Take Control of Your Heating Bills

The cost of heating our homes has been rising steadily for the last few years and when cold snaps hit it really shows in our bills. If you look at how much gas you use compared to comparative periods in previous years chances are it will be about the same, regardless of outside temperatures. All the energy companies are making significant profits and this will continue for the foreseeable future, they are after all looking after their shareholders, not us their customers. We have next to no choice about where to buy our gas despite the opportunities of switching between suppliers who all charge more or less the same. Shareholders can choose between one of any number of companies in any sector so they need looking after.

You can, however, start to gain some control over how much gas you use and we'll all need to do this in the years to come (gas isn't going to get cheaper). Here are a few tips on what you should do if you aren't doing them already:

• Learn how to programme the timer if you have one for turning the heating on and off - you'd be surprised how many people don't know how to. Adjust the times according to when the heating needs to be on.

• Drop the heating settings a degree or two and wear an extra layer if needed. It's not that healthy when it's too hot inside.

• Keep room doors closed to keep the heat inside. Kitchens and bathrooms are particularly bad at drawing in the heat from the rest of the house so definitely make sure these ones stay shut at the very least.

The worst waste of heat though is heating a house when there isn't anyone in. All heating systems have the ability to be re-programmed and if needs be, turned off. Why heat an empty house? I'm not talking about extended periods during really cold conditions, that just leads to frozen and broken pipes. If you are out for the day and know you won't be back till late just turn the heating off until you get back - it's not difficult.