These include leaving your heating on low all day and putting clingfilm on your windows
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As the cost of living crisis rumbles on, many of us are trying to save the pennies where ever we can. And old-wives tales can often lead us down the wrong path when it comes to looking after our cash.
Some of these 'hacks' are related to heating – something many people in the UK are using more frequently as the temperatures drop this month. They include putting clingfilm on your windows and even paining your radiators black.
Other theories relate to saving energy in general, such as turning devices off stand-by. But which hacks really work? Martin Lewis' Money Saving Expert website has debunked 12 heating hacks and explained which ones may actually work.
Scroll down to read what they said.
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According to experts at the Energy Saving Trust, the idea it's cheaper to leave the heating on low all day is a myth. They're clear that having the heating on only when you need it is the best way to save energy, and therefore money. A timer's best, as your thermostat turns your heating on and off to keep your home at the temperature you set.
It's all about the total amount of energy required to heat your home. A certain amount of energy is constantly leaking out of the building (how much will depend on how good your insulation is). The Energy Saving Trust says if you're keeping the heating on all day, you're losing energy all day, so it's better to heat your home only when you need it.
They advocate keeping the heating on low all day, turning all radiator valves up to the max and the boiler down to the minimum. This is because condensation collects within the walls each time the heating is turned off. Some argue that this condensation can help to conduct heat outside the home – meaning you lose heat more quickly and use more energy as a result.
Putting a sheet of clingfilm on each of your windows traps a small layer of air, which can help to stop heat from escaping. The trust says you can use any material for this second layer of 'glazing', as long as it's transparent and airtight. Ideally you'd want to install specialist secondary glazing as it'll last longer. If you have double glazing, adding a third layer could make you a little warmer, but the benefit will be much less noticeable than with a single-glazed window.
If your windows are draughty, it's worth fixing that as well as adding secondary glazing, or you'll only get half the benefit.
Smart meters simply replace your existing gas and electricity meters (one for each), keep track of your usage and automatically send meter readings to your supplier each month.
However, they can help you to identify ways to save energy via their in-home display. This small gadget communicates wirelessly with your smart meters, monitoring what energy you're using and showing you how much it costs, in near real time.
With more information on your day-to-day energy use, you'll be able to spot ways to cut back. For more, see our Smart meters guide.
British Gas says that chargers and appliances will still use electricity when left in sockets – so it's important to turn them off at the plug when you're not using them.
A lot of devices, such as games consoles, laptops and TVs, draw small amounts of power when not in use but still plugged in and turned on at the socket. This is sometimes known as 'vampire power'. You can easily avoid using this standby power by switching devices off at the wall.
The Energy Saving Trust says you can save about £60 a year by turning off your appliances at the plug when you're not using them.
However, it's EU law that TVs and other devices made since 2013 can't use more than 0.5 watts in standby mode. To show the scale of it, a TV left on standby for 20 hours a day would cost about £1 a year.
So while you may not save as much as the Energy Saving Trust says, it can still be worth doing – all devices will still use a small amount of power, and this can add up.
If you're on an Economy 7 or 10 tariff, (also with some specialist EV tariffs), you'll pay less for energy you use during the night, but a higher rate than average during the day. If you're on another tariff, you'll pay the same amount regardless of what time of day it is.
If you're unsure what tariff you're on, check your latest energy bill or ask your energy company.
Before you use an appliance at night, check it's safe. For example, the fire service says you should never run the tumble dryer while you're asleep, as it's a common cause of fires in the home.
Where painting your radiators black is concerned, the answer's no, according to the Energy Saving Trust. It's best to keep them the standard white, although the difference is not huge.
Radiator panels can save energy, but not very much. It's more important that your walls are insulated, to prevent the heat leaking out of your home altogether. See The Great British Insulation scheme guide for more information.
As for putting reflective panels behind radiators, yes, the Energy Saving Trust agrees that these could help cut energy use. They reflect heat from the radiator back into the room, so it doesn't escape through external walls. The trust says homes with uninsulated walls will get most benefit.
It's better to keep the doors of rooms that you don't want to heat closed, says the Energy Saving Trust. Radiators, electric panel heaters and convection heaters all work by creating a convection current in a room. As hot air rises, it circles around to the other side of the room, cools and sinks, and travels back along the floor to the heater to be reheated again.
Closing doors makes sure this current remains within the designated space, and stops cold air from getting in.
With kettles being power-hungry appliances – using up to 3,000 watts – you may look to alternatives to boil water for your cuppa. We did a quick number crunch to find out which is cheaper: boiling water in a kettle or a microwave.
In an experiment, boiling a mug of water in a microwave was slightly cheaper than boiling it in a kettle, though there's not much in it. Electrical Safety First warns that boiling water in a microwave can be dangerous as you could overheat the water past boiling point and cause it to explode. On the other hand, a kettle is designed to switch off once it reaches boiling point.
When using a kettle, it's also more economical if you only boil what you need. The Energy Saving Trust reckons you could save £12 a year this way compared with overfilling it each time. See our Energy saving tips guide for more.
The Energy Saving Trust recommends turning off lights when leaving a room, regardless of how long for (and being mindful of how many lights you have on at any one time). Also, avoid leaving TVs and other devices on standby.
Leave heating on when away from home
To prevent frozen pipes, which can cause £100s of damage, the Energy Saving Trust recommends you leave the heating on to some degree during winter, even if you're not there.
Check your home insurance policy before you go away. The general rule is to keep your heating at a minimum 12 degrees (but some say at least 15 degrees), rather than switching it off completely.
Many have asked us if using an electric fan to keep cool in summer will burn a hole in their pocket. With the energy market in crisis, people have been worrying more often about energy prices.
But the good news is you CAN use an electric fan to manage the heat without breaking into a cold sweat at the cost.
A typical 12-inch 35-watt desk fan would cost around 1p an hour to run based on the current Price Cap rates, so about 8p if you leave it on all night. A big 50-watt tower fan wouldn't cost much more – about 1.5p an hour. If you have a large floor fan, they typically range between 10 watts and 120 watts, costing up to 3p an hour.
If you have a gas, oil or LPG (liquefied petroleum gas) central heating system, the experts say it will always be cheaper to set the system timer so the hot water comes on only when you need it.
However, if you use an electrical immersion heater and have an Economy 7 or 10 tariff (where energy is cheaper at night), it's cheaper to heat your water during the night. You'll need to make sure your tank is well insulated to prevent it cooling during the day though.
If you're unsure what tariff you're on, check your latest energy bill or ask your energy firm.
