things where most people don't think about something like that until it's too late. And that's a problem. So, that is a type of smart home technology on the water side that I think is amazing. And you have to have the auto shut-off. There are some devices that just monitor flow, but then in an emergency, that's not going to help you, especially if you're not at home.

I've actually averted several floods, not only in our house but in our parents' house, where something happened and immediately [the technology] caught it, no water damage at all.

Same on the power side. There are tons of technologies where you can read the smart panels, for example, where it communicates with all your appliances and it says 'This appliance is using excess energy,' which usually means that the motor's about to go out on a fridge or something like that.

Jonathan Scott: You can also, if you went away on vacation and you're like, "Oh my gosh, did I leave the curling iron on?", you can shut off any individual circuit within the house using these power apps as well. You got to be kind of technically inclined, probably, to dig into that.

The real reason I love putting in a smart panel, like a SPAN panel, I think you and I have talked about SPAN before as well. They do smart panels, EV charging, all kinds of stuff. It's actually the future-proofing of the home that I'm excited about, because in the future, if there was a situation where you're out of power, your power's gone out in your neighborhood, you don't have solar storage backup, you could go and charge your EV, come back, plug it into your house and power your house off your EV.

In the future, there will be that two-way flow of technology, but then also the data from everything is really valuable. I think these technologies allow you to really get a big picture of the cost of your home, the power consumption, and where you can improve.

TechRadar: It really does sound like these things are married: smart home technology and sustainability. I guess what I'm curious about is how much planning in advance do you have to do to integrate these things?

When we're dealing with some smart home technology that we review here, it's so piecemeal, and some things don't talk to each other. So, these systems that you're talking about, are they requiring sort of one decision about a platform, or are they kind of platform-agnostic, and you can just pop them in?

Jonathan Scott: No matter what, the easiest time to incorporate any of this is when you're renovating or building or replacing an appliance that has broken down; that's the time when you should consider [for instance] induction for cooking.

Which, by the way, every single chef I know, every cook I know who has said "I don't want induction. I want to cook with real fire and real flame" – every single one of them has changed their mind. Everyone I've known has changed their mind after they got over the initial learning curve of induction, and now they're obsessed with it and they love it. The nice thing is that you don't have to deal with the benzene pumping into your house, the exhaust issues, the gas challenges.

So, the one good thing with these technologies is they're not only a lot more efficient to run because you're not running power and gas, they're just cleaner and safer, and healthier as well.

When you look at that leak-detection device, Phyn, that's something you can put in at any time because it just goes on your main water line coming into the house. It's a $550 device, and it will prevent you from ever having a leak or wasted water.

When it comes to something like a smart panel, you need to be doing a full panel rewire. That can cost several thousand dollars to put in, and the devices as well. You want to do that usually when you're doing a renovation.

Otherwise, if you have a hot water heater that's about to die, if you have a range or a fridge or something like that that's going to die, that's when you want to look at the energy-efficient options or the smart options.

I always say you don't need to break the bank going out of your way to replace an appliance that you just bought five years ago. If it's working perfectly fine, don't worry about it. But as these things come up, that's when you want to make sure you're getting the smartest, latest technology.

Lance Ulanoff: And it seems like the smartest latest technology is also usually the most energy efficient…

Jonathan Scott: Exactly. They're finding new ways all the time. I attend all of the conferences where the latest technologies are coming down. I know I've seen you at CES, but also ARPA-E [Advanced Research Projects Agency–Energy, a US government agency that funds the research and development of advanced energy technologies] has this conference all around power and everything like that. There’s some really cool ideas floating around.

One of the ones that we're seeing is appliances that have battery backup within them. For example, ranges. You're cooking and the power goes out. A lot of people don't realize that if you have a battery backup, that only usually covers about four circuits. The batteries aren't covering your entire house; it's covering four circuits. You have to decide what you want to back up.

There are some appliances now where even if the power goes out, you trickle charge. Normally, a range, if it's electric or induction, it'll have a 220-volt plug, and so that's a lot of power, and it's also more expensive when you're running to it.

They have some new ones now that are only a 110-volt plug. So, just a regular outlet... it trickle-charges over time. Throughout the night, it fills up its battery. Then, when you're actually cooking, it's drawing from the battery and not from your power source. If most people are cooking at dinner time, that's when most utilities charge the most money for their power because that's when everybody's using it.

Lance Ulanoff: That's really smart because in my house right now, we're having some discussions about doing laundry and things, and dishwashing at what time. Because we just got this note, "Don't do it in peak time." There's a problem with that. You're going to, maybe, incur higher costs, and I hadn't actually heard about that [new technology]. Basically, what they sound like is hybrid devices. It's like hybrid cars, right?

Jonathan Scott: Yeah. And it's early. These technologies will improve. And even on the laundry side, GE has their Profile, which is this all-in-one washer-dryer. And in the past, a lot of these all-in-one units, they never dried very well. This system is incredible. So, first of all, you don't have to vent it. It's a heat pump system. It takes all the moisture out of the clothes. You don't have to have a vent going anywhere. It also only plugs in with 110 volts, so you don't have to run 220 volts.

You can essentially put laundry in a place where you would never have been able to put laundry before because wouldn't have been very easy. And it automatically puts your load over from wash to dry. If you have everything in there and you don't need to go and change it over, you don't have to do anything. I think it does the full [wash and dry] cycle in two hours, or an hour and a half.

All of these technologies, when they first come out, they're a little awkward. It's kind of the awkward teen years of technology. And then once it actually takes root, things will be totally different.

To be totally honest, my opinion of where the future is going to be in not only heating but also powering your home. Right now all of the appliances, so whether it's induction cooking, VRF [variable refrigerant flow, a type of HVAC (heating, ventilation, and air conditioning) system], or heat pump for heating and cooling. You do not need gas for your heating and cooling anymore. Even in cold climates, they've proven that the new heat pump technology is incredibly efficient.

The only place where right now, all-electric technology is not great is in instant hot water heating. If you want tankless hot water heating, if you go all electric, it just draws so much power that it ends up being expensive, and it also means you have to upgrade your service, usually. If you have room for a hot water tank, then a hot water system is the way to go. That's no problem. You just have to size it appropriately.

But give it another five, 10 years. I think the future is going to be every room where you need hot water – kitchen, bathroom – underneath the baseboard, there's that wasted space there. There's going to be a small unit in each of those that heats on demand as you need it. And that way, you're not traveling it all through your house in pipes, letting it heat up and cool down instantly.

TechRadar: And you're wasting the water in that distance. First, you turn it on, all the cold water comes, and then you get the hot water.

Jonathan Scott: Exactly. The other thing that I think is going to be in the further future, I think we're going to have some source of power that we bring into our home like a battery that powers the entire house for a period of time – a year, who knows what it would be. But at some point, I don't think it's going to be necessarily this interconnected grid system. I think it's going to be an independent power source, and that will transform our ability to build in areas that don't have a grid system set up.

TechRadar: Right. I was going to say, especially in far-flung areas where they don't have all that infrastructure set up already, it makes some sense. So that kind of segues into where we are right now in sort of the solar space.

I get people coming to my door once a month pitching me on it, and we've talked about it. We just haven't, because of the investment, the cost of it, and subsidies coming and going. But you were very invested in that the last time we talked [Jonathan produced a 2019 documentary on the subject]. I'm kind of curious where you see solar energy for homes right now.

Jonathan Scott: There are a lot of utilities that still fight homeowners being in charge of their own power and producing their own power because that takes money away from them. I've never agreed with that because it's sort of distributing the power so that you don't have the blackouts like Texas had or the surges and whatnot that California suffers from in the summer.

I do think distributed energy is a good idea. Depending on where you live, the payback period is a lot shorter or a lot longer because again, some jurisdictions, strangely enough, it seems to be the sunniest places, tend to have the worst solar policies. Shouldn't be the case; but you're right, it's a cost-prohibitive factor, and then the costs have come down a lot, but that tends to be when people decide, “Do I really want to do this? Do I want to do something that's good for the environment but I don't have to put the cash up, so I'll lease the system.”

There are companies that still lease it, like SunRun. They've also switched to a sales platform, too, because most people, I say, if you can afford to buy your system, you're better off doing that because then you reap the benefits once you pay back the system, and that cash goes into your pocket. If you lease it, you're doing something good for the environment. You might see a little bit of a reduction in your monthly costs, but you're not really going to benefit in a big way, you're just doing something good for the environment.

My thought on it is, be real cautious. There are some technologies like the Tesla Solar System, which is what I have on my roof here. They don't produce as much as your newer PV panels, but this is a historic home that we're in, so we wanted to make sure it architecturally looked like slate tile, which it does. We couldn't do PV panels on it.

Know where you are. Know what you're producing. If you have the ability to have the standard PV panels, it's a better way to go. You're going to get more efficiency out of it. But, just make sure as well that you're aware certain times of the year, you don't get the same production. If you have trees blocking the sun from hitting your roof, which I do have a section of my roof here that doesn't get sun, that affects your production. But overall, even from when I put my first system on in Vegas, I instantly saw my power bills drop to about 10% of what they were before. It really does have a positive effect.

TechRadar: I want to switch gears a little bit because I just have a couple more questions, and I'm curious about sort of sticking more with a little bit of the smart home idea. Do you run into a lot of people who are really very interested in the idea of the centralized control, and being able to talk to their house and have things happen? And is that something that's easy to do or hard to do?

Jonathan Scott: That's kind of a trick question. Yes, I do believe simplifying the consumer experience is important. Having a centralized control – my house here I use Control 4, Drew uses Apple's Home setup. In fact, Drew, my brother, is very connected. He's got the ability, he can talk to it.

Every room, when he walks in the room, he's got motion sensors, so it turns the light on, and none of that's monitored by another company. He does it all himself.

Mine, I have a company that comes in and does it. These days, and I think there are going to be a lot more jobs in home automation and AI integration as well, because it's the future of where the home is going to be.

It is getting a little bit complicated, especially when it comes to the security side of things. The big thing for me is making sure that no one could ever hack your network or create some vulnerability where all of a sudden somebody can get in and access your devices. So that's the scariest thing. You have to know what you're doing to make sure you don't have that.

TechRadar: Last question, because I know we're running short on time. Have you heard about this dumb home trend where people are like, I don't want any technology in my home. And have you encountered that with any of your renovations?

Jonathan Scott: I mean, there's never a shortage of dumb people in the world, that's for sure, but as far as dumb homes, the only time I've ever had clients who have said they don't want to put any smart technology is usually a cost factor. They want to put [the money] into the flooring or the cabinets. They want to put their budget towards something that they can see. And sometimes they don't think of the smart-tech aspect of it.

The suggestion I usually make is, if nothing else, wire your home so that inside the walls, you already have everything you need. If you want to run an access point, expand your Wi-Fi, you can do that. The biggest problem I have in a lot of newer homes is that there's bad Wi-Fi throughout.

People need Wi-Fi today. They want strong Wi-Fi. So, no matter what, I usually say, at least when you're running all of your electrical, run your Cat 6 [Ethernet cabling] to anywhere where you may want to have a Wi-Fi hub, and you will thank yourself later for it.

TechRadar: The one smart thing I did with my house when I did my big upgrade, I ran Cat 6 to every room in the house.

Jonathan Scott: Yeah, smart.

TechRadar: And believe me, yeah, we needed the mesh network.

Jonathan Scott: I take it to the next level at my house here. Not only do I have a mesh network everywhere, I also have my own cell repeaters on the property. So, where we are, there is no cell service in and around the properties, but I'm the one place where we have solid cell service here, and it's because I ran my own repeaters.

TechRadar: Then the last question. Do you think that it's fair to say that a smart home is generally going to be a more sustainable home?

Jonathan Scott: Yes, because it's two-factor: One, if you have something like a smart thermostat, it's turning down your demand at times when you don't need it, which is actually saving you money, saving you energy in your home. That's a good thing. But also, these technologies remind us of what our use is.

When you see in an app it says, “Hey, you've got excessive water usage happening here,” and you discover that your friend who's staying in the guest room is taking four-hour showers. These are all things that are also going to save you money.

What I like is a lot of the data from these technologies, it's just reminding us and almost gamifying the fact that we're like, "What can I turn that off. I don't need that running. Why is this still plugged in?"

TechRadar: Right. That makes sense.

Deep sleep, or slow-wave sleep, has a restorative effect on our bodies - helping us to fight viruses and feel refreshed the next day.

But what is deep sleep? As we sleep our body cycles through four different stages of sleep, and after two stages of light sleep our bodies finally fall into a deep sleep. We need up to 2 hours a night of deep sleep to feel ourselves the next day, but some factors can stop us from reaching that state. 

Tracy Hannigan, a qualified sleep coach, explains what deep sleep is, and why it's so important for our bodies, plus we also look at the latest research on why not getting enough deep sleep can harm your short term and long term health.

What is deep sleep?

To understand deep sleep it's first important to know about sleep cycles and how they can affect our health. As we fall asleep we cycle through four different stages of sleep - light, medium, deep, and then REM sleep. Each stage prepares our bodies for the next stage of sleep, and the more sleep we get the longer we stay in each stage during the sleep cycle.

So, what effect does deep sleep have on our bodies? "Stage 3, or deep sleep is our most restorative sleep, and is when our bodies do a tremendous amount of healing and rejuvenation through the activity of our immune system," explains Hannigan.

What happens during deep sleep?

By this point, our bodies have already relaxed - meaning our heart rate and breathing has slowed down to the lowest possible rate in the sleep cycle. This happens as your brain switches from a waking state to a sleep state. 

Our muscles also start to relax, meaning we are exerting less energy - therefore fewer calories are being burned. It's not until we reach REM sleep that we start to burn more calories.

But, what are the other benefits of deep sleep? This study, from the University of Chicago, shows that during this stage of sleep, a growth hormone is also produced - allowing the body to grow and develop. Our immune system is also strengthened, while our energy levels are also restored.

• Can naps help you sleep better? We asked a sleep expert

How much deep sleep do you need?

We tend to get more light sleep as we cycle through the stages of sleep, but deep and REM sleep is important, as they allow our bodies to recover.

Studies show, to feel restored and focused the next day, that getting 13 - 23 per cent of deep sleep, so around 1 - 2 hours (depending on how long you are sleeping for) is a good average to aim for. Most of us fall into a deep sleep quite quickly in our sleeping patterns and we then spend more time in lighter and REM periods later on as we cycle through the various stages. 

If you're not sure how much deep sleep you are getting, invest in one of the best sleep trackers or best smartwatches. The sleep tracking will vary depending on what tracker you have, but most have apps they pair with which can accurately tell you how much deep sleep you've had every night.

What causes lack of deep sleep?

We all need around 7 - 9 hours of sleep a night - so if you find yourself tired and getting sick then chances are you may not be getting enough sleep, and probably deep sleep too.

Getting enough sleep, but still feel tired? It could be down to a few factors such as too much alcohol or other stimulants like caffeine, stress or even a sleep disorder. 

Even just a couple of alcoholic drinks can affect our sleep, says the sleep expert: "Alcohol significantly disrupts deep sleep and at even moderate quantities can cause our brain to ‘skip’ it altogether. This effect can last for longer than the night after drinking."

While stress can also have an impact on our deep sleep state: "Stress and anxiety promote arousal, which can cause us to spend more time in lighter sleep. This is a normal response, as our brains want us to be alert when we feel we are in ‘danger’ (aka feeling stressed) - but it can mean we spend less time in a deeper sleep than we could."

Sleep disorders such as insomnia or sleep apnea, or even exploding head syndrome, could also mean you wake up in the night or you don't get the amount of deep or REM sleep you need. 

• How to stop snoring

What are the dangers of not getting enough deep sleep?

Stress, exercise and lack of the right vitamins and minerals can cause our immune system to weaken, while sleep, especially deep sleep allows our immune system to strengthen. Not getting enough sleep can then mean we get ill more or our health starts to deteriorate - with lack of deep and REM sleep associated with heart attacks, dementia and other chronic diseases.

While other dangers of not getting enough sleep mean we find it hard to mentally concentrate or feel alert, explains Hannigan.

"People with insufficient restorative sleep can have difficulty concentrating, especially later in the day, and can be more emotionally fragile. They could also have fuzzy memories from lack of memory formation, we will feel fatigued from lack of opportunity for our bodies to heal, and feel sleepy from having unrestorative sleep." 

How to get more deep sleep

Hannigan says that sleeping as deeply as possible is affected by two things:  "Our tendency to be interrupted in sleep and the amount of sleep pressure we have built up during the day. 

She goes on to advise: "Build as much sleep pressure as possible by being awake as long as possible (avoiding going to bed too early) and being physically active during the day. Sleep pressure is responsible for how deeply we sleep and is built by wakefulness and physical activity."

Unless you've missed a considerable amount of sleep the night before try and avoid naps, and if you do keep them to a minimum of 20 - 30 minutes. While cutting out or down on stimulants such as coffee and alcohol can help you get more deep sleep.

"Avoiding alcohol consumption, or stopping alcohol intake many hours before bedtime, can preserve the integrity of our deepest stage of sleep by allowing enough time for the ethanol to be metabolised," explains Hannigan. 

Getting the right sleep window for you and improving your sleep hygiene will also mean you're less likely to be disturbed while you sleep. Try and keep your bedroom cool and dark, while choosing the best mattress and the best pillow will mean you'll sleep comfortably all night.

Like you, I've become somewhat more conscious about my energy use. It's not to the point where I'm running around the house switching plugs off if they haven't been used for half a second, but I'm taking steps to be smarter about the amount of energy we use to save cash. And that's why I'm considering some support from some smart home tech, such as this four-pack of TP-Link Tapo Smart Plugs down to £27.99 in the Amazon Spring Sale.

I've finally decided to get involved as this set is excellent value for money, effectively giving you four plugs for the price of three at £22 less than the usual price. It's a cheap, easy, and convenient way to take better control of essential devices around the home by simply connecting them to existing sockets. 

Or, for £2 more, there's a version of the TP-Link Tapo Smart Plugs that come with energy monitoring that can give you a clear idea of the energy usage of devices over a specific period.

I'm not too concerned about the claims around so-called 'vampire devices' that suck up considerable amounts of energy even when on standby, as they can be disputed, according to The Guardian. However, I'm up for limiting the potential impact elsewhere and the added convenience of this cheap but handy smart home tech.

So, for me, it's the other energy-saving features that stand out - such as the option to set timers so sockets are switched off after a period of use. This will be good to put some sockets on a schedule so they only activate during specific times of the day. Good for lights in the living room at night or the coffee machine in the kitchen that I only need to be switched on in the morning. I'll learn to live with the clock flashing double zeroes constantly.

These functions are all accessed through a smartphone app, which offers remote control and voice control functions through Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices such as the Echo Dot and Nest Hub.

It's a purchase that's also been spurred on by some recent advice here at TechRadar that suggests there's never been a better time to invest in smart plugs. Even more so this set from TP-Link is available for such a low price. 

There are other more expensive options out there that offer even more advanced features, but this is a more reasonable price to pay for a simple set to get started. The manufacturer also features highly on our list of the best smart plugs available to buy right now, so I'm happy to get them for such a low price.

If you're not a morning person, then getting up early can feel like your world is crashing around you. First comes denial: if you shut your eyes and hit snooze, maybe it'll all turn out to be a bad dream. Then, when you face reality, comes misery as you slump out of bed, fix yourself a coffee and try to shake yourself out of your slumber.

Finally, as the caffeine kicks in and fights with your sluggishness, comes anger, as you curse the world and everyone in it. But it doesn't have to be like this.

Whatever age you are, if you need to wake up early on a regular basis, then a few simple adjustments to your lifestyle and habits will help you do so without feeling tired. And that means that even if you're lying in comfort on the best mattress and best pillow, you'll still be happy to get out of bed.

Read on to find out how you can wake up early and still feel energized, motivated, and ready to face the world.

1. Establish a regular sleep schedule

The cornerstone of how to wake up early without feeling tired is establishing a regular sleep schedule. In plain English, that means going to bed and waking up at the same time, every single day. Yes, even on weekends. (Okay, we know that last bit sucks, but ultimately, the overall benefits will outweigh the joys of the Saturday morning lie-in.)

"A regular sleep pattern is very important, because the entire body is synchronized by its circadian rhythm and sleep wake is an important rhythm," explains Dr. Abhinav Singh, medical director of the Indiana Sleep Center, contributor to SleepFoundation.org and author of Sleep to Heal: 7 Simple Steps to Better Sleep.

Of course, getting in bed doesn't always mean sleep. "So routines are key," he adds. "That means: have a wind-down ritual prior to bedtime. Shower. Journal. Read. Breathe. It's just as important as your morning routine. Remember, tomorrow starts tonight!"

2. Get enough sleep

Having a routine won't work, of course, if you don't allow yourself enough sleep in total. Many adults think that five to six hours a night is sufficient: it isn't. The consensus among sleep experts is that you should aim for between seven and nine hours of sleep each night.

This means that if you need to get up early, you may have to start going to bed earlier than you'd like. And as a grown-up, that may bristle.

If you're young, free and single, you may want to stay up and party. If you've got kids, you may relish the "free time" you get after you've put them to bed. Or maybe you're just enjoying a Netflix boxset, and can't resist "just one more episode".

In such cases, there's no magic solution: if you want to get enough sleep, you're just going to have to compromise on your preferred lifestyle. As Dr. Singh says, you basically need to give yourself a good talking to. "Tell yourself, Better Sleep = Better Health =  Better Life," he says.

"And the converse is true as well: Poor Sleep = Poor Health= Poor Life."

Soon enough, you'll have established your new routine, and be feeling the benefits of feeling more refreshed, energized and happier every morning. And if it takes a few extra days to get through that Netflix series… is that really so bad?

3. Avoid caffeine and alcohol before bed

A glass of wine, a cup of coffee or a cigarette can be a lovely treat before bed. But as stimulants, all of these substances will disrupt your natural sleep patterns, and make it harder to wake up in the morning.

One study, for instance, found that 400mg of caffeine (about four or five cups of coffee) taken 0, 3, or even 6 hours prior to bedtime significantly disrupts sleep. So if you want to wake up feeling refreshed, it's best to avoid them for at least a few hours before bedtime.

This advice often falls on deaf ears, of course. Because many people say they can't sleep without caffeine, alcohol, and/or nicotine. And in the short term, they may – in one sense – be right, says Dr. Singh. "It probably has become a conditioned part of their evening sleep routine; like a pacifier," he explains.

Indeed, Dr. Singh is no fundamentalist on the issue. "In small amounts, if it is not bothering your ability to fall or stay asleep and you feel fine the next day without noticeable consequences, then you're probably okay doing it," he points out. "But in general, all of these stimulants have anti-sleep properties, such as lowering the ability to go to deep sleep, increasing snoring, increasing time to fall asleep and fragmenting sleep once initiated."

• how to stop snoring

4. Create a relaxing sleep environment

Another key element in achieving a good sleep routine is to create the right bedroom environment. That means blocking out any noise distractions that could disrupt your sleep. It also means making your room as dark as possible, because as studies show, the modern world's use of electric light has significantly disrupted the circadian rhythms that help us sleep.

"Your bedroom should be cool, dark, quiet and light-free," says Dr. Singh. "Eye masks can be a good idea. Ambient sounds from a white noise machine can help in certain cases." Or, if you prefer, the best sleep earplugs are another way to block out unwanted sounds.

5. Limit your screen time

Spending all evening on your phone, tablet or laptop can be irritating to people you live with. But even if you live alone, it's good to put down these devices long before bedtime.

The blue-green portion of the light emitted by electronic screens is particularly damaging, explains Dr. Singh. "That's because it can reduce your body's natural melatonin production, and delay and deplete the quality of sleep. It's like driving a car with low tire pressure: you feel the drag and the bumps more.

"So I'd recommend turning off your screens at least an hour before going to bed," he adds. "Also, put on your 'do not disturb' mode much earlier: two to three hours before bed."

6. Take a bath

Do you feel so groggy in the morning that you need a shower to wake you up? Then maybe you should reverse your routine, and have one before going to bed instead.

"A bath or a warm shower can help with sleep in the following ways," explains Dr. Singh. "Firstly, it lowers your core body temperature, which facilitates melatonin release and helps sleep. It also relaxes your muscles and skin and helps you feel calmed and ready for sleep.

"There's also a small amount of research that suggests it may increase the time you spend in the deeper states of sleep," he adds. "In my opinion, 20 minutes or less in the bath is enough, and the water should be warm but not hot."

7. Use natural light to your advantage

Our bodies evolved to respond to the natural rhythms of daytime and night time. So if we experience light in the morning it helps us wake much more naturally than if we're lying in darkness. This helps regulate your circadian rhythm and make it easier to wake up feeling refreshed.

For this reason, it's a good idea to open your curtains or blinds as soon as you wake up. Alternatively, if you need to wake during the dark hours, consider investing in a wake up light, which gradually lights up in a way that mimics the rising of the sun.

8. Avoid the snooze button

When you don't want to get up in the morning, it's tempting to hit the snooze button on your alarm clock. However, doing so on a regular basis can actually be detrimental to your sleep health.

When you hit snooze and go back to sleep, you're interrupting your sleep cycle and potentially causing sleep fragmentation. This can make you feel even more tired and groggy when you finally do wake up, as your body hasn't had the chance to complete a full sleep cycle.

For this reason, Dr. Singh suggests you limit your use of the snooze button. "Only snooze once, and for less than 10 minutes," he recommends. "Excessive snoozing is like wasting jet fuel while circling a runway and not landing! If you feel the need for excessive snoozing, then you are not getting enough sleep, so you may need to talk to your doctor about this."

We won't lie: some of these tips may involve a lot of adjustment to your life, and you may struggle to break the bad sleep habits that you've built up over a lifetime. But once you've successfully incorporated all of this advice into your daily routine, you'll find it is possible to wake up early without feeling tired, and start your day off on the right foot.

As Dr. Singh says: "Muscles are not built with one visit to the gym, are they? So you need to train the sleep muscles before you feel the benefits." Be patient, be consistent, and you'll soon find that early mornings is a time you look forward to, rather than dread.

This article is part of TechRadar's Sleep Week 2023 celebration (running until Saturday 19 March), a week-long look at all things slumber. We'll be bringing you proven techniques and tips to help you sleep better, and have rounded-up all the top-rated tech to transform your sleep.

Fujitsu has announced the next chip to follow the A64FX, the ARM processor that is used in one of the most powerful supercomputers in the world, the Fugaku.

The new chip from the Japanese tech giant was announced in a presentation as part of the Fujitsu ActivateNow: Technology Summit, held at the Computer History Museum in Mountain View, California. Fujitsu CTO Vivek Mahajan said that it will be an "Arm-based CPU for Next-gen DC" set for release sometime in 2028.

With the working title of 'MONAKA', Fujitsu told The Register that its focus was on making a high performance chip with better energy efficiency, saying that it wanted to contribute to "the realization of a carbon-neutral and sustainable society."

Energy savings

The new processor is said to be able to increase HPC workloads, as well as deliver optimal performance for AI and data analysis applications, all whilst providing "overwhelming energy efficiency" over coterminous rivals. Fujitsu claims it will have 1.7 times the application performance with double the performance per watt. 

MONAKA is part of the program run by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) research agency in Japan. It's goal is to increase energy savings by 40% within the nation's data centers come 2030.

Fujitsu is also contributing to this with other developments besides MONAKA, such as low power consumption accelerators, smart network interface cards (NIC) that use photonics, and disaggregation technology.

It is speculated that the new chip will therefore be more akin to those used in servers catering to cloud storage, cloud hosting and colocation providers. However, these chips are less concerned with saving energy as such rather than achieving full utilization. 

"The next-generation DC CPU (MONAKA) that we're developing will have a wider range of features and will prove more energy efficient," a Fujitsu spokesperson told The Register. "The range of potential applications is wider than that of the A64FX, which has special characteristics (e.g., interconnects) specific to Fugaku."

Details are scarce at this point, it seems likely that MONAKA will have the same standout features as the A64FX, such as 28Gbps Tofu-D interconnect, high-speed HBM2 stacked memory, and 512-bit Scalable Vector Extensions.

• Here are the best small business servers to power your firm

Want to ensure a cosy bedroom when the temperature drops outside? It can be tempting to just pop the heating on, but there are some simple things you should do first. These tips will help trap the warm air in and keep draughts out, keeping your room at a comfortable temperature even when it's wintry outside. Here's your guide to what to do…

How warm should my bedroom be for sleep?

"The optimal temperature for sleeping is around 16-19C, says Theresa Schnorbach, a sleep scientist who works with bed brand Emma (one of our best mattress picks). Hotter or colder than that, and it'll probably affect your sleep quality, making you more likely to wake up in the night feeling uncomfortably chilly or too warm.

• Now's a great time to buy a new mattress – browse the cheapest mattress sales live today

4 things to do to trap warm air in your bedroom

1. Swap in thick curtains

"As well as improving sleep by keeping out light, thick curtains can have the added benefit of keeping your room warm and preventing colder air by your window from circulating around the room," says Theresa. Our recommendation is to go for a blackout blind or pair of blackout curtains – these are designed to completely block distracting ambient light, and most come with insulating properties too. 

2. Close your door

This is a simple one. If you leave your door open, you'll be letting the cold air from unoccupied rooms and corridors make its way into your bedroom. You might also want to consider adding a draught excluder, if you've got a big gap at the base of your bedroom door.

3. Add a rug

Carpeted rooms are often warmer than floorboards, but you can mimic the benefits by adding a thick rug to your bedroom floor during the winter months. 

4. Seal up cracks and crevices

"Even hairline cracks in walls or doors can have a big impact on how much cold air is able to enter your bedroom," says Theresa. If you have the necessary DIY skills, get these blocked up. Alternatively, call in a professional to do the job for you.

What tog should my duvet be in the winter?

Another important thing to do to ensure you stay cosy during winter nights is to make sure you're using the right bedding. A 13.5 tog duvet is designed for winter nights (or 10.5 tog, at a minimum (check out our best duvet guide for our recommendations). "Alternatively, you could use multiple blankets or an additional duvet to trap in more of your body heat, meaning it's less likely you’ll need to turn up your central heating," adds Theresa. 

Due to the conflict in Ukraine and disruptions in the flow of natural gas across Europe, energy prices are increasing around the world. While some governments are taking steps to cap the increase, the likelihood that there will still be an increase over the coming months is high.

Companies that run their own on-premise servers and data centers have been facing never-seen-before challenges in 2022. Electricity bills rose 4-5 fold over the last three years with uncertain times ahead due to the reworking of Ofgem price caps and a revisiting of fixed-price energy deals. 

A recent report commissioned by Aggreko found that 60% of data center professionals in the UK and Ireland alone said their electricity bills had increased by up to 40% over the past three years, while 3% of the UK respondents reported price increases in excess of 50%. 

While data centers are not immune to rising costs, Rusty King, CTO of the European Division of Thrive, tells TechRadar Pro that they often provide greater energy efficiency, superior backup systems, and around-the-clock support, while sharing just how the energy crisis will affect businesses that manage their own infrastructure. 

How will the energy crisis affect businesses that manage their own infrastructure?

There are several potential implications for organizations that manage their own infrastructure. Firstly, increases and instability in power costs for standalone businesses are more likely to be greater than data center providers that should have a greater buying power. 

Secondly, should there be a requirement for power to be turned off for extended periods of time by the energy providers, organizations managing their own infrastructure will need to have a backup capability or be subject to downtime for all equipment. 

Data center facilities will have both UPS battery and generator capabilities to mitigate any outages to co-location or private cloud customers. 

What are some of the never-seen-before challenges companies are facing in 2022, in regards to their own on-premise servers and data centers?

Apart from the power pricing and potential power cuts mentioned above one other issue is extended lead times on equipment as a result of the world wide component shortage. These can affect companies looking to replace equipment, subject to failures or requiring expansion and should be factored into these projects. 

How can organizations make the move to the colocation and why should they?

The move to colocation can be very straightforward, by engaging with organizations such as Thrive who have data center space available. A consultation engagement will help determine what equipment can be colocated as well as all requirements for user connectivity. 

The service will include a project to move equipment into the data center as well as remote hands and eyes available to limit visits for the customer to the data center. Options are available for rack capacity and power included or just the rack cost with power paid monthly as used. 

With the energy crisis currently affecting the data center sector, how will the cost trickle down to end users? 

Unfortunately, no-one is exempt from the current power price increases, data centre providers are also affected. Power increases will be passed on to customers in line with contractual agreements. 

This is also likely to affect increases to cloud services that are typically delivered as a monthly consumption model to end users. Whilst power is only one component of cloud services, it will still have an impact on the end user price. 

What should end users do to avoid the financial impact the energy crisis will have on them?

There are limited options available to completely mitigate the current situation, if possible users should try to find fixed term contract pricing for services, although these are becoming more difficult to find given the volatility of energy prices. The other advice is don’t be afraid to shop around although movement may be restricted by contractual terms. 

What is the future of data centers?

There is still a very clear future for data centers, whilst many organizations and users are migrating to Software as a Service (SaaS) platforms for many applications, there are still a number of services that require dedicated hardware that needs to be hosted somewhere. 

The current power crisis has meant that more organizations want to absolve the responsibility for hosting equipment themselves to a data center facility with resilience and backup capabilities. This situation is likely to remain at least for the foreseeable future. 

• Want to trim down your reliance on third-party data centers? Check out our guide to the best small business servers

It's the worst time of the year for anyone who appreciates lovely, crisp, line-dried bedding. If you manage to dry your washing outside for most of the year and don't have a tumble dryer (or if you do have a tumble dryer but can't bear the escalating expense of running it right now), how are you supposed to dry your bedding naturally at the moment?

Bed sheets and duvet covers have a lot of surface area, making them hard to hang on a clothes horse, and if they're not dried properly they can go moldy. There's no point in having the best mattress, best duvet and best pillows if they're encased in damp, musty bedding, so what's the best way to dry it without a tumble dryer?

Step forward James Higgins, eucalyptus bedding expert and CEO of Ethical Bedding. He's come up with some useful tips for drying your bed sheets naturally and efficiently, without having to fall back on an energy-guzzling tumble dryer. Read on to learn how to get that bedding washed, dried and back on the bed before bedtime.

• How to clean a mattress topper

1. Wash your bedding first thing in the morning

For the best chance to get your sheets dry, says James, get an early start. If you do your wash first thing in the morning, by the time it's done the house will be warming up, improving the odds of your sheets air-drying quickly.

"Temperatures in the home drop considerably overnight as this is when the house is at its coldest, so avoid drying your sheets overnight by giving them the best chances possible in the day,” he adds.

2. Dry your sheets in the kitchen

If there's room, the best place in the house to dry your sheets is the kitchen. "The kitchen space tends to be the warmest part of the house," says James, "as it’s where we cook and there is plenty of footfall traffic."

You can speed things up, too, if you're cooking with the oven; simply put your drying rack next to the oven door. "Although," notes James, "if you are cooking smellier food then I wouldn’t recommend this option as it will cling to the sheets." Turning on your cooker's extractor fan can help, too, as the increased airflow will make moisture evaporate faster.

3. Hang your sheets near the airing cupboard

Another reliably warm place for drying your sheets is near your airing cupboard. James points out that it gives off plenty of heat throughout the day, so you can make the most of it without using any extra electricity. And once your sheets are nearly dry, we'd suggest folding and putting them in the airing cupboard to finish them off.

4. Iron your sheets under a dry towel

If you enjoy nicely-ironed sheets, you can dry and flatten them in one go with this trick. "We wouldn’t recommend putting direct heat from the iron on damp bedding," says James, "but add a towel into the mix and your problems are solved.

"When you have your ironing board set up, place your damp bed sheets on the board and lay an old dry towel over the top. Then put your iron on a medium to high setting and apply the heat of the iron onto the towel. This will transfer the heat through the towel onto the bed sheets and dry and iron them in one go – cutting out the drying time!"

5. Finish them off with a hairdryer

Inevitably you'll get to a point where everything's mostly dry, except for a few annoying bits of your bedding that are slightly thicker and take longer to dry, such as the corner of a duvet cover. But James has an easy fix for that: "In this case," he says, "use a hairdryer for a couple of minutes to dry off those final patches." Sorted!

Read more:

• 8 ways to make your mattress last longer
• How to wash pillows in a washing machine without ruining them

If you’re a bill-paying adult living in the UK, the chances are you’re familiar with money-saving supremo Martin Lewis, whose cost-cutting advice has truly come to the fore in 2022 amid rising energy prices and general inflation-related badness. 

For his latest trick, Lewis, founder of the Money Saving Expert website, has turned his attention to the kitchen in a bid to help you save money on everyday cooking and laundry tasks. Speaking on the latest episode of The Martin Lewis Podcast, he revealed a simple equation that should take the guesswork out of deciding which household appliances are the most efficient to use this winter, and help you work out whether appliances such as the best air fryers are saving you money.

“We know a kilowatt (kw) is 1,000w, which is how electricity tends to be priced [...] and you pay roughly 34p per kw per hour,” Lewis explained. “[So] the general equation is: find the wattage of an item, then work out how many kilowatts or what fraction of a kilowatt it’s using, then multiply that by 34p per hour of use.”

Lewis proved the value of the maths by using dehumidifiers as an example. Drying your clothes with a 200w dehumidifier – instead of a large standing dryer – could cost you as little as 7p an hour, he said, because 200w is a fifth of a kw (1,000w) and a fifth of 34p is 7p.

Lewis noted that the 7p figure doesn't take into account the initial cost of buying a dehumidifier, which can cost anywhere between £50 and £400, but the equation also applies to other household appliances like air fryers and heated airers (which should offer an answer to the question: do air fryers use a lot of electricity?). 

You can find the best deals on a selection of air fryers, dehumidifiers and heated airers below. 

For more appliance-related advice this winter, check out our explainer articles on the 6 common air fryer mistakes to avoid and the 9 things you need to know about air fryers. 

Fully makes some of the world's best standing desks, and its Black Friday deals have launched early so you can transform your home office on a budget. Right now, it's offering some of the best Black Friday standing desk deals around, including offers on the highly regarded Jarvis line of electric and crank-operated standing desks.

The Jarvis range is not only tough and dependable but they're also made with sustainability in mind. The Fully Jarvis Bamboo ranks highly in our guide to the best standing desks thanks to its adjustable height for people up to 6'7" and use of bamboo grown without pesticides or fertilizers. Right now, it's down from £699 to £559 – a saving of £140.

(Not in the UK? Scroll down for deals in your region.)

Today's best standing desk Black Friday deals

Fully's standing desks are top quality, but if they're a little too expensive for your Black Friday budget, Amazon also has a couple of good discounts available.

More standing desk deals

No matter where you live, you'll find all the lowest prices for standing desks from around the web right here, with offers available in your region. 

• We've also found the best Black Friday laptop deals

With all of us more conscious about our energy use right now, we're all looking for ways to be smarter about the amount we use to save cash. While claims about certain 'vampire devices' that suck up considerable amounts of energy even when on standby can be disputed, you can go some way to limit their potential impact with some cheap but extremely useful smart home tech. That's exactly what this pair of TP-Link Tapo Smart Plugs with Energy Monitoring can do for just £18.99 from Amazon.

This discounted set comes with two smart plugs and is currently £9 less than the usual price. They offer a cheap, easy and convenient way to check the energy usage of devices over a specific period of time and also take better control of important devices around the home by simply connecting to your existing sockets.

For example, the energy-saving features include the option to set timers so sockets are switched off after a period of use, such as after fully charging a phone. Or you can put sockets on a schedule, so they only activate during specific times of day - good for lights in the living room or the coffee machine in the kitchen you only need to be switched on in the morning.

These functions are all accessed through an app on your smartphone, which also offers remote control and voice control functions through Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices such as the Echo Dot and Nest Hub. These smart plugs are handy, easy-to-use and they could genuinely give you a better understanding of your energy use to save money - all for less than £20.

Today's best smart plug deal

We think there's never been a better time to invest in smart plugs here at TechRadar. Even more so this pair from TP-Link is available for such a low price. There are other more expensive options out there that offer even more advanced features, but this is a more reasonable price to pay for a simple set to get you started. The manufacturer also features highly on our list of the best smart plugs available to buy right now.

If you find them useful then do check in for more reductions during this year's Black Friday deals, which are bound to feature other popular energy-saving products. We'll bring you the best of these, too, including all the top Black Friday Air Fryer deals.

I can't blame Jackery for positioning the promotion of its flagship solar generator at IFA 2022 in Berlin next to a giant RV camper mock-up. That's the pitch: Buy a solar generator and take it camping.

Enough with the camping song and dance. We all know what these environmentally-friendly power-source devices are increasingly becoming about: They're tools for survival.

Think I'm kidding? Look at the headlines. Floods, fires and hurricanes. Power outages are constantly with us. We need reliable power and not to rely on fossil fuel-powered systems.

These were the thoughts racing through my mind as I watched Jackery's European head of marketing Ricky Ma explain the explosion in camping and other outward-bound activities during the pandemic and his 10-year-old company's development of an array of solar-powered generators, panels, and other earth-friendly technologies (including an adorable, electricity-generating personal windmill).

But the star of this show (and it was a show, with break dancers and a German chanteuse expertly singing popular American tunes) was the new Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Pro.

I've seen my share of portable solar panels, though I will say Jackery's are lighter and more stylish than most, but not many solar-powered generators. This one certainly has some impressive specs:

• 1002 wh capacity
• 230V, Dual Power Delivery of 100W
• Quick Charge
• USB-C ports
• AC-charging option

More importantly, though, the portable box can charge in under two hours using four of Jackery's solar charging panels. Jackery told us that this works even on a cloudy day.

Is it also heavy? Yes. I grabbed the 25-lb (11.3 kg) box and was surprised by its heft. I would not want to carry it up into the mountains. However, putting it outside my home after losing power during a blackout, brownout, or hurricane? Absolutely.

Is it bulky? At 13-in. x 10-in. x 10-in., yep. Though, I was tickled by the image Jackery showed of someone using the bread-box-sized generator on their nightstand. I think I might prefer to connect the generator to an extension cord.

At 46 decibels, the Jackery Solar Generator 1000 Pro is about half as loud as a diesel generator, but it's not silent.

At $1,299 (£1,120, $1,900 AU), it's also at least double the price of a fossil-fuel-powered generator and that doesn't include the cost of the solar panels, which will probably run you a few hundred dollars each.

On the other hand, fuel prices are still sky high and in a disaster, diesel and gas can be hard to come by. Sunlight? Usually, it's in plentiful supply.

As I walk the halls of IFA in Berlin and companies talk about sustainable and earth friendly-gadgets, I see the subtext. The earth is a mess and we need to protect not just our pocketbooks from pricy energy costs, but ourselves from an unpredictable world.

You won't hear companies like Jackery pitching their products with tag lines like "Prepare for the worst!" or "At least you'll still have power!" but they have to know what we're thinking. I know what I am and I might just prepare by buying a solar-powered generator.

IFA 2022 is Europe's biggest tech show, and TechRadar is in Berlin to bring you all the breaking news and announcements, plus our hands-on first impressions of the new TVs, wearables, audio devices, and other gadgets on show.

Last week, the UK’s energy price cap rose by a whopping 54%. Although experts had previously predicted that energy bills would rise again in October this year, many believed that they would start to fall again in early 2023, when wholesale gas prices had stabilised. Sadly, it appears as though this will no longer be the case.

Price rises continue for longer than expected

Wholesale gas prices began to soar around the world last year as global economies started to recover from coronavirus-related lockdowns. However, despite challenges in the sector, forecasters said that wholesale prices would begin to dip again later this year and would then stabilise in 2023.

But, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused the price of oil and gas to soar once again. As a result, leading analysts are predicting that not only will prices rise again in October of this year, but they will likely rise once more in early 2023.

This is certainly a break from expectations. Speaking in September 2021, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the energy market would soon “sort itself out”. He added that “this is really a function of the world economy waking up after Covid… This will get better as the market starts to sort itself out, as the world economy gets back on its feet.”

However, now the crisis is expected to carry on for at least another 12 months, if not longer. Currently, the UK only depends on Russia for a very small amount of its energy supply. But, if Russia cuts off supplies to continental Europe, then wholesale prices will spike rapidly.

New price cap will be announced in August

Ofgem is due to announce the next adjustment to the price cap in August. The change will then come into effect in October.

However, although the announcement is several months away, analysts are united in their prediction that the price cap will rise once again. Some analysts even believe that it will take energy bills over the £3,000 threshold.

Ofgem has attributed these high costs to “the unprecedented increase in global gas prices”, which is characterised as a “once in every 30-year event”.

Sadly, even though the price cap is due to rise again later this year, customers are still advised against running an energy comparison. This is because the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the price cap.

However, Martin Lewis has suggested that you can consider switching supplier if you can find a deal that’s no more than 18% to 20% higher than the current price cap. That said, these deals currently aren’t available.

The Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has now outlined the UK’s new ‘Energy Security Strategy’. It was announced on the afternoon of April 7 and has given more detail about what the government plans to do to combat the ongoing energy crisis.

From soaring household bills to the new record high price cap and the fact we currently aren’t advised to run any energy comparison services as there aren’t any better tariffs to switch to – not even with the best energy deals from the best energy suppliers – many of us are hoping the strategy will ultimately help the nation to reduce and resolve the issues we’re facing with the ongoing energy crisis.

Here, we’ve recapped some of the main points and what the government has said about the potential results and developments that will come from the new strategy.

‘Great British Nuclear’ to be set up immediately

One of the big talking points was that a new government body called ‘Great British Nuclear’ is to be set up ‘immediately’ and that there will be a significant acceleration of nuclear energy production.

The strategy claims that by 2050 up to 25GW of energy will come from UK nuclear, accounting for as much as 25% of our total electricity demand. This could subsequently mean 'delivering up to eight reactors, equivalent to one reactor a year instead of one a decade’.

Up to 50GW of offshore wind

The government will aim to now produce up to 50GW of offshore wind by 2030, which will be ‘more than enough to power every home in the UK’. To make this happen the government will be cutting the approval time for new offshore wind farms from four years down to just one.

New North Sea oil and gas projects to launch in Autumn

A new round of licensing for North Sea projects will happen. This follows the idea that it will be more carbon friendly to produce gas closer to the UK than it would be from doing so overseas.

£30m for more British heat pumps

A ‘Heat Pump Investment Accelerator Competition’ will be run in 2022. It will cost around £30m to make and install more heat pumps in Britain and reduce our nationwide gas demand.

Increases to the UK’s current solar capacity

The government is considering making reforms to how and where we can install solar panels to potential increase the UK’s capacity by upwards of five times by 2035.

The doubling of hydrogen energy production

The strategy also says it will ‘aim to double our ambition to up to 10GW of low carbon hydrogen production capacity by 2030, with at least half coming from green hydrogen and utilising excess offshore wind power to bring down costs’. This could also apply for use within transport and heating.

How will we benefit from all this?

The ambitious plans ultimately show that the government wants to make more energy closer to home and reduce our dependence on other nations. More importantly though, the government has stated that ‘consumer bills will be lower this decade than they otherwise would be as a result of the measures’ – which will be welcome news for millions of homeowners.

The strategy also explains how employment will be boosted with ‘over 40,000 more jobs in clean industries to be supported thanks to measures, totalling 480,000 jobs by 2030’.

All of these supposed benefits were echoed by Business and Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, who said:

"We have seen record high gas prices around the world. We need to protect ourselves from price spikes in the future by accelerating our move towards cleaner, cheaper, home-grown energy.

"The simple truth is that the more cheap, clean power we generate within our borders, the less exposed we will be to eye watering fossil fuel prices set by global markets we can’t control.

"Scaling up cheap renewables and new nuclear, while maximising North Sea production, is the best and only way to ensure our energy independence over the coming years."

Does the strategy go far enough?

Some critics have argued that the strategy doesn’t do enough to help households in the short term and some expect there to be a backlash against the drive for more nuclear energy.

The government is expected to give more updates on this in the coming weeks, so it might be we get a clearer idea then of timelines on the strategy and whether we will see any further immediate support with our energy bills.

Ofgem’s energy price cap has risen by 54%, meaning millions of UK households on standard variable tariffs (SVTs) are now paying hundreds of pounds more each year for their energy.

This, combined with the fact that running an energy comparison to switch to a cheaper tariff is out of the question – due to the fact that not even the best energy deals from the best energy suppliers can better the SVT – also means that more and more consumers will be looking for ways to help bring down these costs.

One response to this arguably quite significant part of the current cost of living crisis, is the UK government's ‘Council Tax Rebate’ scheme, which will see those of us living in properties in council tax bands A to D getting £150 off our April bills.

However, we’re also meant to be getting further support from an ‘Energy Bill Rebate’ scheme, that the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has also previously announced - but this has yet to come into action.

Here, we’ve explained more about what this scheme is set to involve.

A £200 rebate for all UK households

To summarise, the government will be giving every UK household a £200 rebate on their energy bills. This will be in the form of a discount that will be automatically applied and credited to every home’s domestic electricity bills. 

Properties with prepayment meters will instead get their rebate through a voucher, a cheque or directly through their meter.

When will we get this rebate?

It’s believed this rebate will happen in October this year. This may coincide with the next energy price cap, which some forecasters are saying will rise once again.

We will have to pay it back

However, unlike the council tax rebate, we will have to pay this £200 rebate back. The repayment terms are believed to be in the form of an additional £40 on our annual energy bills over the next five years, starting in 2023.

However, some critics have condemned the fact that households don’t have the option to opt out of the rebate. Many also believe this is ultimately going to mean we end up paying more for our energy than we would without the rebate in the long term.

Those supporting the rebate in its current form argue that it will mean energy companies will be able to recoup money over a longer period, instead of continuing to hit consumers with sharp cost increases.

Is any more help on the way?

At the moment there’s speculation that the government will be looking at other ways to support those who are struggling the most with their energy bills. According to reports, a government spokesperson has said:

"We recognise people are facing pressures with the cost of living, which is why we are providing support worth around £12bn this financial year and next.

"We are supporting vulnerable households through initiatives such as the £500mn Household Support Fund and Warm Home Discount and will continue to listen to consumers and businesses on how to manage the costs of energy.

"We will provide an update in due course on further help for households across the UK to meet their energy costs in the face of rising global gas prices."

What else can be done to bring down costs?

Unfortunately, there currently isn’t a great deal that can be done to make this situation easier. Beyond sticking with the price cap SVT and taking measures to cut down on your consumption, you can also try speaking to your energy supplier about changing to a more manageable payment plan.

You may also wish to look into these support options, however, some schemes offering help over the winter have now closed. 

Ahead of tomorrow’s energy price hike (1 April), Martin Lewis has outlined three tips for people who pay for their energy bills by monthly direct debit.

Tomorrow, the energy price cap is due to rise by an average of 54%. If you have never switched supplier or you were on a cheap fix that has now ended, your energy bills are governed by the price cap. You’re also on the price cap if your previous supplier went bust and you have moved supplier as a result.

If any of those scenarios apply to you, then make sure you read the following tips before the price hike takes effect.

1. Take a meter reading

On 31 March (today), you should take a meter reading and submit it to your energy supplier. This way, you can make sure that all the energy you’ve used is charged at the cheaper rate.

Some people have asked Martin Lewis whether they should slightly inflate their readings to take advantage of cheaper rates. However, he has correctly pointed out that this would be considered fraud.

2. Think carefully before ditching direct debit

With the colossal price hike coming tomorrow, some people are considering cancelling their direct debit. But, as Martin Lewis points out, although this will provide you with greater control over your bills in the short term, this move will cost you more money in the longer term.

If you’re on typical usage and pay by direct debit, the price cap from 1 April is £1,971 per year. If you pay by pre-payment, it’s £2,017 per year. Of course, you’d need a pre-payment meter to pay this way.

If you decide you want to cancel your direct debit and pay your bills quarterly, then the price cap is £2,100. That means you’ll pay around 6% more for your energy than if you stuck with a direct debit.

So, if you’re thinking about ditching direct debit, keep in mind that it’s cheaper to pay this way than it is to pay quarterly.

3. Avoid switching for now

From 1 April until the end of September, you’ll pay £1,971 per year for your energy if your bills are governed by the price cap. However, based on what we’ve seen so far, the current prediction is that the price cap will rise to around £2,500 on 1 October.

Of course, estimates can change and we’re only two months into the six-month assessment period. However, Martin Lewis believes it’s “very unlikely” that October’s price cap will be lower than the April price cap because wholesale prices are currently so high.

Based on these figures, Martin Lewis believes it’s only worth considering switching if you can find a deal that’s no more than 18% to 20% higher than April’s price cap. However, he says this is a “best guess”.

Sadly, for new customers, the best energy deals from the country’s best energy suppliers are around 40% higher than April’s cap. As a result, as things stand at the moment, it is not worth running an energy comparison and switching supplier. Instead, you’re better off staying on the April price cap and seeing how things change in the coming months.

Those living in close proximity to onshore wind farms could see subsequent lower energy bills. This is according to the UK government who recently told the BBC that this scheme would be similar to a model currently being rolled out by Octopus Energy in parts of Yorkshire and South Wales.

The government is said to want to expand this concept across the rest of the country, however, this would ‘only apply to new developments’. The Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng is also believed to be in favour ‘of loosening regulations to make it easier to approve plans for more onshore wind’, because current ruling means there are strict limitations on where onshore farms can be built in England.

More information on this is expected to be revealed in the government’s upcoming ‘energy supply strategy’, but in the face of April’s 54% energy price hike with Ofgem’s new price cap, many will be hoping these cost cutting measures will come to fruition.

In addition to Mr Kwarteng’s backing, it’s understood that Michael Gove – who heads up planning in England - is also ‘supportive’ of the idea. However, there are rumours that other cabinet ministers ‘strongly oppose the plans’.

Some Octopus Energy customers can get 50% off electricity bills

According to reports, Octopus Energy’s new ‘Fan Club’ tariff will see customers near wind turbines in Market Weighton, East Yorkshire and Caerphilly, South Wales getting a 20 percent discount on their electricity simply for being close to the farms. However, during windy periods of high renewable energy production, Octopus claims the discount could be as high as 50 percent.

This green imitative comes shortly after Octopus Energy’s other positive announcements. The first being that its existing customers on its standard variable tariff will pay £50 below the new price cap from April 2. The other, is that it is to double its ‘Octo Assist’ financial hardship fund from £2.5m to £5m, to give more support to its struggling members.

An opportunity to grow the UK’s green energy sector

While the government is said to be ‘very interested’ in using this model, it also sees the long-term benefits of providing more incentives to build onshore wind farms closer to the local areas of UK homes.

This was backed up by a government source who said: “Ministers would want to ensure communities are able to directly benefit from hosting renewable energy infrastructure. There are a range of different options under discussion”.

More ways to cut costs ahead of April’s price hikes

The timeframe of this new scheme is still to be determined, so households looking to make more immediate savings will need to pursue other options.

Unfortunately, it’s still the case that there aren’t any cheaper deals out there beyond the price cap, even from the best energy deals currently on offer from the UK’s best energy suppliers. As a result, the advice remains to avoid running an energy comparison and to stick with your provider’s standard variable tariff.

Instead, you may wish to use some of these tips for lowering your energy consumption that we’ve previously explained to help save on your bills. 

If you’re really struggling you should also contact your supplier to discuss a new repayment plan, and if you’ve yet to do so, see if you qualify for the £150 council tax rebate you can get in April.

As of next month, it’s estimated that the use of so-called vampire devices will cost £3.3 billion a year.

Many items in our home use huge amounts of energy, including washing machines, dryers and fridges. However, most households are aware of these costs and only use the items when necessary. But, many of us neglect to pay attention to the small devices that are continually plugged in, such as phone chargers, televisions and microwaves.

Although these devices are often left on standby mode and appear to be switched off, they actually continue to use energy. For this reason, they’re known as ‘vampire devices’.

Why do these devices cost money?

Anything that remains plugged into a socket will use energy even if it is placed in standby mode. Common vampire devices include:

• Desktop computers
• Displays
• Printers
• Satellite boxes
• Stereos
• Televisions
• Microwaves
• Video game consoles
• Phone and tablet chargers

In truth, these devices only use a very small amount of energy while plugged in. However, when numerous devices are left plugged in overnight, they can add vast amounts of money to your energy bills.

According to British Gas, the energy consumption of these devices adds up to 23% of our electricity bills. Across the UK, it’s believed that powering these devices costs a combined £2.2 billion. When the price cap rises in April, this figure will rise to £3.3 billion.

At a time when electricity bills are skyrocketing, taking steps to lower your energy consumption is vital. By October 2022, it’s predicted that the electrical element of a household’s energy bill could reach £800. If this proves to be the case, vampire devices alone could cost the average household more than £200 annually.

How can I stop these devices costing me money?

Thankfully, the steps you can take to stop these devices from costing you money are simple and straightforward. By flicking a switch, you could save hundreds of pounds a year. So,

• When you turn off your television, make sure you unplug it at the wall
• Install a smart meter so you can see exactly how much electricity you’re using at each time of the day and how much that electricity is costing you. Using this information, you can make changes to your consumption
• Use extension leads for devices you usually leave plugged in overnight. By plugging your games console, TV and satellite box into the same extension lead, you can turn all three off by flicking one switch

Taking the above steps could save you a significant sum. After all, a Sky box that is left on standby all the time can cost you £73 annually, and each phone charger and TV that’s left plugged in can cost £10. As a result, the cost of vampire devices quickly adds up.

How else can I save money on my energy bills?

On 1 April, the new price cap will take effect. It will cause energy bills to rise by 54%. To help with this, the government recently announced a raft of measures that will ease the pressure on struggling households.

Sadly, besides the government help and following the recent advice from Martin Lewis, there’s very little that you can do at the moment to reduce your energy bills. At present, it’s still advised that you should avoid running an energy comparison and switching supplier. This is because the best energy deals from the country’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the current price cap.

If you’re struggling with your energy bills, then you should speak to your supplier in the first instance. If you’re still struggling, several support options are available.

According to new analysis, energy bills for UK households could double following Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Collectively, this means that UK households will face a £38bn hit to their budgets. The research, which was conducted by Aurora Energy Research, has confirmed that such an increase in the cost of heating and lighting homes in 2022-23 will be the equivalent of a 6p rise in the basic rate of income tax.

According to Dan Monzani, UK managing director at Aurora Energy Research, rising wholesale gas and electricity prices since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine are “baking in” a higher cap for next winter.

Monzani estimated that for the households connected to the power grid, such an increase in the cap would push the likely cost of aggregate electricity and gas consumption to £74bn in 2022-23, some £38bn more than in 2021-22.

"That’s the equivalent of 6p on the basic rate of income tax, but with the money never getting to the Treasury," Monzani told the Financial Times. "It’s a hugely substantial impact, especially on lower-income households."

Will the government provide further help?

Earlier this year, rising wholesale energy prices prompted energy regulator Ofgem to raise the average price cap from £1,277 to £1,971. However, it’s now clear that even this sharp rise in the energy price cap will be insufficient and that a further price cap hike in the autumn is “almost inevitable”.

Due to the fact that the government announced a raft of measures to help struggling households last time the energy price cap increased, some industry experts believe that the chancellor will use his spring statement to set out further measures.

Recently, Downing Street has sought opinions from the business department on how further pressure could be alleviated. They recommended doubling the £200 loan and delaying the point at which households start repaying the money.

However, although the government continues to look at ways to help those suffering, the government is currently playing down the idea that further relief could be offered. This is because the energy markets remain turbulent and the next change in the price cap will not be announced until August and will not take effect until October.

What can I do right now?

Although the energy price cap is due to rise by 54% in a couple of weeks, experts still recommend that you stick with your current supplier rather than running an energy comparison and switching supplier. This is because the best energy deals available from the UK’s best energy suppliers cannot currently beat the energy price cap.

However, within the next month, the government’s £9.1 billion support package will start to kick in. From April, around 20 million households in council tax bands A-D (which includes 95% of rented properties) will benefit from a £150 council tax rebate to help with their energy bills. Then, in October, every household in the country will receive a further £200 rebate in the form of a loan.

If you’re still struggling with your energy bills and you believe you’ll be unable to make payments, then it’s recommended that you speak with your energy supplier. We also recommend that you follow these three great tips from Martin Lewis.

In a recent YouTube video, Martin Lewis has revealed three ‘urgent’ tips that UK consumers can use to help reduce their energy bills, before April’s new price cap.

The current energy crisis and the conflict in Ukraine have continued to push up energy prices, and in only a few weeks’ time, millions of UK households on standard variable tariffs will see their bills rising by 54%. What’s more, many experts are also predicting that our energy bills will rise even further with October’s price cap, to upwards of £3,000 a year.

This is also made more difficult by the fact that running an energy comparison service right now isn’t an option. This is because the price cap tariff currently can’t be bettered, even by the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers.

As such, any means of keeping costs down will be welcome news for many. Martin Lewis himself summed up the dire situation we are facing in his video, stating:

"There are lots of people out there that can afford the increase and won't like it, but there are also millions of people who will be thrown into fuel poverty, who will get close to having that choice between heating and eating."

So ahead of April 1, here are three approaches that Martin Lewis believes could help:

Try and ‘stockpile’ your energy if you’re on a prepayment meter

Those on older prepayment meters may be able to ‘stockpile’ energy on the current cheaper rates, by topping them up now before the price hike. However, this won’t work for households with smart prepayment meters.

He said: "For those of you on prepayment meters, specifically non-smart prepay meters – if you're on a smart prepay, this won't help. The regulator Ofgem has confirmed to me that you get the rate on the day you top up, not when you use energy.

"Now, that means if you max out your top-up in March before the rate goes up, that's what you'll get, even if you then use that energy in April. 

"So you can extend the cheap rate we have now for longer by maxing your top-up if you can afford it – and I know not everybody on prepay can." 

He also confirmed that this should work with all leading energy suppliers, apart from Scottish Power.

Submit your meter readings now if you pay by direct debit

Martin Lewis recommends that those who pay for their energy by direct debit should submit a meter reading now and another on March 31. This will ensure households have an accurate bill ahead of the April price increase, but moreover, it'll make sure the energy that's used before this date is on the cheaper rate.

He said: "If you're on direct debit, I'm afraid there's no similar system for you. If you artificially inflate your direct debit in March, that's fraud, you can't do it.

"But I would suggest you do a meter reading today and diarise to do a meter reading on 31 March, so you draw a line and tell the energy company all this energy I've used should be at the cheap rate."

If you’re eligible, claim your council tax rebate

The government’s £150 council tax rebate for every property in bands A, B, C or D in England, Scotland and Wales, will be available for consumers to claim from April.

Martin Lewis’ advice here is to apply for this as soon as possible to help soften the blow of the rising energy costs.

He added: "If you don't set the direct debits up, then keep an eye out for a letter from the council, because each council will tell you its claim system and you need to watch for that.

"If you're not eligible for the £150, say, because you're in a higher band, then there is a discretionary £140 million fund being set up to help those who are struggling.

"It will be up to each council to decide how it distributes it, but be ready to claim that. I hope this helps."

Other considerations

Any homeowners who are looking for other ways to cut their energy costs may also want to consider these support options we’ve previously detailed here. These include a number of discount schemes, as well as advice on how to reduce your consumption and deal with your energy supplier.

The boss of energy regulator Ofgem has said that households across the UK are heading for an “almost inevitable” rise in energy bills this autumn.

Although the UK government has previously said that Ofgem’s energy price cap would ‘insulate’ customers from gas price rises, Ofgem’s chief executive now believes that the spike in wholesale gas prices will be passed on to customers when the price cap is next reviewed later this year.

In a speech at the Future of Utilities event, Jonathan Brearley said that the gas price volatility caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine would lead to higher costs being passed on to consumers. While discussing the future of the industry in the near term, Mr Brearley said that: "while it is too early to predict what the price cap will be in October, a price increase is almost inevitable."

What is the price cap and why is it changing again?

The energy price cap is the maximum amount that an energy supplier in England, Wales and Scotland can charge a customer for a unit of energy. The price cap changes every six months and it’s governed by multiple factors, such as wholesale prices.

On April 1, the energy price cap is set to rise by almost £700 for millions of households up and down the country. However, it’s due to be reset again in October. Although many had hoped that the price cap would decrease and the cost of living crisis would ease, it now looks like the reverse will be the case and the energy price cap will rise again, based on Mr Brearley’s comments.

Due to this, some industry experts now believe that when the new price cap is unveiled, average bills could reach £3,000 a year.

Although the price cap is currently rising and is expected to rise further again later this year, it’s still advised that you stick with the price cap rather than running an energy comparison and switching supplier. This is because, due to uncertainties in the market, even the best energy deals from the country’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the current price cap. At present, many customers are being quoted up to £3,500 per year for a fixed rate.

What can be done to ease pressures?

Within his speech, Mr Brearley said it was Ofgem's priority to manage and mitigate the “inevitable consequences” of rising energy prices on British consumers. However, he also added that “as an industry, we cannot pretend that our actions can mitigate the full impact of future price rises”.

Over the coming days, Prime Minister Boris Johnson will set out an ‘energy supply strategy’ amid concern over western reliance on Russian gas and oil.

He said the government was looking at using more UK energy resources: “One of the things we're looking at is the possibility of using more of our own hydrocarbons.” However, he also added “That doesn't mean that we are in any way abandoning our commitment to reducing carbon dioxide [emissions].”

On top of this, the government has also recently unveiled a raft of measures that aim to help those struggling with their energy bills. These include a £150 council tax rebate and a £200 loan, which is repayable over five years.

If you’re currently struggling to pay your energy bills, then you should contact your energy supplier and ask them what help is available. These suppliers are also being urged to ‘reach out’ to their most vulnerable customers.

Millions of households could face annual energy bills of around £3,000 in October when Ofgem announces its price cap update.

This substantial rise is according to the latest forecasts from sector specialists Energy UK, and if this turns out to be the case, it would mean our bills will be more than double what we are paying on the current price cap.

What’s more, this will also be around £1,000 more than the looming April price cap, which has already confirmed rises on standard variable tariffs from £1,277 per year to £1,971.

A ‘worrying time’ for consumers and the energy sector

The continuing energy crisis, soaring wholesale prices and the conflict in Ukraine have been the key drivers for these predictions, but such steep rises could be catastrophic for UK households, seeing millions pushed into fuel poverty.

Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Energy UK’s chief executive Emma Pinchbeck offered these comments on the situation:

"It’s a really worrying time for both customers and industry, and we’ve been saying since the autumn that we expect bills to go up again in October.

"I think, with what we’re seeing in Ukraine and in the oil and gas markets, we’re now expecting those to go up further.

"We’ve seen public figures quoting bills at around £3,000 in October. We know they’ll be around £2,000 from April when the price cap goes up.

"If this turns out to be an enduring situation in the market, you can expect bills to be anywhere between £2,500 and £3,000 in October, depending on the tariffs that people have, and what happens in the market."

Ms Pinchbeck added: "The important thing to anyone listening to this on their bills is that there is help available, particularly for vulnerable customers, and we are going to be working with Government to try to get extra support in place."

Ofgem warns against early price cap predictions

Ms Pinchbeck also warned of continuing market volatility and more suppliers going bust alongside the price rises. However, Ofgem has emphasised that such predictions shouldn’t be taken as gospel as the situation is likely to change by the autumn.

Despite this, there have been similar forecasts from other industry experts. Cornwall Insight recently tweeted that the attack on Ukraine has added another £400 to their estimates for the October price cap, bringing their forecasts to £2,900.

Dr. Craig Lowrey, a senior consultant at CI, subsequently commented on how the government may need to offer further help to UK homes:

"The UK Government will need to be ready with ways to mitigate the impact on consumers, with an increase in financial support to households likely to be a necessity, in addition to renewed considerations on support to business customers."

Is now the time to switch to a fixed energy tariff?

The advice for consumers right now is to still avoid running an energy comparison as it’s still the case that not even the best energy deals available from the UK’s best energy suppliers can beat the current price cap.

However, following Cornwall Insight’s update, Martin Lewis from MoneySavingExpert recently posted a blog explaining that if the October price cap forecasts are accurate, there might be better value in some fixed deals in the long term. He said:

"So the big question, of course bearing all that in mind, is at what rate is it worth getting a cheap fix? The rule of thumb is this: I would not switch to a fixed deal unless it was less than 75% more than the current price cap, or if you want to base it on the April price cap, no more than 15% more than the April price cap.

"So if you can find a fix within that price range then it is worth getting. But you will not find those prices on a comparison site. There are no open market options close to that price – they're all 40% more than the April price cap at the very cheapest."

This is all of course subject to change, and as Ofgem has warned, there’s no guarantees these predicted increases will reflect what actually happens in the coming months.

What to do if you’re struggling with your energy bills

For those of you looking for immediate help with your energy bills, you should contact your supplier to see if they can help you. There’s also a number of new government schemes now available that have been designed to help UK households who are struggling.

Households across the UK are beginning to discover how much they will need to pay for their energy this year. This is because suppliers have started to send emails and letters to customers that clearly show how much they will need to pay for their energy from April.

Energy suppliers are legally required to send notices to their customers about price increases. These notices must state in clear financial terms how much more the customer will need to pay. 

Some households are being told that projections show their energy bills will rise by more than £1,000.

26 million households affected

At present, around 26 million households around the country are on variable energy tariffs or pre-payment meters that are governed by Ofgem’s price cap. In April, the level of the price cap is due to rise by almost £700 per year, to around £2,000.

However, the £2,000 a year figure is indicative of what you might pay. The actual amount that each household will pay for their energy will depend on two factors: the actual amount of energy the household uses and where the house is located geographically.

Current regulations state that energy suppliers must notify all of their customers about any upcoming price rises, and must do this a “reasonable” amount of time in advance.

The information the supplier must give the customer includes the price rise increase, what it will mean for the customer financially, and when it will take effect. The supplier cannot include any marketing information.

Messages to arrive this week

As the price rise is due to take effect next month, many suppliers are now beginning to send messages out. In fact, millions of homes across the country are due to receive them this week.

Those who use the most energy will find out that they’re set to pay much more for their energy than they do now. However, the highest level of ‘bill shock’ will be experienced by those who were previously on much cheaper fixed deals with energy suppliers that went bust last year. That is because these customers have since been moved onto variable deals with their new supplier.

At present, about 70% of energy bill payers are charged for their energy via direct debit. Due to this, payments are smoothed out across the year. This means rising bills are not delayed until the winter. Instead, new, higher direct debit demands will feed through in the coming months. Prepayment meter customers will also see an immediate impact.

Sadly, you cannot currently run an energy comparison to save money on your energy bills. This is because the best energy deals available from the UK’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the current price cap.

However, if you’re struggling with your energy bills, then you should contact your supplier immediately to see how they can help you. In addition, keep an eye out for government schemes that have also been designed to help struggling households to see if you qualify for help.

The government is urging households across England to set up a direct debit with their local council so they can receive a £150 council tax rebate that can be used to help with rising energy costs. 

Who will receive the £150 rebate?

It’s expected that around 20 million households in council tax bands A-D (which includes 95% of rented properties) will benefit from the council tax rebate, which is costing the government £3 billion. The rebate will come in the form of a one-off payment that doesn’t have to be repaid.

In addition to this, an extra £144 million is also being given directly to councils. This money will be used to provide discretionary support to vulnerable households who do not qualify for the rebate. It’s expected most of this money will be provided to families on low incomes who live in properties in council tax bands E to H.

How will the rebate be received?

People who pay their council tax via direct debit will see the £150 rebate go directly into their bank account from April. Anyone who does not pay via direct debit will be contacted by their local council and will be asked to make a claim.

As a result, those who set up a direct debit will receive their rebate far quicker than those who do not. They will also benefit from receiving the payment directly, rather than having to make a claim. 

Is any other support available?

The council tax rebate is a central part of the government’s £9.1 billion support package.

From October, every household in the country will also receive a further £200 rebate on their energy bills. However, this rebate actually comes in the form of a loan. From April 2023, households will pay £40 per year in repayments for a period of five years. It’s expected that global wholesale gas prices will have started to come down by this stage, so repayments will become more affordable.

Finally, the government is also expanding the Warm Home Discount Scheme. This will mean that nearly 3 million low-income households will benefit from a £150 discount.

Why is all this help needed?

The government is stepping in to help vulnerable households because energy bills have risen sharply over the past 12 months.

On top of this, earlier this month, energy regulator Ofgem announced that it is increasing the energy price cap (which restricts how much a supplier can charge) by almost £700 from 1 April. This means the price cap will rise from £1,277 to £1,971 per year, on average.

This sharp rise in energy bills has been caused by a number of factors, including huge spikes in wholesale prices, supply issues and rising demand for gas following the pandemic.

But, even though the price cap is rising, customers are being urged to ‘do nothing’ instead of running an online energy comparison. This is because the best energy deals on the market from the UK’s best energy suppliers are still unable to beat the price cap.

Instead, it’s hoped that the government’s package of reforms will help prevent households from being plunged into fuel poverty.

The government has announced it will make a new £6.7m fund available to 24 UK projects that are working on developing new green energy storage technologies.

Each project will be able to enjoy a share of the fund, which comes as part of the government’s continuing commitment to help reach the nation’s net zero targets.

This is also claimed to be only the first phase funding through the ‘Longer Duration Energy Storage competition’, which in total will see upwards of £68m being awarded to similar projects in the long term. In addition, any successful projects from this first round could be eligible for further financial support in phase two.

Helping to store ‘intermittent’ green energy

One of the current issues with our production of renewables is the intermittent nature of when it is created. 

We can often see increased creation of green energy when it isn’t needed – such as extended periods of sunshine or stronger than expected winds. But with more effective storage, we’ll be able to hold on to this energy for longer periods to then better manage changes in supply and demand.

The additional benefits from this would be that more energy would be available for households, which in turn would bring down wholesale costs and our energy bills. This would also significantly help reduce our reliance on fossil fuels and would make the transition to a cleaner energy infrastructure much easier.

Furthermore, creation of the new energy storage technologies would boost employment in this sector and see our levels of domestically produced energy notably increased.

Speaking about the potential of the fund, Energy and Climate Change Minister Greg Hands said:

"Driving forward, energy storage technologies will be vital in our transition towards cheap, clean and secure renewable energy.

"It will allow us to extract the full benefit from our home-grown renewable energy sources, drive down costs and end our reliance on volatile and expensive fossil fuels. Through this competition we are making sure the country’s most innovative scientists and thinkers have our backing to make this ambition a reality."

A variety of innovative new projects

Some of the new creations from the 24 projects includes ‘new energy storage technologies that can utilise stored energy as heat, electricity or as a low-carbon energy carrier like hydrogen’.

A few specific examples include:

• Sunamp’s EXTEND project, East Lothian, Scotland – which is developing the storage duration of their thermal batteries.
  
• Cheesecake Energy’s FlexiTanker project, Nottingham, England – which is developing their thermal and compressed air energy storage technology to integrate more renewables into the grid.
  
• B9 Energy Storage’s Ballylumford Power-to-X project, Larne, Northern Ireland – which is looking at storing green hydrogen in underground salt caverns.

How soon will we see the effects of these projects?

With the current energy crisis, record high prices and the fact that it’s not advised right now to run an energy comparison to switch to a better deal – as the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers can’t beat Ofgem’s price cap – consumers all over the country will be eager for such projects to come to fruition and bring down our bills.

The current timeline for net zero means we should expect to see developments in green energy within the next decade, but if the first phase proves successful it may well be sooner.

Research from Cornwall Insight has revealed that the cost of energy supplier collapses will add £34.36 to the energy bills of each household for 2022-23.

Last year, 27 of the UK’s energy suppliers collapsed. In addition to this, Bulb went into special administration. 

This happened because these suppliers became caught between surging wholesale costs and the energy price cap. Effectively, this meant that energy suppliers were supplying energy to their customers at a loss.

SoLR mechanism adds money to bills

When these suppliers went out of business, their customers were appointed to other companies through the Supplier of Last Resort (SoLR) mechanism.

When suppliers go through the SoLR mechanism, they are able to recover the cost of the process through Distribution Use of System (DUoS) charges, which are applied to electricity bills.

However, because so many energy suppliers went through the SoLR process last year, this component of our energy bills has risen by a whopping 33.9% for 2022-23, on average. Some regions of the UK will see an even larger price hike, with London and Southern England witnessing a 40% rise.

Why do we need the SoLR mechanism?

Although the SoLR mechanism is obviously costly, it’s important to remember that it also provides a great benefit to customers. 

Last year, millions of us were left without a supplier when our provider went out of business. However, the SoLR mechanism ensured that energy supplies were not disrupted and a new supplier was appointed swiftly (we covered what happens when your energy supplier goes bust here).

However, Laura Woolsey, a senior analyst at Cornwall Insight, highlighted the fact that the SoLR process "has come with significant costs".

She added that: "If we are to protect both consumers and companies in the energy market, we need to see more than short-term fixes, we need long-term reform. This includes seriously considering the future of the Default Tariff Cap, which is currently working as a barrier to the success of smaller energy firms and not safeguarding the cost of energy bills. Ultimately if more suppliers fail, consumers will be the ones left with the bill."

Energy bills continue to rise

Earlier this month, Ofgem announced that the energy price cap is increasing to £1,971 in April. Although this price increase is predominantly down to rising wholesale costs, increasing DUoS charges are also forcing energy bills higher.

However, even though the price cap is rising by a whopping 54%, it’s still advised that you stick with the price cap, rather than running an online energy comparison and switching supplier. This is because the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers still cannot beat the price cap.

Thankfully, help and support is available if you need it, and the government recently unveiled a raft of measures to help those who are struggling with the ongoing energy crisis.

Savings of £211 per year could be made on the energy costs of households that have had heat pumps installed.

This is according to new research from a Brussels-based non-profit organisation the Regulatory Assistance Project (RAP), who study how natural gas and power affects the environment.

The potential savings being touted by the RAP are based on the forecasted 84% increase in the price of gas this year. A rise which will see the overall annual cost of running a boiler go up to upwards of £934 – notably more than the £723 it will cost by using more efficient heat pumps.

How heat pumps work

Heat pumps aren’t that common yet in the UK, but are very popular in Scandinavian countries. They work by using refrigerants to draw in heat from the air outside of the building they’re attached to, before then distributing it inside to warm it up. This can even be done in sub-zero temperatures.

The RAP also claims they can be ‘very effective’ and some heat pumps can ‘supply three kilowatt hours of heating using just one kilowatt hour of electricity'.

Jan Rosenow, an associate at Oxford University and RAP’s Europe director, also had this to say about their findings:

"Our analysis shows that statements that heat pumps are more expensive to run than gas boilers are misleading. Heat pumps can save consumers money if designed and installed well. This is now much more achievable with the recent change in domestic gas and electricity prices."

A great way to save on soaring energy costs

While heat pumps can cost upwards of £10,000 to install, their use in the long run could also benefit UK homes with lower energy bills and help reduce our overall carbon emissions.

The government also believes heat pumps will be a useful addition to households and has previously said it is aiming to get ‘600,000 heat pump installations per year by 2028’.

Their installation costs will of course make them unaffordable for many, but at a time where running an energy comparison to switch to a cheaper tariff isn’t an option – as the best energy deals from the country’s best energy suppliers are still more than the price cap – those who are lucky enough to afford them may see this as a viable way of safeguarding against high energy costs now and in the future.

However, those looking for immediate support should follow the guidance to avoid switching to a fixed deal right now and may wish to look at reducing their consumption using energy saving tips like these.

A recent press release from the UK government has announced that new funding will be made available to improve the energy efficiency of 20,000 social housing properties across England.

A reported £179m will be specifically made available for these green upgrades and will come as part of the £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund – a fund that’s aiming to ‘bring a significant amount of the social housing stock currently below EPC C up to a higher standard’.

The improvements will apparently all be completed by the end of March 2023 and will hopefully bring help to thousands of lower income and vulnerable households who are being hit hardest by rising energy bills.

The funding will be released in waves

The support will be released in waves and 69 projects have now been allocated as part of the first. The funding will be released to these local authorities who will work with social housing providers to roll out the upgrades.

It’s believed that the least energy efficient homes will be the first to receive support and could see features installed like new insulation, double-glazing, solar panels and heat pumps. The government has also said that the work won’t just reduce heat loss, it will futureproof properties against efficiency issues in the long term.

A number of sector sources were full of praise for the support, Kate Henderson, the National Housing Federation Chief Executive, offered these comments:

"We warmly welcome the announcement of the first Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund recipients. Alongside helping us to achieve our crucial net zero target, this will mean warmer, more comfortable homes for social housing residents, and importantly help to protect them from rising energy bills.

"Housing associations are committed to working with government to upgrade the nation’s social housing stock, and this fund will play a vital role in this."

Another positive to the projects is that they will also boost green jobs, with 9,000 new roles in the sector expected. The government also claims the funding will ‘deliver carbon emissions savings equivalent to taking up to 6,000 cars off the road in any given year’.

How you can find out more

Those living in social housing may want to contact their respective local authorities to find out if and when they’re set to receive help improving their property. Such support could prove invaluable as the continuing energy crisis, rises to the energy price cap and soaring bills are making things much harder for millions of consumers.

Those who are struggling with their energy bills who aren’t eligible for this new funding may want to read our recent recap of MoneySavingExpert’s guidance around what other help is available right now from the government. 

We’ve also detailed some energy saving advice to help bring costs down, as it’s still not advised to run an energy comparison and switch to a fixed tariff. This is because not even the best energy deals from the best energy suppliers can beat the current and upcoming standard variable tariff set by Ofgem’s energy price cap.

Millions of households across the country could soon be offered electricity tariffs with prices that change every half hour.

Under new powers that will be granted to energy regulator Ofgem in May, smart meters will automatically send usage information to suppliers every 30 minutes. Suppliers could then use this information to charge consumers more during peak times. However, at the moment, customers will have to ‘opt in’ to sharing this data.

Ofgem has said that the change will be implemented on all new smart meters by 2025, but people who already have a smart meter won't be affected unless they enter a new contract.

At present, Scottish Power, EDF and Octopus Energy all back the proposed changes. They currently collectively supply energy to 11 million households.

How will the new tariffs work?

With so-called ‘time of use tariffs’, customers are charged more for their energy at the busiest times of the day, such as evenings. Less is charged at quieter times, like overnight. As a result, bill payers can benefit from lower prices if they shift their usage to quieter times, when prices are cheaper.

Today, most energy users are on tariffs that charge a flat rate for usage. However, a small number of households with smart meters who have already opted in to half-hourly updates can access time of use tariffs. EDF, Scottish Power and Octopus all currently offer these tariffs, and people with Economy 7 or Economy 10 meters can get cheaper off-peak pricing.

Discussing whether the change could be good for customers, Gillian Cooper, head of energy policy for Citizens Advice, said: “As prices surge to record levels, smart meters can help us manage our energy use and make sure we get more accurate bills.

“In the future, a time of use tariff could allow us to get better value for money if we’re able to be flexible about when we use electricity.

“There’s no one size fits all, so we’ll all need information and advice to make sure we’re choosing a tariff that suits our needs.

“Strong protections must be in place for those of us who can’t be flexible with our use of electricity, so that we all pay a fair price.”

Will time of use tariffs lower bills?

It’s hoped that time of use tariffs will provide savings to people using the tariffs and to those who remain on traditional tariffs. This is because spreading demand and avoiding surges in energy use could lead to savings across the power network. The costs of running the network are shared among everyone and efforts to reduce those costs would also be passed on to everyone, too.

An Ofgem spokesperson said: “This major system upgrade is a significant milestone on Britain’s path to net zero.

“It will enable a more efficient, flexible and greener energy system which will save billions of pounds per year on all consumers’ energy bills.

“Ofgem will work closely with industry to make sure it delivers this major upgrade while ensuring those in vulnerable circumstances remain protected.”

However, the news that energy will cost more at peak times will come as a shock to the millions of people who are currently facing a ‘cost of living crisis’. Last week, it was announced that the energy price cap is rising by a whopping 54%. Despite this, it’s still recommended that customers avoid running an online energy comparison because the best energy deals on the market from the country’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the new price cap.

On top of this, Ofgem has also told MPs that current forecasts suggest another increase is likely to come into effect before next winter. Some analysts now believe the price cap could rise to around £2,300 from 1 October.

Ofgem has now confirmed that the 22 million households currently on default tariffs and prepayment meters will see further eye-watering increases to their energy bills.

From April 1, the regulator’s energy price cap will go up from £1,277 to £1,971. This is a rise of £693 for default tariffs. Meanwhile, prepayment customers will be even worse off, seeing their annual bills going from £1,309 to £2,017, a rise of £708.

What’s more, it appears that there’s little we can do to avoid this situation, as Martin Lewis of MoneySavingExpert has revealed that the best course of action is to ‘do nothing’ as the majority of us still ‘can’t save by switching right now’.

Prices are unlikely to come down again this year

Throughout the energy crisis, it’s been advised to avoid running an energy comparison to try and switch to a cheaper deal, as not even the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers have been able to better the current price cap.

Martin Lewis has now predicted that the cap is highly unlikely to go down when it’s reviewed again in October – in fact he forecasts ‘another rise of around 20%’. So, his advice to avoid switching does seem to be the most sensible option.

The example he gave, should the price cap go up by 20% later this year, would be that those looking to switch would ‘need to find a fixed deal now that's no more than 59% more expensive than your current price-capped tariff’. 

To give some perspective on this, he also stressed that currently the best fixed tariff is in fact on average 68% more expensive than the current cap.

Suppliers may start offering more fixed deals

The new standard tariff rates also won’t come into effect until they’re officially rolled out on 1 April. This means the true costs and reality of the hike can’t be accurately measured until suppliers start to use them.

With this, Martin Lewis fired a warning to consumers to be wary of any new fixed tariffs that may now start appearing on the markets. This is because the rates being offered won’t be in relation to the new cap and therefore the cost comparisons won’t be as accurate.

In addition, he gave a reminder that the price cap isn’t the maximum level you can pay for your energy. The cap only sets the rate you pay for each unit of gas and electricity, so ultimately ‘if you use more, you’ll pay more’.

What help is available?

With the announcement of the new cap, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, did reveal three measures the government plans to roll out to help with our energy bills.

These are:

• A £200 rebate loan in October to all households. 
• A £150 council tax rebate in April to all households in England in bands A to D.
• A £144 million discretionary fund for councils aimed at those on low incomes. 

This could see households get up to £350 in financial support. However, there have already been concerns raised about whether or not this will be enough and what effect the £200 loan could have on the affordability of our future energy bills when they start being paid back.

In the meantime, those currently struggling to pay their energy bills may wish to consider this guidance we recently put together, which explains a few approaches that can help make them more manageable and affordable.

UK energy regulator Ofgem has announced that the energy price cap will rise by a whopping £693 on 1 April. The energy price cap, which restricts how much energy suppliers can charge, will increase for 22 million customers across the UK.

If you’re on a standard default tariff and pay for your fuel via direct debit, then you will see an increase of £693, from £1,277 to £1,971 per year, on average. Alternatively, if you’re a prepayment customer, you will see an increase of £708, from £1,309 to £2,017.

The new price cap announcement represents the second major increase in energy bills in the last six months. Campaigners fear that it will intensify the UK’s cost of living crisis, pushing millions of households into fuel poverty.

How the government plans to help

Following Ofgem’s announcement, Chancellor of the Exchequer Rishi Sunak delivered a statement to the House of Commons. In it, he announced how the government will help struggling households respond to the ongoing energy crisis.

In doing so, he said that the government will provide a flat £200 rebate on domestic energy bills on 1 October. Households will then pay £40 per year in repayments, starting in April 2023.

In addition to this, on 1 April 2022, all homes in England in council tax bands A-D will receive a non-refundable £150 saving on their council tax bill. It’s estimated that around 80% of council tax payers in England will receive this saving.

Alongside this, a £150m discretionary fund will also be established to help low-income families who live in higher council tax bands, and households in bands A-D who are exempt from council tax. As council tax changes only apply in England, £565m will also be given to the devolved administrations in the rest of the UK, to help them offer similar levels of support.

The above forms of energy bill help will only apply to England, Scotland and Wales, because Northern Ireland has its own system. However, the Chancellor has also announced that he will provide £150m so that Northern Ireland can provide its own support.

Finally, the government is also going ahead with existing plans to expand eligibility for the Warm Homes Discount Scheme by almost a third. It’s now estimated that three million vulnerable households will benefit from the scheme.

In total, this package of announcements will cost the government around £9 billion.

Why have bills risen by more than 50%?

The energy regulator Ofgem has lifted the maximum rate that suppliers can charge for energy in response to a fourfold increase in energy market prices over the past year.

The price cap, which was introduced back in January 2019, is calculated by Ofgem based on the costs faced by suppliers, including buying energy from the wholesale market and levies for maintaining the energy network's infrastructure and renewable energy projects.

In the past 12 months, the cost of wholesale energy has risen sharply. As a result, many energy suppliers have actually supplied energy at a loss. This has led to the demise of even some of the UK’s largest energy suppliers. However, a 54% rise in the price cap is much larger than some analysts predicted.

The new price cap will affect standard default tariff customers who have not switched to a new deal. It will also apply to those who have remained with their new supplier after their previous supplier exited the market.

Speaking about the new price cap, Jonathan Brearley, chief executive of Ofgem, said:

"We know this rise will be extremely worrying for many people, especially those who are struggling to make ends meet, and Ofgem will ensure energy companies support their customers in any way they can.

"The energy market has faced a huge challenge due to the unprecedented increase in global gas prices, a once in a 30-year event, and Ofgem’s role as energy regulator is to ensure that, under the price cap, energy companies can only charge a fair price based on the true cost of supplying electricity and gas.

“Ofgem is working to stabilise the market and over the longer term to diversify our sources of energy which will help protect customers from similar price shocks in the future."

Should I switch supplier?

In short, it’s too early to say. Over the course of the past few months, the advice has been to avoid running an online energy comparison. This is because the best energy deals on the market from the UK’s best energy suppliers have been unable to beat the energy price cap.

Now that price cap has changed, whether switching is advisable or not will depend on the tariffs suppliers make available. This will only be known in the coming days.

The current energy crisis has so far led to record-high energy prices, suppliers going bust and many UK households struggling to pay their energy bills. What's more, these difficult times look set to become even more challenging with the new energy price cap predicted to increase in April by upwards of 50%.

All this also comes at a time where running an energy comparison to switch to a better tariff isn’t an option, as even the best energy deals from the best energy suppliers can’t better the current price cap.

However, MoneySavingExpert has recently put together some recommendations and guidance that consumers can use to potentially help make their energy bills more affordable or manageable. Here, we’ve recapped some of this advice and offered a few more tips you may wish to use.

Speak to your supplier to negotiate a new payment plan

According to the ruling of the energy regulator Ofgem, if you’re having difficulties paying your energy bills, you supplier must support you with a new payment plan. It might be that they restructure how much you have to pay back, or they give you more time to make your payments, but there’s no set rules, as each case is treated on an individual basis.

What’s important is contacting your supplier as soon as you can to arrange this, before you get too far behind with any repayments.

Speak to your supplier about their ‘hardship funds’

Most of the big UK energy firms have funds and charitable trusts available to help those struggling the most with the energy bills. Again, the support on offer is given on a case-by-case basis but can include things like grants to pay your bills or to help make your property more energy efficient.

Check your eligibility for the Warm Home Discount 

With the Warm Home Discount scheme you can get a £140 one-off discount paid by the government towards your electricity bill between October 21 and March 2022. This is subject to the following eligibility criteria:

• you get the Guarantee Credit element of Pension Credit - known as the ‘core group’
• you’re on a low income and meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme - known as the ‘broader group’

With the latter option you need to apply directly through your energy supplier, if it is involved in the scheme. You should do this as soon as you can though, as there’s a limited amount of support available and it’s on a first come, first served basis.

Check your eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment

Every household in the UK that is home to someone born on or before September 26, 1955 can get help towards their energy bills with the Winter Fuel Payment. Providing the person is the right age and has lived in the UK ‘at least one day between 20 and 26 September 2021’, you could get a payment of between £100 and £300 to help you.

As we’re into January, most of those eligible should have received a payment by now. If you haven’t, you should check to see if you can make a claim.

Enquire about the Cold Weather Payment scheme

Older people and those of you on certain benefits can access the Cold Weather Payment scheme, which can see you ‘get a payment if the average temperature in your area is recorded as, or forecast to be, zero degrees celsius or below over 7 consecutive days’. 

The current government guidelines on this state that you can ‘get £25 for each 7 day period of very cold weather between 1 November and 31 March’. You can see if you might be due a payment using this checker tool.

Enquire about your local council’s household support fund

With the new Household Support Fund, your local council is able to access a pot of £500m to help its most vulnerable citizens. This could mean you’re eligible for support with your energy bills, but you need to contact your local council directly to find out more as quickly as you can before the fund runs out.

Be wary of leaving devices on stand-by mode

Leaving your devices and appliances on standby-mode can be a big drain on your energy bills. By simply switching these items off, you can save upwards of £110 a year on your electricity costs.

Only use your central heating when you need it

A recent study has found that the most efficient way to heat our homes is to only use our central heating as and when we need it. This is something we previously reported on and we found that a number of experts agreed that this was the most cost-effective option when compared to leaving the heating on constantly on a lower temperature.

Get a smart meter installed to monitor your energy use

The UK smart meter roll out is still well underway and if you’ve yet to get one installed, you need to speak to your supplier about getting one fitted. Smart meters can help you save money on your energy bills by showing you how much energy you’re using in real time. This then allows you to take steps to lower your usage and ultimately help cut your bills.

Make little changes to reduce your overall energy consumption

We’ve also recently explained a number of top energy saving tips you can use to reduce your energy consumption. You can read these here and you’ll see that with just a few little lifestyle changes, you can potentially save hundreds of pounds a year on your energy bills.

Over the past few months, energy bills have risen sharply. With bills skyrocketing for millions of households across the UK and an ongoing ‘energy crisis’ causing shortages across the world, the future of the energy sector is unclear.

But, what’s causing the price rises we’ve seen over the past 12 months? Let’s take a detailed look.

Why are energy bills going up?

As countries and economies began to recover from the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, demand for gas started to increase sharply. However, a shortage in supply meant that demand could not be met and prices started to increase at a rapid rate.

Added to this, the problem was worsened by the fact that renewable sources such as wind and solar produced less power than they usually do in summer, and then cold weather in the winter forced more people to turn their heating up.

On top of this, in Asia, demand for air-conditioning units also skyrocketed due to the balmy summer weather.

All of these factors have caused supply and demand issues, and this has caused bills to rise here in the UK.

Is the energy price cap increasing?

The energy price cap was introduced in Great Britain back in January 2019. It was introduced because many people, particularly those who did not switch supplier regularly, were paying too much for their energy.

The price cap, which is the maximum amount an energy supplier can charge, is reviewed twice a year. In October 2021, when the price cap was last reviewed, it spiked from £1,138 to £1,277. This was the price cap’s highest-ever level.

In April 2022, when the cap is next reviewed, experts predict that it could rise by as much as 50%. This would make the typical annual energy bill almost £2,000 a year.

The new price cap is expected to be unveiled on 7 February and will be applicable from 1 April.  

How can I lower my energy bills?

High energy bills are part of the current ‘cost of living crisis’ many of us are experiencing. As a result, the government is actively looking at ways that it can support vulnerable households across the UK.

At present, it’s still advised that you should avoid running an energy comparison. This is because the best energy deals from the country’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the current price cap.

However, there are still steps you can take to lower your energy bills. To start with, it’s worth checking whether you’re eligible for any of the schemes that are currently running, such as the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment. If you’re not eligible, or you’re still struggling, then speak to your supplier and see if you can set up a payment plan.

If you’d like to actively lower your energy bills, then you should also try our energy saving tips and look into how you can use your heating more efficiently.

New research from Carbon Brief has shown that energy bills in the UK are nearly £2.5bn higher than they would have been if climate policies had not been scrapped over the past decade. Changes made by previous governments include cutting energy-efficiency subsidies, effectively banning onshore wind in England and scrapping the zero-carbon homes standard.

With energy bills set to rise by as much as 50% in April, the government is currently assessing how it can support struggling households. In an attempt to ease the current energy crisis, reports suggest that the government is considering further cuts to energy efficiency policies, cutting VAT on energy bills, and paying energy suppliers directly in order to shield customers from high bills.

However, although some of these policies may make an impact in the short term, many may cause more damage in the longer term. This is because Carbon Brief’s analysis shows that previous efforts to slash climate policies are now costing the average household around £40 per year. This figure may increase to £60 when future price caps are revealed.

What has caused the increase in energy bills?

Further analysis from Carbon Brief has revealed that nearly 90% of the increase in bills over the last year is due to the rising price of gas. Most of the remaining expected increase in bills is due to the cost of energy suppliers going out of business, whereas climate policy costs have already fallen and are due to drop further.

Will bills rise further?

Sadly, energy bills are set to rise even further in April, when the new energy price cap will come into effect. At this time, it’s estimated that the number of homes that are struggling to pay for their energy bills will triple.

Overall, it’s estimated that the number of homes under ‘fuel stress’ - those spending at least 10% of income on energy bills - is estimated to rise to 6.3 million households.

The new price cap won’t be announced until February 7, but many experts expect it to rise by about 50% to around £2,000. These higher prices could then last for around two years.

What can I do to lower my energy bills?

Due to rising wholesale costs, current advice suggests that it’s unwise to run an energy comparison and switch provider. This is because the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the current price cap.

However, if you’re struggling to pay your energy bills, then there are several steps you can take.

Firstly, you should check your eligibility for current schemes like the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment. If you’re not eligible for these schemes or they won’t provide you with enough help, then speak to your current supplier about whether you can arrange a new payment plan.

If you’d like to lower your energy bills, then you can also try using our energy saving tips. You can also try to be more efficient with your heating.

According to the Financial Times the UK government is exploring the option of giving money to energy suppliers when wholesale gas prices go above a ‘certain threshold’. These funds would then be used to subsidise suppliers’ increased costs, so they don’t then have to pass them on to customers in the form of higher energy bills.

This proposed initiative – known as a ‘temporary price stabilisation mechanism’ – has been met with support from a number of energy firms, and it’s believed some government sources have labelled the concept “plausible” and “logical”.

It’s also been suggested that the money could be returned by the energy suppliers when wholesale prices drop and their profits return.

More energy bill rises almost certain without any government intervention

While this proposal seems to be a step in the right direction, nothing has been formally agreed as yet and some government sources have raised concerns about it.

The FT’s report also explains that Chancellor of the Exchequer, Rishi Sunak, has claimed that should wholesale prices remain high, this funding could then ‘leave the taxpayer heavily exposed’. In addition, it’s believed the amount required to support energy suppliers could be around £20bn, and some ministers are sceptical of how effective the loans could be. One spokesperson also voiced their worries that “some of the firms would not be able to take on more credit risk”.

Amongst all this uncertainty about what to do to resolve the current energy crisis comes the seemingly certain reality that without intervention from the state, our bills will rise again this April.

This is when the new energy price cap will come into effect and in only a few weeks’ time we’ll know for sure just how much the increase will be when it's announced by Ofgem. The FT’s report predicts the cap will go from £1,277 a year to over £1,900 and it will subsequently fuel inflation at a time when taxes are going up as well.

It’s also unlikely that the recommendation from energy suppliers and other political parties to cut VAT on domestic energy from 5% to 0% will come to fruition, after Prime Minister Boris Johnson this week referred to it as a “blunt instrument”.

What else is being considered to help UK households?

The Chancellor did say he was looking to ‘offer targeted support to poorer households’ with a possible extension of the Warm Home Discount scheme.

Outside of this Emma Pinchbeck, the chief executive of the trade body Energy UK, recently spoke to BBC Breakfast and claimed that suppliers were also discussing with the Treasury 'a mechanism to smooth out spikes in wholesale prices’ for households, stating: “the Treasury has asked industry to look at options for spreading the cost of the gas itself over a longer period of time.”

What can be done now to cut energy bills?

Alongside the aforementioned Warm Home Discount scheme, consumers struggling with their energy bills have the following options to help reduce costs:

• Checking eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment
• Checking eligibility for the Cold Weather Payment
• Switching appliances off and not leaving them on standby mode
• Using our energy saving tips
• Being more efficient with the central heating
• Speaking with their suppliers to arrange a new payment plan

Unfortunately, we’re still at a point where running an energy comparison isn’t an option as not even the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers can better the price cap. What’s more, until something gets done to help the situation this is unlikely to change for some time, especially with the predicted price cap increase.

New research from the Energy Efficiency Infrastructure Group (EEIG) has found that poor insulation is costing British households huge sums of money each year. 

The group, which includes business organisations and charities, has claimed that each household in Britain could save more than £500 a year on their energy bills purely though improved insulation. As a result, they’re calling on the government to prioritise energy saving through home improvements.

The government is currently under a great deal of pressure to help struggling households pay for their energy bills. The cost of energy has skyrocketed in the last 12 months, and customers are now paying hundreds of pounds more for their bills. Sadly, customers are currently also being told that they shouldn’t use an online energy comparison tool to switch suppliers and tariffs. This is because the best energy deals available from the country’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the current price cap.

However, later this year, experts predict that the new price cap will likely rise even further. Potentially by up to £900. As a result, the government is currently exploring ways to support households who are struggling to make payments.

What does the EEIG recommend?

The EEIG, which includes the CBI, Kingfisher, Energy Savings Trust and the green group WWF, says that multiple governments have been partly at fault for the ongoing energy crisis because they’ve failed to make sure that Britain’s homes are adequately insulated.

EEIG chairwoman Sarah Kostense-Winterton said: “The cost-of-living crisis is being driven by soaring gas prices… A permanent solution to lower bills is by reducing demand through energy efficiency measures.

“Emergency short-term measures for the most vulnerable households are crucial, but it's fundamental for the government to simultaneously focus on the long term to avoid futures crises.

“Green home retrofits have significant social, environmental and economic co-benefits, and stand out as a 'no regrets' solution to the energy crisis, climate crisis, and levelling up agenda.”

According to recent research, Britain has the coldest and leakiest housing stock in Western Europe, and this has left residents particularly exposed to spikes in gas prices. As a direct result of this, the EEIG is asking the government to provide additional support for vulnerable households in order to prevent a fuel poverty emergency.

It believes that the government should expand the Warm Home Discount Scheme and bolster the Energy Company Obligation (ECO). This requires energy suppliers to help low-income households to fit energy-saving measures.

In the longer term, the EEIG is also calling for a new £3.6bn grant or subsidy scheme to help all households insulate their homes. At the moment, the EEIG maintains that two-thirds of households have no financial support for insulation, even though insulation is a vital part of the strategy to cut carbon emissions.

How can I cut my bills right now?

If rising energy bills are causing concern in your household, then there are ways that you can cut costs. These include:

• Applying for the Warm Home Discount Scheme 
• Checking your eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment 
• Checking your eligibility for the Cold Weather Payment
• Switching your appliances off and not leaving them on standby mode
• Using our energy saving tips 
• Being more efficient with your heating 
• Speaking with your current supplier to arrange a new payment plan 

Some vulnerable households can also get a share of the £500m Household Support Fund that is allocated to local councils to help with covering the costs of domestic bills. On top of this, the country’s energy suppliers are continuing to talk to the government and the Department for Business about ways the government could help the most vulnerable households.

The current energy crisis could continue for as long as another two years, according to Chris O’Shea - chief executive of British Gas owner Centrica – who told the BBC that we shouldn’t expect prices to start coming down “any time soon” and there’s “no reason” for them to do so.

Mr O’Shea believes the current state of play in the energy markets “will be here for the next 18 months to two years”. However, he did claim that concerns many have expressed about bills rising by over 50% to upwards of £2,000 may be "misplaced".

Mr O’Shea also called for more to be done to help consumers struggling with escalating costs, in particular those who will be plunged into fuel poverty.

Green energy ‘transitioning’ is also causing high prices

While we know that the economic slowdown from the pandemic and lower supplies of gas around the world has played a significant part in these rising costs, Mr O’Shea also commented on how there’s also been a notable increase in the global demand for gas as nations move towards using greener alternatives – which in turn has pushed up demand even more and sent prices skyrocketing.

"As we move towards net zero, gas is a big transition fuel. So, as you turn off coal-fired power stations in other countries, there isn't an abundance of gas that you can just turn on quickly."

However, in addition to this, Mr O’Shea expressed doubts that the situation we’re currently in could’ve been avoided or even mitigated had the UK already had its own supplies of gas, or if we had boosted supplies from the North Sea.

"I'm not sure an increase in UK supply would have brought the price down from £3 a therm, as it was in December, from 50p as it was a year ago.

"We bring gas in from the United States, from Norway, from Europe, from Qatar, from other places. So we're not in a position to simply have the UK as an isolated energy market. We are part of a global market."

Three measures that could reduce costs

When asked about what can be done to help the situation, Mr O’Shea gave the BBC three approaches the government could take to make things easier on UK households:

• Instead of adding it to our bills, defer the cost incurred by surviving suppliers from taking on customers of the many companies that have gone bust.
• Take the 5% VAT off energy.
• Move levies charged to fund a green transition from bills to general taxation.

He also added that these steps “could be enacted very quickly” and they would “take care of half the price rise”, giving scope for the government to provide extra support to those that need it the most.

Other options the government may consider

The government has given signs it will make a decision on what support it may offer UK households before the new energy price cap is unveiled on February 7th. However, this new cap is expected to increase once again and it’s not currently an option for consumers to run an energy comparison and switch tariffs - as the best energy deal around right now is the existing energy price cap, even from the country’s best energy suppliers.

Some energy companies have called for extra financial support in the form of a fund or a loan that firms in the industry can use to bring down their costs when wholesale prices are high. These would then be repaid over a longer period through customer bills, meaning we wouldn’t face such drastic price rises in the short term. However, as yet, no scheme to facilitate this has been agreed or officially put forward.

As such – and in the face of what Mr O’Shea has forecasted for the next two years – many will be hoping some form of government support is offered. In the meantime, those concerned about their energy bills may wish to check their eligibility for current schemes like the Warm Home Discount, the Winter Fuel Payment and the Cold Weather Payment.  

The new level for the energy price cap will be announced on February 7th, and with only a few weeks to go until this date, a number of energy suppliers and energy experts have warned that we can expect to see it rise once again.

Ofgem's current cap - which was set in October 2021 - limits the maximum rate energy suppliers can charge consumers for their default tariffs to £1,277 a year, but because the cost of wholesale gas still continues to increase, it’s almost a certainty the new cap will follow suit.

How much will the price cap go up?

While it’s pretty much universally agreed the cap will go up, pinpointing exactly how much is virtually impossible at the moment and we can only guess based on existing data. This is according to Octopus Energy chief executive Greg Jackson who told the BBC’s Today Programme that we “really don’t know” precisely how high Ofgem will set the new cap.

These concerns have been echoed by others including OVO Energy boss Stephen Fitzpatrick, who in December predicted further price rises which will be "an enormous crisis for 2022" for households.

Similarly, last month Emma Pinchbeck, head of trade body Energy UK, told the BBC that energy prices were "at levels that, frankly, we have not seen before" and how it is "looking pretty serious for the spring" with energy bills possibly "going to go up 45-50%".

Greg Jackson also commented on how the UK needs to find more ways to deal with the existing energy debts stemming from the effects of the energy crisis so far. While at the same time give further protection to consumers and help prevent more suppliers from going bust.

"The reality is that in the energy sector, the UK buys most of its energy on a global market and we've had to pay about £20bn more than usual this year. So in one way or another, the UK's going to have to pay that money."

Government intervention could help the situation

One suggestion from Mr Jackson is to ‘subsidise the energy companies themselves by creating a fund which would allow them to draw on government cash when wholesale gas prices were very high, then pay it back when prices dipped again.’ This fund would then mean energy companies could spread their costs out over a longer period and ultimately not affect consumer bills as dramatically as they have so far.

However, Mr Jackson also recognised that such intervention would also come at a eventual cost to tax payers and that larger energy suppliers also need to offer more financial support.

He said: "We have to recognise as a result of the pandemic every sector is asking the Treasury for help and there is not an infinite supply of money there, it is not free.

"We can smooth the bill for the UK, that is something we as an industry can work on before we go looking for help from the public purse or elsewhere. The energy sector has always had large access to private finance, and there may well be ways to untap more finance to spread more costs over time."

Can anything be done to cut costs?

Talks between the UK’s energy suppliers and the Department for Business are ongoing and will hopefully find some kind of resolution, but the fundamental issue is that bills will almost certainly be going up for the nation’s households once again.

At the moment we also still aren’t advised to run an energy comparison and switch to a new tariff, as the current cap is the best energy deal on offer, even from the country’s best energy suppliers. So those looking to cut costs may wish to look to the following options:

• Applying for the Warm Home Discount scheme
• Checking your eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment
• Checking your eligibility for the Cold Weather Payment
• Switching your appliances off and not leaving them on standby mode
• Using our energy saving tips
• Being more efficient with your heating
• Speaking with your current supplier to arrange a new payment plan

Some vulnerable households can also get a share of the £500m Household Support Fund that is allocated to local councils to help with covering the costs of domestic bills.

The bosses of two energy suppliers have called for the government to scrap the green levies that are currently placed on energy bills.

At present, about 12% of an energy bill set at the level of the price cap goes towards funding green energy programmes, such as support for low-carbon electricity generation. However, with the cost of energy soaring rapidly due to rising wholesale prices, increased demand for energy in Asia and a summer with little wind, costs faced by customers and suppliers alike have skyrocketed.

As a result, the bosses of Ecotricity and Centrica have called on the government to remove green levies from energy bills. The founder of Ecotricity has described the levies as a ‘stealth tax’ that costs customers hundreds of pounds a year, while Centrica’s boss is urging the government to fund green programmes through general taxation instead.

Dale Vince, the chief executive of green energy firm Ecotricity, told the BBC’s Wake up to Money programme: “The government talk about high energy prices and bemoan them... but what they don't talk about is the fact they take £9bn a year from our energy bills in a combination of VAT and about five social and environmental policies.”

How will green levies affect future energy bills?

In April, the energy price cap is set to increase once again. Although it’s currently unclear how much it will increase by, some estimates suggest that it could rise by as much as 40%.

The boss of Ecotricity believes that prices could be forced higher because of the green levies applied to bills. Speaking on the subject, he said “that's about half of the rise that’s coming through the price cap. [The government] could take that away in a flash”.

Similarly, Centrica’s chief executive Chris O’Shea suggested that the government should fund programmes through general taxation instead. Mr O’Shea argued the move would reduce annual bills by £170 and spread the cost more fairly. He also called on the government to consider suspending VAT on energy bills to help struggling households.

Will the government step in?

The government is currently looking at ways that it can support struggling households with their energy bills. However, the removal of VAT or green levies does not appear likely. Instead, the government is allegedly looking at providing targeted financial support for fuel bills in the form of an expanded Warm Home Discount Scheme.

Speaking about this possibility, Small Business Minister Paul Scully told the BBC: “We'll always look at what we can do, especially for targeted approaches, to support the lowest-paid because there is a wider cost-of-living issue.”

If you’re interested in lowering your fuel bills, unfortunately now is not the right time to run an energy comparison. This is because the best energy deals from the country’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the price cap. However, there are several schemes in place that can help you, such as the Warm Home Discount Scheme and the £500m Household Support Fund. This sees local councils distribute grants to struggling households in England.

Customers who qualify for the Warm Home Discount Scheme are running out of time to save £140 on their energy bills this winter. This is because some of the UK’s biggest suppliers have already started to close applications.

So far, EDF Energy, Scottish Power and Utilita have all closed their schemes because they’re oversubscribed, according to research from Uswitch.

Previous research has also shown that a large number of people are unaware that the Warm Home Discount Scheme exists, and many people who are eligible do not apply. If you believe you may be eligible for the discount and your supplier is still accepting applications, then you need to act now to avoid missing out.

How do I find out whether I’m eligible?

Guidance about Warm Home Discount Scheme eligibility can be found on the government website. However, eligible people fall into two groups:

• The ‘core group’ – if you receive the ‘Guarantee Credit’ element of Pension Credit 
• The ‘broader group’ – if you’re on a low income and meet your energy supplier’s criteria for the scheme

If you’re in the core group, you’ll receive the discount automatically as long as your supplier is part of the scheme and your name (or your partner’s) was on your energy bill on 4 July 2021. The discount will be from the supplier you were with on that date, even if you’ve switched since then. If you’re in the core group, then you should have received a letter confirming your eligibility and whether you need to confirm any additional details.

You’ll qualify for the broader group if your supplier is involved in the scheme and your annual income is low. You can also qualify if you get certain ‘means-tested benefits’.

Which suppliers are still processing applications?

Although some of the UK’s best energy suppliers have already started to close applications for the Warm Home Discount Scheme, many others are still accepting applicants. Suppliers that are still accepting applicants include:

• Boost 
• British Gas (including British Gas Evolve and Scottish Gas)
• E.ON 
• Shell Energy (including Green Supplier Limited) 
• SSE (including SSE Atlantic, Scottish Hydro, Southern Electric or Swalec)

If your supplier has closed applications but you still need help with your energy bills, you may qualify for one of their grants. You should visit your supplier’s website to see whether any help or support is available. For example, although both EDF Energy and Scottish Power have both closed applications for the Warm Home Discount Scheme, both of these suppliers are continuing to offer grants to customers who are in debt.

Keeping bills low this winter

Successfully applying for the Warm Home Discount Scheme is just one way you can reduce your energy bills this winter. Sadly, the ongoing energy crisis shows no signs of slowing down, and experts predict that bills will only rise further in 2022.

Due to this, you cannot currently run an online energy comparison. This is because the best energy deals available from the UK’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the current price cap.

That said, to help keep your energy bills as low as possible this winter, we’ve previously outlined a number of energy saving tips you can follow. Plus, we have discussed the best way to use your household heating this winter.

The ongoing energy crisis has already seen record price rises and many UK suppliers have gone bust. Unfortunately though, new research suggests the situation is only going to get worse in 2022.

Since January 2021 the market price of gas has quadrupled, and it’s expected to carry on going up as we head further into winter and there’s more demand. As a result, energy sector experts believe this will be reflected in Ofgem’s next price cap, which the regulator will set in February and roll out in April.

Current estimates from the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change suggest that the cap for the average household could go from its current level of £1,277 a year, to as much as £1,800. What’s more, this would then mean energy bill increases of upwards of £900 for some UK homes when the new cap comes into force.  

The biggest rises will be for those on expiring fixed tariffs

These staggering forecasts from the Institute are based on the typical energy use of a household, but the organisation believes the biggest rises will be for those on expiring fixed-rate tariffs in larger, poorly insulated properties.

That said, even those who are currently being protected from the record high prices on the existing price cap’s standard variable tariff will also face sizeable price rises, with bills doubling for many households.

Tim Lord, a senior fellow at the Tony Blair Institute offered his thoughts on these estimates:

"For customers who are on standard tariffs - which change and are generally closely aligned to the price cap - they will see a rise of between £450 and £650, if you believe what most analysts think is going to happen.

"For people who are switching from what were cheap fixed-price deals, which expire and go onto the price cap, they might be seeing a rise of between £700 and £900."

Government intervention could help avoid these rises

In the report, Tim Lord also sent out a warning explaining how catastrophic this could be for millions in the UK and called on the government to step in and help reduce the potential severity of the increases:

"Unless the government can find a way of acting to address some of the impacts, in particular on people on the lowest incomes, I think it could cause genuine hardship. Already, people struggle to make ends meet, week to week and month to month."

Mr Lord went on to give three examples of government intervention which could help the situation:

• Cutting VAT – by temporarily removing this tax from our energy bills, this would save around £85 per household, at a rough cost of £2.4bn to the Treasury.
  
• Removing existing environmental and social costs – currently these are automatically added to our energy bills, removing them would save £175. Although it would affect a number of green initiatives.
  
• Stopping covering supplier bailouts – rather than adding supplier bailouts to the new cap, these costs could be covered over a longer timeframe, meaning a smaller impact on our bills.

What can be done now to help save money?

The government’s response to these estimates was to reassure the public that the price cap won’t change before April, meaning we won’t see any surprise increases to the cost of our energy over the next few months. In addition, the spokesperson highlighted a number of schemes that are currently available that bill payers may wish to investigate to help them save on their energy costs:

"Protecting households’ bills across the UK has always been our absolute priority, which is why we have ensured the Energy Price Cap will remain in place this winter despite the rise in global gas prices.

"While we recognise the cap may rise in April, we continue to support those most in need through our £500m Household Support Fund, on top of other schemes like the Warm Home Discount and Winter Fuel Payments."

At the moment such schemes are worth considering, especially as running an energy comparison and switching supplier to a cheaper deal isn’t an option. This is because not even the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers can beat the price cap.

The only other courses of action that consumers can take is to look to save on your energy costs by reducing your consumption. Whether it’s through top energy saving tips like these, being smarter with how you use your devices and appliances or only using your heating when you need it, you could cut your energy use and bills.

At the same time, if you’re already struggling with these costs, you should speak to your supplier to try and work out a new repayment plan if you can.

From January 2022, energy companies will face more robust financial checks. After a host of energy companies collapsed in 2021, the energy regulator Ofgem has announced that bosses of firms will now undergo more stringent vetting. On top of this, stress tests will be applied to firms in order to ensure inappropriate risks are not passed onto customers.

This year alone, more than 20 suppliers have collapsed following a spike in wholesale prices. Although the majority of these suppliers were only small, large suppliers like Bulb (who had 1.7 million customers) were also placed into special administration. Since the start of the pandemic, nearly four million households have seen their supplier fail.

As well as testing suppliers more stringently, Ofgem has also announced that it is beginning consultation on the way that the energy price cap will be calculated in the future. Although the price cap is designed to protect customers that haven’t switched, many of the suppliers that went bust this year highlighted the cap as a major reason for their downfall.

Speaking about the announcement, Ofgem chief executive Jonathan Brearley said “I am setting out clear action so that we have robust stress testing for suppliers so they can't pass inappropriate risk to consumers.

“Our priority has been, and will always be, to act in the best interests of energy consumers. The months ahead will be difficult for many, and we are working with the government and energy companies to mitigate the impact as much as we can, particularly for the most vulnerable households.”

From next year, if a financial stress test shows a weakness in a company, then an improvement plan will be drawn up by the regulator. On top of this, Ofgem is also consulting on whether to block firms from taking on new customers once they hit certain milestones - such as 50,000 and 200,000 accounts - until it is happy with their balance sheet strength.

How tariffs are offered could also change

In 2022, it appears inevitable that customers will be forced to pay more for their energy bills. However, the way that tariffs are offered in the longer-term may also be about to change.

Again, Ofgem is consulting on these measures, but one of the new options includes customers being tied in to a standard tariff for six months, like a fixed term mortgage. If a customer then leaves this tariff early, they will be charged an exit fee. The argument for this is that the supplier and their remaining customers will not be left to pick up the cost of another customer’s departure.

Other suggestions include forcing companies to offer the same price to existing customers as they do to new customers. A similar rule is being introduced for home and motor insurance in January.

On top of this, the price cap may also be reviewed every three months, rather than the current six. Alternatively, an interim price cap may be introduced if market conditions change dramatically.

Dealing with rising energy bills this winter

Sadly, this winter Brits will be forced to pay more for their energy than ever before. Unfortunately, you also currently cannot run an energy comparison and switch supplier. This is because the best energy deals available from Britain’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the price cap.

However, although almost a third of households are braced for a tight Christmas due to the rising cost of living, there are several simple steps you can take to reduce your bills. On top of this, you can also use your heating more efficiently and apply for help with your bills in order to keep costs as low as possible.

In a government press release it has been announced that further financial backing will be on offer for businesses developing technologies that drive ‘green innovation’.

This new funding follows a number of similar projects the government has announced in the last year. It will also be one of the biggest investments, with a share ‘over £116m’ available to companies, SMEs and entrepreneurs all over the country that are ‘developing new green technologies to reduce carbon emissions and utility bills and remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere’.

With this new pledge, the government also claims that the amount of funding now given out to smaller businesses and individuals working in these areas will have almost trebled. The government states that this is in ‘recognition of exceptionally high quality applications’ that have been seen from such schemes so far.

Businesses can bid for funding now

The money itself will be split, with certain amounts available for businesses that are developing specific green technologies.

For businesses developing new green technologies which will ‘capture carbon emissions and remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere’, there’s an allocated £64m, which they can bid for a share of right now. This falls under the government’s 'Direct Air Capture and Greenhouse Gas Removal' programme.

In addition, UK entrepreneurs that are specifically developing new ‘decarbonisation and energy saving technologies’, can now bid for a separate share of £30m. The government will also put more money into its ‘Energy Entrepreneurs Fund’ which will see over 50 SMEs that are working on new tech ‘across the areas of energy efficiency, power generation, heat generation and energy storage’ receiving grants.

A couple of examples of this include:

• Smart Ventilation - will receive £524,626 to develop ‘Think.Air’, a low energy, residential ventilation system, that will use AI to improve the performance and functionality of home heating control systems.
  
  
• Bramble Energy - will receive £994,050 to further develop their hydrogen fuel cell technology, to replace diesel engines in boats, potentially saving 50,000 tonnes of CO2 a year.

The benefits on offer from these projects

Speaking about the new funding, Energy and Climate Change Minister, Greg Hands, championed the potential benefits it could bring to UK households and businesses alike:

"This £116 million government investment will support businesses across the nation to turn their green ideas into reality, and to develop ground-breaking projects that save energy, slash utility bills and tackle pollution.

"British businesses and entrepreneurs are already leading the world with innovative solutions to tackling climate change. This is not only good for the planet, but will bring new jobs and investment across the UK."

With all the above, we will hopefully start to see this possibly cutting-edge technology in operation sooner rather than later. The prospect of reduced energy bills in particular will be especially welcome for UK homes and businesses, with the fact we’re seeing record high gas and electric prices during the current energy crisis. This is of course made worse by the fact that doing an energy comparison to switch suppliers isn’t an option right now – as even the best energy deals from the country’s best energy suppliers can’t beat Ofgem’s most recent price cap.

How to cut your energy bills right now

While we will have to wait to feel the impact of this ‘green innovation’ investment, if you are struggling with your energy bills, you can try the following now:

• Checking your eligibility for the Winter Fuel Payment
• Applying for the Warm Home Discount scheme
• Reducing your energy use with our top tips
• Only using your heating as and when you need it
• Avoiding leaving your appliances on standby
• Getting in touch with your supplier to arrange a new payment plan

For months now, experts have warned that the ongoing energy crisis is set to continue until well into 2022. However, we’ve now been given an idea of how much worse the issues we’re currently facing could become, with Martin Lewis warning that bills will likely go up by as much as 40% next year.

But, in spite of the fact that bills will likely rise substantially next time the energy price cap is reviewed, the current advice is that you should not run an energy price comparison in order to switch suppliers.

Why you shouldn’t switch

At the moment, switching supplier could actually make your energy bills more expensive, particularly because there’s little to no competition available now many suppliers have gone bust. Plus, the best energy deals available from the UK’s best energy suppliers are currently unable to beat the price cap.

This time last year, the cheapest fixed-term energy deal you could get was around £830. Today, this has risen to £1,730. This means that prices on comparison sites have more than doubled in the last 12 months.

As a result, although people who are on the price cap are usually encouraged to switch so they can save, the current advice is to simply do nothing when your fixed-term deal ends. This is because the current price cap (£1,277), is much cheaper than the cheapest fixed-term deal available.

Plus, because the price cap only moves every six months, you can rest assured that the cost of your energy will not increase until at least the end of April and will remain the cheapest meaningful tariff you can get until that time.

Why is energy costing so much more?

The reason your energy bills are likely to rise substantially next year is the fact that wholesale energy prices have skyrocketed over the last six months, with the price of wholesale gas now four times higher than usual. Back in March, the price of wholesale gas was around 50p per therm. However, its price has exploded since and it reached highs of around 290p per therm in November.

But, the current price cap is partially based on the wholesale prices experienced between the end of February and July 2021. When renewed, the new cap will have to factor in the much higher wholesale prices we’ve experienced since then. As a result, the cap will likely rise by around 40%. While Cornwall Insight believe it will rise to around £1,700 when renewed, National Energy Action believe it will be set at £1,830.

That said, because we’re only two thirds of the way through the period the new price cap will be based on, these educated guesses remain speculative. As a result, the advice remains to do nothing until a new price cap is announced. If wholesale prices come down before then, you may be able to switch and save, undercutting the price cap in the process.

Last week another of the UK’s energy suppliers went bust, with Zog Energy folding and bringing the total number of collapsed firms during the current energy crisis to 25.

Unfortunately, this crisis still shows no sign of letting up and it’s likely that more suppliers will follow suit over the winter months. However, according to a new report from wealth management group Investec, this could lead to an additional £120 a year being added to our energy bills, as households are made to subsidise the costs of the failed firms.

This would be on top of the increased energy bills we have already seen, following Ofgem’s latest price cap which saw average prices go from an average of £1,138 a year to £1,277. Plus, as it currently isn’t advised to run an energy comparison to switch – as not even the best energy deals from the UK’s best energy suppliers can better the price cap – this extra £120 could sadly push thousands into fuel poverty.

What would the £120 pay for?

Investec claims its estimates for the full cost of the crisis – which have provided the £120 figure – are only tentative, with the eventual total amount potentially being as high as £3.2bn.

The extra costs would be for managing the movement of affected customers onto new suppliers, the additional gas and electricity that's needed and also to clear any unpaid costs left on accounts with providers that have ceased trading. Investec also factored in all the customers who have already been moved from failed suppliers and the £1.7bn that the Treasury has put forward for Bulb’s special administration.

In the report, Investec stated: "The meltdown in the supply market is likely to see substantial additional costs land on every GB household, hardly welcome when fuel poverty is an issue, inflation is an issue, and commodity costs look set to push energy bills up."

In addition, an Investec Analyst, Martin Young, criticised the circumstances households are facing: "We asked Ofgem whether it is right that consumers ultimately bear this price and whether the system as structured created moral hazard."

This ‘could not come at a worse time’

With all this, the End Fuel Poverty Coalition has also voiced its concerns about the knock-on effects for UK homes.

They claim that with the recent price rises and Investec’s new estimated cost, it could mean an 18.6% overall increase in our energy bills. More worryingly though is that this could send ‘another 742,364 additional homes into fuel poverty’.

Simon Francis, the coordinator of the End Fuel Poverty Coalition, offered his comments, stressing the dire circumstances many may face and called for more to be done to help protect consumers:

"This additional financial bombshell could not come at a worse time for households across the country. Yet another drain on household finances caused by energy markets is unacceptable.

"The current system is broken and while long-term reforms are desperately needed, the government also needs to provide far more immediate support for people facing fuel poverty this winter."

Additional guidance for cutting energy bills

As mentioned above, switching to a better deal is currently not an option and unfortunately there isn’t a great deal we can do at the moment to resolve the crisis.

However, you may wish to explore the following options that can help ease the financial burdens and work to reduce your consumption and your energy bills:

• Applying for the Warm Home Discount scheme
• Seeing if you’re eligible for the Winter Fuel Payment
• Reducing your energy use with these tips
• Switching your appliances off and not leaving them on standby mode
• Using your heating only when you need it
• Contacting your supplier to see if you can arrange a new payment plan

You can also find more information about fuel poverty and how it affects people on the End Fuel Poverty Coalition’s website here.

A recent study has shown that homebuyers who purchase new-build homes could see their energy bills drop by as much as 60%.

Research from Warwick Estates has looked into the energy costs associated with running both new-build and existing homes on an annual basis and how the two compare.

Their research has shown that in England, energy bills for an existing property currently cost an estimated £797 per year. However, for a new-build property, annual energy bills cost just £390, a difference of £407 (51.1%).  

Where are the highest savings experienced?

When conducting their research, Warwick Estates also looked at the cost of heating a home on both a regional and a local level. In doing so, they found that new-build properties can save homebuyers the most on their energy bills in the North West, where the annual energy bill for a new-build home comes in at 52.4% less than an existing property.

They also discovered the places where the difference between heating an existing property and a new-build home is the largest. Surprisingly, both of the top two locations were in London: Harrow and Redbridge. In both boroughs, new-build homes are 60.1% cheaper to heat than existing properties.

The locations where homeowners experienced the highest savings were:

• Harrow (60.1%) 
• Redbridge (60.1%) 
• Malvern Hills (59.9%)
• West Devon (59%)
• Ryedale, North Yorkshire (58.9%) 
• Solihull, West Midlands (58.8%) 
• The Derbyshire Dales (58.3%) 
• The Forest of Dean (57.8%) 
• The Wirral (57.8%) 
• Gwynedd, Wales (57.5%)

Speaking about the results of the survey, Bethan Griffiths, chief operating officer of Warwick Estates, commented: “The energy efficiency difference between new-build homes and older, existing properties is stark. Improved insulation technologies, better windows, smart meters, and more, all contribute to a notable saving every year.

“Not only does this increased efficiency save the homeowner and occupier large sums of cash, but it also significantly reduces the home’s carbon footprint. So there is a far wider benefit than our bank accounts alone.”

Preparing for rising bills this winter

The increased energy efficiency of new-build homes is a major part of their appeal. However, if you live in an existing property, there are several steps you can take to make your home more energy efficient and take advantage of lower energy bills.

With the energy crisis set to continue throughout this winter, looking into ways that you can make your home more efficient is an important step in reducing your energy bills. This is particularly the case because you currently cannot run an online energy comparison and switch tariffs. This is because the best energy deals available from the UK’s best energy suppliers cannot beat the current price cap.

Thankfully, by taking simple steps like not leaving appliances on standby and upgrading to energy efficient appliances, you can keep your heating bills under control this winter without the need to move house.

Electricity is at the heart of so many gifts during the holiday season. So give the gift that will keep all those other gifts running. Give the ones you love EcoFlow portable power stations.

Designed to be sleek and stylish, EcoFlow’s portable power stations provide reliable backup power to all manner of electrical devices, from mobile phones to home appliances and other power-hungry equipment. 

If a storm knocks out the electricity, an EcoFlow portable power station will even keep the Christmas tree a-glowing!

Right now, many EcoFlow portable power stations are on sale especially for the holiday season. Here’s six powerful products that belong under the Christmas tree.

 EcoFlow RIVER mini gives you power at hand. Throw 210Wh of portable power in your backpack and be at ease knowing you’ve got power anywhere. The EcoFlow RIVER mini can be fully charged in 1.5 hours and with a 300W output (600W surge), it is ideal for 99% of consumer electronics. 

Just in time for the holidays, the RIVER mini’s MSRP of $349 has been reduced by $90 to $259. 

Buy it here. Or on Amazon.

Bring along the EcoFlow DELTA mini and keep your devices powered at all times. 

DELTA mini’s 882Wh capacity is perfect for power outages, outdoor adventures, and professional work. DELTA mini snags up to 300W from solar panels for a full recharge in three to six hours. It can also go from 0-100% in 96 minutes when charging from the wall.

Usually the DELTA mini has an MSRP of $999. However, to make gift-giving all that more affordable, the DELTA mini’s price has been cut by $100 to $899.

Buy it here. Or on Amazon.

Stay in charge of any situation with DELTA and keep your devices powered at all times. 

DELTA has a huge 1,260Wh capacity that’s perfect for power outages, outdoor adventures, and professional work. Power up to 13 devices simultaneously and recharge from 0% to 100% in 1.6 hours, which is 10 times the speed of most portable power stations in the market.

A  $300 discount brings the DELTA’s MSRP of $1399 down to just $1099 in time for holiday gift-giving.

Buy it here. Or on Amazon.

A single EcoFlow DELTA Max unit packs a 2kWh capacity that is expandable up to 6kWh with DELTA Max Smart Extra Batteries. 

This means when a blackout hits, you can continue to power your important home devices such as your fridge and lights for hours on end. 

With EcoFlow’s X-Boost technology, DELTA Max can power heavy-duty devices up to 3400W. Plus, DELTA Max charges up safely and rapidly from 0-80% in just 65 minutes

To mark the holiday season, the $2,099 (MSRP) DELTA Max has been reduced in price by $200 to $1,899.

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The EcoFlow 110W Solar Panel has a high conversion efficiency of 21-22%. Combine two 110W Solar Panels with an EcoFlow DELTA Portable Power station to enjoy improved solar charging in cold and cloudy environments - fully recharged in seven to 14 hours! 

Gift-givers take note: Right now this ‘DELTA’ bundle has been cut by $698 from an MSRP of $2,197 down to $1,499.

Buy it here. Or on Amazon.

 The EcoFlow DELTA Max (1600) is a scaled version of the EcoFlow DELTA Max. With a huge capacity of 1612Wh, the EcoFlow DELTA Max (1600) can power 15 devices at once with a 2000W output. With the X-Boost mode on, it can power some 2800W appliances. Pair the EcoFlow DELTA Max (1600) with four 110W Solar Panels, and it can be fully charged by solar in 4.5 to 9 hours.

The bundle also comes with impressive savings: The DELTA Max Bundle’s MSRP of $3399 has been dropped by $1100 to $2299.

Buy it here. Or on Amazon.

About EcoFlow: https://ecoflow.com/

The government has announced it is to invest £20 million each year in tidal stream electricity. The pledge forms part of its renewable energy auction scheme and is also included in the fourth round of the Contracts for Different (CfD) scheme – the government’s main mechanism for supporting low-carbon electricity generation.

 The government believes this move will kickstart a ‘brand new chapter for the tidal industry’, leading to new jobs, a ‘diverse’ and plentiful supply of ‘homegrown’ renewable energy, and in the long run cheaper, more affordable energy for consumers.

Several projects are currently in development for this in North-West Scotland, North Wales and the Southern coast of England. It’s also believed the clean and green marine technologies behind these could be instrumental in the UK reaching its net zero decarbonisation targets.

A ‘major step forward’ for the UK tidal energy

The additional £20m will take the total funding for the CfD scheme to around £285m a year. Thanks to our knowledge and understanding of the tides around our shores, the government claims the amount of energy we harness from tidal will be both easy to predict and useful for managing the nation’s energy supply and demand more effectively.

A number of energy experts and government officials have praised this latest initiative and championed how it could reduce our need for fossil fuels and potentially help us avoid the issues like those we’re currently facing in the continuing energy crisis.

Business and Energy Secretary, Kwasi Kwarteng, commented:

"As an island nation we are perfectly placed to capitalise on clean marine energy, building on our booming offshore wind sector which is now a British industrial success story.

"We hope to see marine energy follow in the successful footprints of other renewable technologies, where we’ve seen costs fall dramatically in recent years thanks to UK government support.

"The investment today provides a major push for tidal power to become a key part of the next generation of renewable electricity projects needed to strengthen energy security as we work to reduce our dependency on volatile fossil fuels."

CEO of RenewableUK, Dan McGrail offered his thoughts on the use of tidal, claiming:

"This is a major step forward for the UK’s world-leading tidal energy industry, allowing us to ramp up the roll-out of our cutting-edge marine technologies and increase the pace of innovation in the sector to become more cost competitive.

"Ring-fenced funding for tidal stream doesn’t just unlock private investment and secure green jobs today - it also puts us in pole position to capitalise on exports to the global market in due course. That’s why we’ve been calling for this dedicated pot of funding for tidal power.

"We need a range of renewable technologies to get us to net zero as fast as possible. As an island nation with superb tidal energy resources to harness, it’s clear that tidal stream should have a key role to play in our shift to clean energy."

The potential benefits for consumers

While we continue to see rising bills, more suppliers going bust and the colder winter weather arriving for much of the country, developments like these do help paint a more positive future picture with our energy. 

What’s more, if the government’s continued investment in what it calls ‘homegrown’ renewable energy production – be it wind, hydrogen power, solar or tidal – goes as planned, one day we may be able to completely shift away from fossil fuels, with surplus energy left over to manage changes in demand.

Theoretically, this would mean an end to volatility in the energy markets, lower wholesale costs and subsequently cheaper energy bills for consumers. This will be particularly welcome news for UK households who currently aren’t being advised to use energy comparison sites to switch suppliers in search of a cheaper tariff. This being due to the fact that not even the best energy deals from the country’s best energy suppliers can better the current energy price cap.

If you are looking to try and reduce your energy bills before winter truly sets in, we have previously detailed a number of top tips you might wish to use. You can also try applying for the Warm Home Discount scheme, or the winter fuel payment or speaking to your supplier about a new payment plan.

On Monday 22 November, Bulb Energy announced that it was entering administration. At the time of the announcement, it was the UK’s seventh-largest energy supplier, with 1.7 million customers and 1,000 members of staff.

Due to its size, Bulb will be placed into special administration. This is the first time an energy supplier has ever entered the special administration process, which was only designed to be used if Ofgem was unable to find another company to take over an energy firm’s customers.

The regulator said it was planning to apply to a court to appoint an administrator who will run the company. The ‘special’ part of the special administration process means that the new administrator must consider the interests of customers as well as the interests of creditors. If required, the administrator can also request funding from the government through grants and loans.

Will I still be supplied energy?

Yes. Customers do not need to worry about their gas or electricity supply being cut off. According to Ofgem, the special administration process means that “Bulb will continue to operate as normal.”

The energy regulator also added that “customers will see no disruption to their supply and their account and tariff will continue as normal. Bulb staff will still be available to answer calls and queries.”

Bulb added that energy supplies are “secure and all credit balances are protected”.

What do I need to do?

Nothing. Bulb is still your energy supplier, it’s simply under new management. As a result, you should continue to pay your direct debit and any bills as normal.

When energy companies enter administration, their customers are usually moved to another provider. However, Bulb is the first energy company to enter special administration. This means that even though the firm has collapsed, the brand lives on (for now).

Due to this, Bulb will continue to supply your home’s energy and customer services staff will continue to operate as normal.

Should I try to switch?

No. Bulb’s rates were already at the energy price cap, so you will continue to pay the same rate while the company is in special administration. Plus, your credit with the company remains protected. This means that if Bulb owes you money now, it will continue to owe you money in the future.

On top of this, we currently advise against running an online energy comparison anyway. At present, even the best energy deals available are not meaningfully cheaper than the energy price cap and some tariffs from the country’s best energy suppliers actually cost about 30% more than the price cap.

What will happen to Bulb in the future?

The administrators running Bulb will be looking to either rescue or sell Bulb and its assets in order to ensure that at least some of the money it owes is recovered (it’s currently thought that Bulb’s debts are around £600 million). However, even if this happens, your situation will not change. This is because you’ll still be covered by the price cap and your credit will remain protected.

If you’re moved to a different provider or another company purchases Bulb, you’ll be informed by Ofgem, who will tell you what the next steps involve.

The UK's leading green energy supplier, Bulb, is on the cusp of collapse in the face of rocketing wholesale prices, and the firm is now going into special administration in order to ensure that supplies to customers are maintained as its fate is decided.

The ongoing energy crisis has seen numerous small or second-tier energy suppliers go bust over the past few months, and Bulb, which has been a poster child for green energy providers since its launch, may well be the latest casualty, despite currently providing energy to 1.5 million customers across the UK.

In a blog post on the Bulb website, the company said "the rising energy crisis in the UK and around the world has concerned investors who can’t go ahead while wholesale prices are so high and the price cap – designed to protect customers – currently means suppliers provide energy at a significant loss".

What is 'special administration'?

Gov.uk states that "A special administration regime is a modified insolvency regime that provides an administrator with special objectives, such as the continuity of critical services, that take priority over the objectives in a normal administration."

The legislation for this process was introduced in 2013, in response to the 2008 financial crisis and the prospect of 'too big to fail' institutions getting into financial difficulties. 

In this case, it ensures that Bulb will continue to be able to provide crucial services – like heating people's homes – in the immediate future, so they won't have to  switch to a different provider right away.

However, it's unclear how long Bulb can hold out. It's possible that additional investment or a bailout package could be arranged, but given the fate of other suppliers this year – both Utility Point and People's Energy ceased trading in the same week in September – the outlook isn't rosy.

Some Bulb customers are already mourning the likely demise of their energy provider, with one writing on Twitter: "Sad to hear this, excellent company to deal with. Best wishes to all staff."

What should Bulb customers do?

For now, nothing. Special administration means the lights won't suddenly turn off – and the company's sizeable customer base will, in the case of closure, likely be handed out to another, larger supplier that's able and willing to meet demand.

As reported by Sky News, other suppliers have expressed interest in purchasing Bulb, so we could see it absorbed by a competitor such as Octopus Energy without too much disruption to customers.

What's most alarming is that around 20 energy suppliers have closed in the UK over the past year already – including PfP Energy, MoneyPlus Energy, and Hub Energy – and Bulb is the biggest yet.

The knock-on effect of so many closures, especially among more mid-sized suppliers, will likely only increase the dominance of the 'Big Six': British Gas, EDF Energy, E.ON UK, Npower, Scottish Power, and SSE.

There are still options, but fewer than ever – and it's especially sad to lose another renewable energy supplier as the UK sees a surge in reliance on gas and coal. Things looks set to change, with incoming investment in offshore wind recently announced by the UK Government, but in the meantime customers will have to live with some uncertainty, even if it means moving to a new energy supplier now and then.

• Over 65% of UK households have now signed up to green energy suppliers