From using bubble wrap on your windows to timing your showers, there's no shortage of well-meaning advice online to help families cope with rising energy bills in the cost of living crisis.
But one energy saving hack that has been responsible for at least one housefire has been debunked by experts as being useless as well as dangerous - and more expensive than using your central heating in the first place.
Social media can be a great place to pick up money-saving tips but this particular TikTok 'hack' involves users placing three or four candles inside an upturned terracotta plant pot to generate heat and avoid switching your central heating on. Posters on TikTok claim the hack will heat a room and replace other heating methods, however heating expert Ben Clarke, from Trade Radiators poured cold water on the idea, saying not only did it not have the power to heat a room, but it was also incredibly dangerous.
Read more: Energy saving tips that will save you money - and others which are a waste of time
Heating costs have been hot news for the past year, with videos under the general term 'heating hacks' generating more than nine million views on TikTok. One video promoting the candle and plant pot hack has 1.89 million views alone.
"Completely turning off your heating and using a terracotta pot and candles to heat your home isn’t going to save you any money," said Mr Clarke. "These candles alone are £3.49 each in Aldi, with candles of the same size in other stores being considerably more expensive. If you need at least three of these to fit under a large pot, you’re already spending at least £10.47 on candles alone. Buying the pot could probably add another £2 to your total, therefore you’re spending £12 to £13 on making this. For how much heat the contraption exudes, you might be looking at putting at least one of these in every room. If you have a living room, kitchen and bedroom that needs heating, you’re spending £39."
"To very roughly work out the price of running your boiler, you can do the following: (kWh of the boiler) x (price of 1kWh gas) / 100
"If you have a 24kWh boiler, and your gas is costing maximum 10.3p kWh, it would mean: 24kWh x 10.3 / 100 = £2.472 an hour to run your boiler. However, this is likely to be more expensive than it would really cost. This is because your boiler turns off when your home reaches the desired temperature, meaning that the first few hours will be the most expensive. Most homes have their boiler on for around two hours to reach the desired temperature of 18 degrees, therefore following this equation would mean that it costs £4.94 to heat your home for a day. This is well under the price of just two of the candles.”
And fire fighters have also issued a warning when a flat caught fire when the owner tried the heating hack, causing around 50 people having to be evacuated from their homes in Derby. It later emerged the fire had been caused by a makeshift heater made using terracotta pots and tealights.
The fire service has issued a warning to the public pay no heed to dangerous social media hacks. A spokesman said: "Although these hacks may look like a good way to save money on heating bills, they are very dangerous and we would urge people not to follow the videos posted online. Luckily, in this instance, the occupiers witnessed the failure of the homemade device and evacuated the flat safely before calling 999 - but it could have been very different, and I would therefore like to remind everyone of the dangers that DIY heaters pose. Candles and tea lights increase the risk of fire in your home and should not be used for anything other than their intended purpose.
"They should be put in heat-resistant holders that hold the candle or tea light firmly and placed on a flat, stable and heat-resistant surface. On this occasion, the heat released from the base of the tea lights was enough to weaken the terracotta plates they were placed on, causing the homemade device to collapse and the melted wax to ignite. Using tea lights like this could also cause serious burn injuries, not only from the heated terracotta pots but from the naked flames produced. Hacks like this claim to save you money but instead you risk your life."
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