Many of us have already seen our energy bills rise and next month we will see them rise again when the price cap will increase from April 1.
According to Ofgem, approximately 22 million customers will be affected with those on default tariffs paying by direct debit set to see an increase of £693 from £1,277 to £1,971 per year whilst prepayment customers will see an increase of £708 from £1,309 to £2,017.
The increase is said to be driven by a "record rise in global gas prices over the last 6 months, with wholesale prices quadrupling in the last year" according to the Government office.
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As a result of the increase, many people are looking to save as much money as they can before a further increase in October of this year - just six months after April's jump.
During his Spring Statement this week, Chancellor Rishi Sunak said there could be more help on the way to pay for rising fuel bills - however as people wait to hear about additional funding, there are a number of things you can do to cut your energy bill.
When every penny counts, there is one simple way to shave a little off your electricity use - making sure you turn appliances off rather than leave them on standby. Before they went bust last year, energy company Utilita put together a guide to how much each appliance will use when it is on standby.
Archie Lasseter, sustainability lead at Utilita, told The Sun : "Standby mode is a real energy drainer – some items use the same amount of energy as when they’re switched on. In each home, leaving just one TV on standby can waste up to £16 of electricity a year."
While £16 a year may not seem much - turning a TV off would therefore save you £1 month on your electricity bill - more if you have additional TVs and when the bills go up next month.
A games console such as an XBox or Playstation will also use around 10 watts in standby - or £16.24 a year each when not in use and a laptop will add £4.87 a year to your bill if you leave it sitting untouched but plugged in.
For those with a smart device such as a Google Home or Alexa, they are said to use just as much power when in standby costing you £3.45 each year whilst a phone charger left plugged in will add 32p to your bills annually.
If you're working from home, as many of us are, having a printer sitting in your office that's unused could add £6.50 a year to your bill.
And for parents, a plug-in baby monitor will cost you £4.87 a year when not being used.
So overall, if you have a couple of smart speakers, a laptop, a games console, more than one TV and a few other devices then you could be spending £60 a year - or £5 a month - just to leave them not-quite switched off.
According to British Gas, up to 23% of British homes' energy use could power vampire appliances - that's £293 of the average energy bill capped at £1,277 a year.
Remember however this is for each device - if you have multiple laptops, speakers and phone chargers plugged in, it will double and triple your bill - potentially more if you have more devices.
Energy expert Rob Bohm says these devices add up to billions of pounds in wasted power every year.
Bohm said: "They're electrical appliances, chargers and lights all over your home, devices that suck power from the mains — constantly — even when you think they're switched off."
Top five vampire appliances - and how much they cost you
- Music system on standby - £73 a year
- Sky box on standby - £73 a year
- Laptop charger not in use - £60 a year
- TV on standby- £10 a year
- Printer on standby - £10 a year
