What is the UK Energy Price Cap?

The energy price cap is a limit set by Ofgem (the energy regulator) on the maximum amount energy suppliers can charge per unit of gas and electricity. It also caps daily standing charges (the fixed amount you pay to have access to energy). It is NOT a cap on your total bill—what you pay depends on how much energy you use.

Why Does the UK Energy Price Cap Exist?

It was introduced to stop energy companies from overcharging customers on default (standard variable) tariffs. Instead of letting prices skyrocket unchecked, Ofgem reviews the cap every three months to reflect market conditions.

Why Is the UK Energy Price Cap Confusing?

A common misconception is that the price cap limits your total bill. In reality, it only sets maximum rates for unit prices (per kWh) and standing charges. The “total bill” figures you often see in headlines assume a typical household’s usage, but your actual bill depends entirely on how much energy you consume.

Ofgem often makes annoucements like this, which are entirely unhelpful to 99.9% of people:

From today, 1 October 2024, the energy price cap for a typical household that uses gas and electricity and pays by Direct Debit will go up from £1,568 to £1,717 per year. This is an increase of around 10% which adds around £12 a month to an average bill.

Who is this “typical household”? And how much energy do they consume? What type of house do they live in? And how is it heated and powered and insulated? Without knowing any of this it is impossible to tell how the yearly payment figures relate to our own situations.

Building on Ofgems unhelpful annoucements the media often picks up these figures and presents them as if they apply to everyone, which leads to even more confusion. But the truth is your bill will always be based on your own energy usage, not a fixed total.

UK Energy Price Cap Rates

The UK energy price cap changes based on wholesale energy costs and should really have been communicated using pence per kilowatt hour figures from the outset, as in the table below, which shows how the rate have changed over time:

The rates represent the maximum you can be charged, so your bill depends on your actual energy consumption, but your supplier cannot charge more than the capped rates.

How to Save Money on Your Electricity Bill

Now that we know how the price cap works, how can households actually cut costs?

1. Consider Fixed Energy Deals – Are They Worth It?

• Fixed tariffs lock in a unit price for a set period, shielding you from price hikes.
• They can be cheaper than the price cap, but only if wholesale prices are stable or falling.
• Right now, many fixed deals are hovering around the cap level, so always compare before committing.
• Check what you could save via Switchcraft, one of the simplest comparison tools.

2. Is Octopus Agile a Smart Choice?

• Octopus Agile is a dynamic tariff where electricity prices change hourly based on wholesale costs.
• If you can shift your energy use to off-peak times (e.g., charging an EV or running appliances at night), it can save you a lot of money.
• However, if prices spike and you use energy during periods of high demand, your bill could rise, so it’s best for people who can be flexible with their energy use.
• Read more about how smart tarrifs can save you money and explore Octopus Agile.

3. Simple Ways to Cut Energy Costs

We’ve published our Top 10 energy saving tips, which provide full details of ways to cut costs, but some key steps to take include:

• Improving home efficiency: Smart thermostats, LED bulbs, and proper insulation can make a big difference.
• Using appliances wisely: Wash clothes at lower temperatures, avoid standby mode, and air-dry instead of using a tumble dryer.
• Monitoring your usage: A smart meter helps track what you’re spending in real time.

Bottom Line

The energy price cap offers some protection, but it won’t always mean the cheapest bills. If you’re looking to save, compare fixed deals, consider smart tariffs like Octopus Agile, and be mindful of your energy use. Small changes can lead to big savings!

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What is a Smart Meter and how do they work?

A smart meter is a new power meter that measures and records the amount of electricity, and gas if you use gas, that is used in a home and sends the data back to the energy provider in real-time. This information is used by the energy provider to bill their customers accurately. The meters provide both the customer and the energy provider with detailed information about their energy use, helping you to become more energy efficient.

Smart meters are installed by the energy provider and the installation typically takes around two hours. They come with a digital display that shows you how much energy you’re using in real-time and at different times of day, so you can adjust your energy usage accordingly.

Smart meters also allow for the remote monitoring of energy use. This means that the energy provider can monitor your energy use remotely, without having to send a meter reader to your home. This helps to reduce costs and improve customer service.

Benefits of a Smart Meter

Smart meters have a range of benefits for both energy providers and consumers. For energy providers, they allow for more accurate billing, as well as improved customer service. They also allow for remote monitoring of energy use, which can help to reduce costs.

For consumers, they allow for greater insight into their energy use via an in home display, so they can make more informed decisions about how to save energy. In home displays provide detailed information about how much energy is being used during different times of day, so you can adjust your energy usage accordingly. Plus, they allow for more accurate billing, as the energy provider can read your meter remotely, without having to send a meter reader to your home.

UK Smart Meter Rollout Target

The UK government set a target to install 53 million smart meters in homes across the country by the end of 2020.

The national roll-out began in 2016, and was meant to finish in 2020. However, installations were paused at the start of the coronavirus pandemic and suppliers have been given additional time. They now have until the end of 2025 to install them in all remaining homes and businesses with annual installation targets.

The two different models of smart meters: SMETS 1 vs SMETS 2

There are two different models of smart meters: SMETS 1 and SMETS 2.

SMETS 1 meters are the earlier model and are being phased out by energy providers. They are not compatible with all energy providers, so can’t be used if you switch energy providers.

SMETS 2 meters are the latest model of smart meter and are compatible with all energy providers, so can be used if you switch energy providers.

Until 2019, the majority of the meters installed were first-generation SMETS1 meters. These had a series of technical problems – not least of which was that they lost their smart capabilities if you switched energy provider!

Energy companies were encouraged to stop installing these by March 2019 and install second-generation smart meters (SMETS2) instead. So far, more than 11 million second-generation meters have been fitted. 

Are Smart Meters Still Free in the UK?

Yes, smart meters are still free in the UK. The UK government has set up a scheme to help people get smart meters installed for free. This scheme applies to all households in the UK, regardless of whether they are on a prepayment meter, have dual fuel tariffs or are on an Economy 7 tariff. Smart Energy GB run the consumer engagement campaign for the smart meter rollout in the UK and their website answers a lot of FAQs about smart meters.

Am I eligible for a smart meter?

Most homes and businesses are eligible for a free smart meter, but the various energy companies are rolling them out in different regions at different times. Check this website to see if and when you can get one for your home or business.

How do I get a smart meter?

If you’re eligible for a smart meter, you’ll need to contact your energy supplier to arrange for one to be installed. They’ll be able to tell you what type of meter you’re eligible for and arrange for an engineer to come and install it. Check this website to determine availability in your area.

Do Smart Meters use a lot of electricity?

No, smart meters use very little electricity. The amount of electricity they use is comparable to that of a digital watch. So, if you’re worried about your energy bills increasing as a result of having a smart meter installed, there’s no need to worry.

What’s the difference between a Smart Meter and an In Home Display (IHD)?

A smart meter is the device which records the amount of energy consumed in the home and sends data to ‘the cloud’ and your energy provider. An in home display is the remote monitor which displays the data on a small screen so you can see how much energy you are consuming. Smart meters come with a free in home display when they are installed but if you need a new one you can get a smart meter in home display replacement. You can also connect a number of different apps to your smart meter so that you can monitor and analyse your consumption remotely on your phone or tablet.

What are the downsides of a Smart Meter?

The main downside of smart meters have been removed by the new SMETS2 versions, which are compatible with all energy providers. So, if you switch energy providers they will still work. Other concerns involve evidence that smart meters can be hacked, but there is very little evidence that proves this is possible with the newer SMETS2 smart meters.

Conclusion

Smart meters are a great way to gain insight into your energy use, as well as helping to reduce your energy bills. They’re free in the UK and use very little electricity.

If you’re looking to gain more insight into your energy use and save money on your energy bills and thinking of buying a home energy monitor, a smart meter could be a good, free alternative. Or you could consider getting a smart plug with energy monitoring, which will allow you to compare the energy consumption of different devices in your home.

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What is a home energy monitor?

A home energy monitor is a device that helps track electricity usage in the home. They can monitor the amount of electricity used by each appliance and the overall energy consumption in the house. Some monitors can even be connected to the internet allowing you to monitor electricity usage remotely.

The main purpose of a home energy monitor is to help homeowners save money, and cut carbon, by informing you about your energy usage. Home energy monitors can be used to identify appliances that are using too much electricity and to set limits on how much electricity can be used at certain times of day.

Benefits of a home energy monitor

There are a number of benefits to installing a home energy monitor, from saving money on your electricity bills to reducing your environmental impact. By tracking your energy usage you can identify areas where energy can be saved and reduce your energy consumption.

In addition to saving money on electricity bills, a home energy monitor can also help reduce a household’s environmental impact. By monitoring electricity usage and adjusting it accordingly, homeowners can reduce their carbon footprint and help protect the environment.

Home energy monitors can also help homeowners identify potential problems with their appliances or wiring. If an appliance is using more electricity than it should, some monitors can alert the homeowner so they can take action to fix the problem.

Saving electricity

Home energy monitors wont reduce your electricity bills on their own. But by tracking electricity usage, often down to the level of each individual appliance, homeowners can identify areas where energy can be saved and adjust their usage.

Homeowners can also take advantage of cost saving programs offered by their utility companies. Many energy companies offer time-of-use rates, which charge different amounts for electricity depending on the time of day. By monitoring their electricity usage with a home energy monitor, homeowners can take advantage of these lower rates and save money. See our post on smart electricity tariffs for more details.

Home energy monitors vs Smart meters

Many people are confused about the difference between home energy monitors and smart meters. A home energy monitor is a device that measures electricity usage in the home, while a smart meter is a device installed by your energy supplier that measures electricity and gas usage in the home and sends the data to the energy supplier to help them provide accurate bills. Smart meters also come with In Home Displays – see our post, smart meters explained.

Home energy monitors are typically installed by the homeowner and can measure overall electricity usage or the usage of specific appliances. Smart meters, on the other hand, are installed by your energy supplier and measure overall electricity usage in the home.

Either type of device can help you reduce energy usage by becoming more aware of your energy consumption. The main difference between home energy monitors and smart meters is that home energy monitors enable you to track electricity usage, while smart meters enable your energy supplier to track your energy usage too. If you have a smart meter but don’t have an In Home Display you can order a smart meter In Home Display replacement.

How to choose a the right device

When it comes to choosing the best home energy monitor, there are a few factors to consider.

First off – do you need one!? If you have smart meter a basic energy monitor will not give you much more information – and if you don’t have a smart meter you may want to consider getting one instead of an energy monitor since smart meters are free in the UK and provide very similar data. See the first of our top 10 energy saving tips for how to get a free smart meter and In Home Display.

Secondly, consider what you want to monitor and the the type of data the monitor provides. Some monitors provide detailed data about electricity usage for each electrical circuit in your house and can also monitor solar energy production, while others provide more basic information. If you’re only interested in a few devices and would also like to benefit from remote switching (turning appliances on and off via your phone) you may want to consider a smart plug with energy monitoring instead – which you could also use for monitoring multiple devices by plugging in a power bar with multiple sockets.

Finally, look out for recurring fees. Most energy monitors are sold for a one-off fee but others which provide more detailed data stored in the cloud can have a subscription fee.

Best home energy monitors

Our recommended energy monitors include:

Best plug in energy monitors for a single device:

• Mecheer Electricity Usage Monitor – £12 – Buy now on Amazon
• MFLABEL Power Meter Plug Energy Monitor – £12 – Buy now on Amazon

Best smart plugs with energy monitoring:

• Meross Matter Smart Plug Mini with Energy Monitoring. Works with Apple HomeKit, Alexa, Google Home, SmartThings, WiFi Plug with Voice Remote Control – £16 – Buy now on Amazon
• Eve Energy UK Smart Plug & Power Meter. Works with Apple HomeKit, Bluetooth & Thread – £40 – Buy now on Amazon
  

Best full home energy monitor:

• Aeotec Home Energy Meter – £110 – Buy now on Amazon
• Voltaware Smart Home Energy Monitor, AI-Powered Appliance Recognition, Real-Time Insights, Easy 5-Minute Installation, Compatible with All Standard UK Homes – £149 – Buy now on Amazon

Best energy monitors with solar / net metering:

• Emporia Smart Home Energy Monitor – £199 – Buy now on Amazon

See our detailed review of the Emporia Smart Home Energy Monitor.

Installation

Installing a home energy monitor is a relatively simple process. Most monitors are plug-and-play devices that don’t require any wiring. All you normally need to do is to install a clamp meter around the cable which runs into your fuse board or electricity meter, which feeds usage data to the energy monitor.

Tips for using a home energy monitor

Once a home energy monitor is installed, there are a few tips homeowners can follow to get the most out of the device.

First, check the data regularly. By monitoring your power usage regularly, you will identify appliances and times of day when you are using the most energy and where energy can be saved by adjusting your usage accordingly.

Find out how your energy company bills you at different times of day and try to avoid energy usage during peak hours. Many energy companies charge higher rates for electricity used during peak hours, so it’s important to monitor usage during these times and adjust accordingly.

Smart energy monitors in the UK

Home energy monitors are a great way to save money on electricity bills and reduce your environmental impact. By monitoring your electricity usage and adjusting it accordingly, you can save money on your electricity bills and help protect the environment. Once you’ve chosen a home energy monitor, make sure to follow the tips for using it to get the most out of the device.

Read more about how the best smart plugs can help you monitor and reduce your energy consumption and our review of the best smart radiator valves.

The post Home Energy Monitors: A Guide to Saving Money and Energy appeared first on Smart Home Energy.

Smart Energy GB run the consumer engagement campaign for the smart meter rollout in the UK. It is a not-for-profit business, which was founded in 2013 and is funded by the energy suppliers, that aims to help everyone in Britain understand the importance of smart meters and their benefits to people and the environment.

They are not an energy supplier and they don’t make or fit smart meters, they simply run the communications campaigns which help people understand smart meters.

To understand more about smart meters, the different versions and the nationwide rollout see our post, smart meters explained.

Who runs the company?

Smart Energy GB is a not-for-profit company, limited by guarantee. The company is governed by a non-executive board, whose make-up is set out in law, led by an independent non-executive chair.

The Board comprises of:

• a chair appointed by the relevant suppliers;
• six directors representing the interests of energy suppliers;
• four directors representing the interests of energy consumers; and
• the Chief Executive Officer

Who is the managing director?

Dan Brooke is the Chief Executive Officer of Smart Energy GB and Mark Lund is the Chair of the Board.

Who funds Smart Energy GB?

Smart Energy GB is funded by compulsory contributions from the UK’s energy suppliers.

In 2020 the company had a turnover of more than £31 million, down from £39 million in 2019.

The funding and performance of the orgnistion has not been without controversy. The chief executive of Utilita hit out at the campaign saying that the millions spent over the last decade has “not been money well spent”. Bill Bullen said the sector could have achieved the same level of progress on the rollout without the campaign. 

A Government consultation on ‘Smart meter coordinated consumer engagement’ in June 2020 lowered the threshold at which energy suppliers are required to fund Smart Energy GB’s domestic capital costs from 250,000 to 150,000 gas or electricity (or both) domestic consumers.

Who pays for smart meters in the UK?

Smart meters are paid for through a levy on everyone’s energy bills, just as old-style meters were. You don’t have to pay to have a smart meter installed. Find out how to request a smart meter for your home or business.

What is Smart Energy GB’s contact number?

Smart Energy GB no longer have a phone number but you can contact Smart Energy GB via social media or they also answer a lot of questions on their website in their FAQs.

How do you feel about your smart meter, or the communications campaigns about smart meters? Please let us know and we will publish people’s views in further updates.

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This new service will help the ESO avoid using its expensive and polluting fossil fuel generators and serve as an “insurance policy” if it needs to ease demand on the grid this winter.

Households have been warned of power cuts lasting up to three hours at a time if gas supplies run extremely low, and National Grid is hoping the new scheme can prevent that happening.

The ESO will run a maximum of 12 demonstration tests with each electricity supplier between November and March 2023. These demonstration tests will have a guaranteed minimum price of £3KWh, meaning that a typical household could save approximately £100 across the maximum 12 demonstration tests. 

How the Demand Flexibility Service scheme works

• Energy suppliers and aggregator sign up to the scheme with National Grid ESO
• The suppliers get in touch with customers that are eligible to taker part
• Households in England, Scotland or Wales with a smart meter are eligible
• Energy suppliers send an alert 24 hours before a test session is due to start
• Demonstration tests will run for one hour, however live events could run for a longer period
• Customers reduce energy usage during the test period
• Customers receive a discount if they reduce energy usage during the tests
• The trail runs until March 2023
• There are no penalties for not participating once you have signed up

How you can take part in Demand Flexibility Service 

If you have a smart meter and your energy supplier offers the service, then you can sign up – see the full list of participating suppliers below. Not everyone will be able to take part but your energy supplier will probably contact you if you’re eligible and invited to be part of the test scheme. 

Which providers have signed up for the scheme? 

At the time of publishing the following domestic energy suppliers have signed up:

• British Gas
• CarbonLaces
• EDF
• E.ON Next
• Equiwatt
• Ev.energy
• Hugo Energy App
• Labrador
• Loop.homes
• myenergi
• Octopus Energy
• OVO Energy
• Power Rewards App
• Shell Energy Retail
• SMS
• VpowerU

How you can reduce your power consumption during Demand Flexibility Service events? 

Households could reduce their power consumption during demonstration tests or live events by choosing to run power-hungry appliances such as washing machines, clothes dryers, dishwashers, electric showers and immersion heaters before or after the ‘event’. Another option would be to reduce energy usage (e.g. using a microwave instead of the oven) during the event window. 

Efficient lightbulbs and small appliances such as modern televisions consume little electricity and so it is unlikely to be worth adapting usage of these during an ‘event’. See our top 10 energy saving tips for ideas about saving energy and money this winter.

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The BBC published a list of top 5 tips to save energy at home and help the planet, but the advice includes big ticket items like replacing your boiler and installing heat pumps, which are too costly for some people and not an option for people in rented accommodation. So our list of energy saving tips focuses on the easy wins, which anyone can follow to save energy at home this winter.

Britain’s buildings create a fifth of the country’s carbon emissions, so we urgently need to reduce our energy consumption to help us all save money and to meet the 2050 net zero emissions target.

Top 10 energy saving tips to save money

(Estimated savings are based on an average English 3 bed home with a gas heating and a gas price of 10.3p/kWh and electricity at 34p/kWh, as per the Oct 2022 price guarantee)

1. Get a smart meter or energy monitor – estimated saving: £180/year
2. Draught-proof your entire home – estimated saving: £125/year
3. Tweak your boiler settings – estimated saving: £120/year
4. Turn the thermostat down – estimated saving: £100/year
5. Install radiator thermostats – estimated saving: £90/year
6. Swap baths for shorter showers – estimated saving: £95/year
7. Ditch the tumble dryer – estimated saving: £70/year
8. Wave bye-bye to standby – estimated saving: £65/year
9. Cut down on kitchen costs – estimated saving: £50/year
10. Turn off lights you don’t need – estimated saving: £25/year

1. Get a smart meter or energy monitor – estimated energy saving: £180/year

As the saying goes “You can’t improve what you don’t measure” so, if you want to reduce your energy consumption the first thing you need to do is measure how much energy you’re consuming. The cheapest way to get an energy monitor is to register for a smart meter, which will provide you with many benefits including no more estimated bills, and an energy monitor for free. Apply for a smart meter.

If you have a smart meter but don’t have an In Home Display you can order a smart meter in home display replacement.

If you can’t get, or don’t want a smart meter, buy a home energy monitor like the OWL+ energy monitor and start tracking what you use and what you spend so you’re more informed and can start to determine which activities are costing you the most. The Energy Saving Trust report that energy use drops by between 5 and 15% in the first year of using an energy monitor, which makes this the most cost effective action you can take to save energy.

2. Draught-proof your entire home – estimated energy saving: £125/year

Heating your home but letting the warm escape makes no sense whatsoever, so one of most obvious way of saving energy is to draught-proof all doors and windows – and anywhere else where heat might be escaping.

Hold a lit candle or a lighter up close to the edges of your doors and windows to test for leaks, being careful not to burn anything. If the flame gets blown about you know there’s a leak. Anywhere you can see daylight getting in means that precious warm air is escaping. Work your way around every edge of every external door and all your windows checking for leaks and make a note of the lengths of the gaps you need to seal.

Buy foam draft proofing tape for windows and the edges of doors. The thick squashy version is by far the best as it expands after it has been squashed (like a memory foam mattress) so will block gaps of varying widths. Expanding foam draft proofing tape like this is essential for older windows where the gaps are uneven.

If you have an open fireplace with a chimney, find a way to block the chimney when it is not in use.

Use brush strips or wiper strips for the bottoms of doors. If you have windows which don’t open but are letting air escape, fill the gaps with sealant. When you’ve completely sealed all your doors and windows work you way around each room looking for other places heat might be escaping: gaps between floorboards, around skirting boards, loft hatches, where pipework enters the ceiling or floor are all likely to cause leaks. Fit a brush or flap to the inside of your letter box and install a key hole cover. Visit the Energy Saving Trust’s page on draught proofing for more ideas and instructions.

3. Tweak your boiler settings – estimated energy saving: £120/year

There are several cost-free easy wins to make your boiler more efficient:

• Bleed you radiators, so that the boiler can do its job more efficiently – here’s how to bleed radiators.
• Turn down the hot water temperature. Octopus Energy says a temperature of about 55 degrees should be enough. There should be a dial on the front of your boiler – usually indicated by a little tap icon.
• Reduce the flow temperature – this is the temperature of the water that circulates through your radiators. There should be a separate dial for this on the front of your boiler – usually indicated by a radiator symbol.
• Check your boiler pressure – If it’s too slow, your boiler will not be operating at its most efficient. Generally, a pressure between 1.0 and 2.0 bar is ideal. Newer boilers will have a pressure gauge on the front and usually have instructions to increase the pressure on the back of the boiler cover. On older boilers, it may be harder to find. Check your boiler manual if you can’t find it. See how to increase your boiler pressure.

4. Turn the thermostat down – estimated energy saving: £100/year

For each degree you turn your thermostat down you can expect to save about £100 /year in a typical 3 bed home. The Affordable Warmth standards recommended that living room temperatures should not fall below 21°C (70°F) and other occupied rooms should be heated to 18°C (65°F) but a lot of UK homes have the thermostat set above 18°C.

Your home’s temperature can be a contentious issue but if your home is at 18°C or above you’re certainly not going to be cold, especially with a jumper on. People also argue that it might be better to leave the heating on low all day, rather than just turning it on when you need it, but The Energy Saving Trust is adamant you should only have your heating on when required. We reviewed some of the best smart thermostats, but you don’t need one to save money by turning your thermostat down.

5. Install radiator thermostats – estimated energy saving: £90/year

Now we’re working at home more we don’t always need to heat the whole house but can concentrate heating on one or two rooms, which is much more efficient. Thermostatic radiator valves are an extra control which you can use to set the temperature of each individual room. When the temperature in a room rises above the setting on the radiator valve, it will stop water flowing through the radiator so your boiler does not need to work so hard. This does require a bit of investment, but even if you’re in rented accommodation you could take the radiator valves with you when you leave! Radiator thermostats come in at several different price points but even the simplest Drayton valves at just £25 will save you more than they cost sin a year. At the other end of the price range the tado° Smart Radiator Thermostat works superbly.

6. Swap baths for shorter showers – estimated energy saving: £95/year

This one is pretty obvious, because heating water is an expensive business. Swapping just one bath a week with a 4-minute shower could save you £20 a year. If you already take showers instead of baths then keeping your shower time to just 4 minutes could save a typical 3-bed household £95 a year. Consider getting a shower timer to keep track of how long the water has been running.

7. Ditch the tumble dryer – estimated energy saving: £70/year

Tumble dryers burn huge amounts of energy for what is essentially a completely avoidable activity. With a little planning you should be able to avoid using a tumble dryer completely by washing clothes in advance of when they’re needed and drying things outside to dry or on racks inside if outside is not an option. Hanging wet clothes on radiators is not a good plan as it causes you boiler to work harder, which means it will consume more fuel. Position your clothes racks near the radiator instead, or use a radiator mounted drying rack.

8. Wave bye-bye to standby – estimated saving: £65/year

We’ve written about switching off standby to save money before, and the dubious claims this could save you £147/year. But with energy bills going up the amount you can save from turning appliances off at the socket is increasing. We estimate an average 3 bed house with a usual amount of appliances could save about £65/year by avoiding standby mode on all appliances. Almost every gadget can be turned off at the plug without upsetting their programming, although some TV recorders may need to be left plugged in to keep track of programs you want to record.

The best way to wave bye-bye to standby is using smart plugs which allows you to turn off multiple appliances at the same time. If you use a smart phone or smart speaker you can easily set up ‘scenes’ so that whenever you leave the house, or go to bed you can say “goodbye” and “good night” to turn off all the devices in your home with your voice. Check out our guide to the best smart plugs.

9. Cut down on kitchen costs – estimated saving: £50/year

Kitchen appliances use a lot of energy, especially the power hungry devices such as the oven and kettle. Boiling only as much water as you need instead of a full kettle can save around £15/year. if your kettle needs replacing consider one which only heats one mug of water, such as the Breville HotCup.

Electric ovens consume 1,000-3,000 Watts but a slow cooker, such as the Morphy Richards Easy Time, only uses 165W. So even if it needs to stay on for six or seven hours to cook a stew, it will use much less energy than keeping the oven on for a few hours.

Microwave ovens are even more cost-efficient. Five minutes cooking in an 800W microwave oven costs just 3.17p, based on the October price cap compared to 23.8p for half an hour in a 1,000W oven.

Other obvious changes can also add up to big savings over the course of the year, like running the dishwasher less, opening the freezer and oven door less and for shorter periods and even defrosting your freezer can save you money because it will not need to work so hard.

10. Turn off lights you don’t need – estimated saving: £25/year

This is the old classic – and every energy savers’ easy win. Even kids can develop the habit of turning off unused lights. If you’re able to invest a little LED lights uses about half the energy of traditional energy-saving bulbs so you will recoup your investment pretty quickly and definitely see money in the long run.

Lepro LED bayonet bulbs are one of the best choices to replace standard 60W bayonet style bulbs, or choose EDISHINE dimmable bayonet bulbs if you want to be able to dim the lights. Philips LED CLA 50W GU10 LED bulbs are some of the best bulbs to replace old recessed halogen bulbs.

We hope these energy saving tips help you reduce your energy consumption. If you have other tips about how to save energy at home please add them below and will update the guide accordingly.

The post Top 10 energy saving tips appeared first on Smart Home Energy.

ONZO’s energy disaggregation technology details exactly how devices in homes consume energy and drive energy bills. By adding this extra intelligence to geo’s market-leading Whole Home Optimisation capability, which uses machine learning to enable homes to fully exploit their energy tariff, households will now be able to automatically obtain the biggest possible energy savings, whilst minimising waste and household carbon emissions.

geo’s technology is being provided to around 50% of UK homes under the Government’s smart meter rollout, as well as to tens of thousands of homes in the Netherlands and Nordics, in the form of in-home energy displays, and Onzo’s service is currently used in a quarter of a million homes, with more than 7,000 new users joining monthly. This significant footprint represents a crucial foundation from which to realise the full benefits of smart meter deployment.

Commenting on the acquisition, Steve Cunningham, Chief Executive Officer at geo, said, “It’s great to be joined by the innovative and creative team at ONZO. Combining our two businesses adds real strength to geo’s expertise and extends our leadership in the Energy IoT and data science environments. It also allows us to provide even greater savings to the millions of geo and ONZO customers across Europe.

“2021 is going to be an exciting time for geo and our partners: we commenced the delivery of our new EV charging and home heating optimisation capabilities earlier in the year. And as we complete the integration of ONZO’s capabilities, we will introduce the ability for the millions of households to automatically reduce their energy consumption further still through Whole Home Optimisation.”

“We’re looking forward to being able to bring even greater benefits from our combined offering to geo and ONZO’s existing customers and to helping our industry partners lead the way in the race to achieve Net Zero.”

Rob Merrington, Managing Director of ONZO commented, “Becoming part of the successful geo team is a perfect platform for ONZO’s evolution.  It’s clear there is genuine synergy within the current product suite provided by both businesses, and a significant opportunity for future developments, that will benefit both GEO and ONZO’s current and future customers.”

geo also announced the conclusion of a successful funding round.

The raise will see strategic investors the Low Carbon Investment Fund, Schneider Electric and West Coast Capital join the business and will allow geo to accelerate its mission to enable every home to achieve energy and carbon savings through Whole Home Optimisation.

Commenting, Steve Cunningham said, “We are pleased to welcome our new investors, including [the Low Carbon Investment Fund, Schneider Electric and West Coast Capital], to our business as we set out on the next step of geo’s journey. Each brings a unique set of capabilities and perspectives with them, which will collectively allow us to accelerate the deployment of our Whole Home Optimisation system across the UK and Europe.

“geo’s positioning at the centre of the home energy management ecosystem makes it a very valuable proposition, significantly reducing energy consumption and therefore accounting for less CO2 emissions,” commented Axel de Megille on behalf of the Low Carbon Investment Fund.

The news has been welcomed by customers of both companies, with Richard Hughes, Director of Sales & Marketing for EDF’s Customers Business Unit, commenting, “We’re very pleased to see this step from geo and ONZO. Our work with both companies over the last few years has been very successful. The world of smart energy management is maturing rapidly, moving from theory to reality. We are excited to see how the combined capability of geo’s smart energy gateways and ONZO’s energy disaggregation and home energy optimisation can help EDF customers save money on their bills and help Britain achieve Net Zero.”

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Poorly protected credentials inside the devices could let attackers take control over the gadgets, warn the researchers.

The utility that deployed the meters is now improving the devices’ security to help protect its network.

The discovery comes as one security expert warns some terror groups may attack critical infrastructure systems.

Many utility companies are installing smart meters to help customers monitor and manage their power use and help them be more energy efficient.

“We took them apart to see how they work,” said independent researcher Javier Vidal who, with Alberto Illera, found the flaws in the smart meters.

“We suspected there could be some issues with them and we wanted to check.

“We feared the security would be easy to break and we confirmed that,” he told the BBC.

Buried inside the onboard software, or firmware, the pair found encryption keys used to scramble all the information that the smart meter shares with “nodes” sitting higher in the power distribution system.

Using the keys and the unique identifier associated with each meter it became possible for the researchers to spoof messages being sent from the power-watching device to a utility company.

“We can fool the nodes and send them false data,” said Mr Vidal.

Attackers could use what Mr Vidal and Mr Illera found to under-report energy use or to get someone else to pay their bill by using their ID in messages sent back to the nodes that log usage. With more work it might be possible to find a way to seek out meters and cut off the power they are supplying, they said.

The Spanish utility firm deploying the meters, which the researchers declined to name, had been told their smart meters can be hacked and was working to close loopholes, said Mr Vidal. Millions of the smart meters are set to be installed in Spain before 2018, he added.

Security investigator Greg Jones who carried out similar work on smart meters being rolled out in the UK, said he was “not surprised” about the Spanish researchers’ findings.

Mr Jones’s work uncovered shared IDs, poor protection against tampering and data formats that would be easy to fake.

“I’m pretty sure that anyone who picked up one of these units would find similar problems,” he said.

Although many different researchers had found the security on smart meters wanting, so far, he said, this work had not prompted a big improvement in the way the gadgets worked.

Some meters were being installed in their millions across nations, he said, despite security holes having been found in them.

A lot of the equipment being rolled out was securable, he added, though its limited computational capacities made it a tricky job to get right.

Added to this was the problem that the devices sat in peoples’ homes and were not under the control of power firms.

“If you physically own a piece of hardware you can compromise it,” he said.

Ashar Aziz, founder and head of security firm FireEye, said it was easy to explain why power networks and other critical infrastructure systems had not yet been attacked despite widespread reporting of their security shortcomings.

“The balance is maintained right now because the people that have the skill set and capability to infect these kinds of networks do not have the motivation,” he said, “and those that have the motivation do not have the skill set.”

Cybercrime gangs who had programming skills on tap were much more interested in making money than knocking out power grids, he said. By contrast, terror groups currently did not have the depth of computational skill required to tackle such a big target.

The research, analysis and development required to carry out such an attack was “non-trivial”, said Mr Aziz and would probably take many months.

“The threshold to acquire this sophisticated cyber-weapon is much bigger than you need to make credit-card stealing malware,” he said.

The Spanish researchers took about six months to reverse engineer the smart meter and work out how the power network handled communication.

Despite this hurdle, Mr Aziz said that an attack on critical infrastructure was bound to happen.

“We have a lot of brutal, non-state entities popping up all around the world and they are getting more organised on a daily basis,” he said. “That capability is getting to be within the reach of them.”

In the UK, Smart Energy GB run the campaign to promote the benefits of smart meters, but their website does not mention anything about whether smart meters can be hacked.

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