I cut my energy bills by £130 by using common household items – it’s so easy and cheap and I really feel the difference | The Sun

WITH weather warnings in place as snow and ice hit parts of the UK, you may be tempted to crank up your heating.

But one savvy dad has found a way to make rooms warmer without having to spend more money.

Craig Bunting lives in a two-bed rental property in Staffordshire with his wife and children.

He is the co-founder of coffee brand, BEAR (bemorebear.co/), which has stores across the Midlands and online. Prior to that, Craig spent many years working as a wall and floor tiler.

The 38-year-old shared his nifty hacks with The Sun. 

“My dad worked as a tradesman before he retired, and one tip he passed on to me was putting silver foil behind radiators,” he said.

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“The idea is to reduce heat loss by reflecting as much back into the room as possible.”

This means you won’t be wasting energy, and needlessly adding money to your bill.

While you can find specifically-designed radiator foil, ordinary kitchen foil will do the job. You can pick up a 10-metre roll for less than £2 at your local supermarket, and may well already have one sitting in a drawer at home. 

Simply stick sellotape on the corner of the foil, and slot it behind your radiator.

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“This is a super-cheap trick,” said Craig. “It means we feel a real difference when the heating is on. It also means we can turn our thermostat down a little.”

The Energy Saving Trust recommends setting it to the “lowest comfortable temperature.” For most people, this is between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius.

Reducing the temperature your thermostat is set to by just one degree could save as much as £100 a year, according to experts. 

“This is a really simple way to tackle rising energy costs, and requires very little effort,” said Craig. “Another cheap hack involved us wrapping up an old blanket to make a draught excluder for the back door which helps to keep the chill out.”

Draught excluders can save you around £30 a year, the Energy Saving Trust has previously said.

Average household energy bills rose to £2,500 in October after the energy price guarantee kicked in. 

Costs are now set to rise again from April, up to £3,000. 

Craig is on a mission to keep bills down. He has come up with a host of ways to keep warm for less.

“The combination of silver foil and a blanket means potential annual savings of around £130,” he said. “But there are lots of other steps we take, and these are all things that anyone can do. For example, we set our room thermostat on a timer so that the heating comes on and switches off automatically. This removes the risk of us forgetting to switch it off.”

If Craig works from home, he shuts the doors and only has the radiator switched on in the room in which he’s working.

“That way, I’m not heating the whole house unnecessarily,” said Craig. “Equally, I spend a lot of time working from our coffee shops which are warm and cosy. This means I don’t get tempted to put the heating on at home.”

In addition, Craig has turned down the flow setting on his home’s boiler. 

“This is a simple tip I picked up from YouTube,” he said.

According to Uswitch, reducing the flow rate on a combination boiler can quickly knock money off heating bills. These types of boiler work best when the water going to radiators is heated at 60 degrees Celsius or below. However, most boilers are set to a much higher flow rate, costing households even more.

When it comes to showering, Craig has another simple hack to save cash.

“We’ve got these little egg timers we were given as a gift, and we use these to challenge ourselves to shower in less than five minutes,” said the money-saving whizz. “I have to admit though, that I’m worse than the kids on this. But I’m trying to get better at it.”

According to home management platform, Livlet, a household of four taking daily showers can save just over £200 a year by reducing the length of their shower from eight minutes to six minutes.

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The family has also changed their bulbs to LED ones. According to SaveMoneyCutCarbon, for each traditional lightbulb you swap for an LED alternative you will be using 90 per cent less energy.

“Making small lifestyle changes can make a real difference, and means we have more money to spend on the family,” added Craig. “At the same time, as we open and fit out new coffee stores all the time, we’re always trying to incorporate energy-saving measures in our shops, too.”

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected]

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