Winter is fast approaching and with it, a sense of dread as people across the UK choose between warmth or food.
I don’t need to rehash the dire state of affairs across the UK right now. It’s exactly that, dire. 12 years of Conservative rule and we’re reading stories about ‘warm banks’, people turning down food they can’t afford to cook, and politicians who tell us the answer is to ‘get a better job’ while childcare costs, energy prices and mortgage rates are on the up.
Just yesterday a report on XS Manchester news stated that consumer habits are changing ahead of the Christmas shopping rush. We’re buying more air fryers and blankets than we are TVs and computers. My local food bank is teaching people how to make draft excluders and how to double-line curtains to keep the draught out.
During a conversation in the newsroom yesterday a couple of my colleagues were discussing their Kw usage per hour and how to manage their teenagers’ constant attachment to tech and more importantly plugs! Listening in (we all do it, don’t judge me) I realised there’s so much information out there that could really help people make a difference to their home comfort and outgoing bills.
It’s been hard to avoid energy savings, energy usage, and energy prices over the last 6 months, and while my gas and electricity bills have most definitely risen, I’m taking the opportunity to get energy-savvy, and I’m taking you along with me. Sharing is caring and it’s more important than ever.
I’ll be working with Energy Saving Club in the coming weeks to produce a series of blogs and handy guides on everything from how to read and decipher your energy bills, to meter readings, the best deals on fixed-rate energy, how to insulate your home and take advantage of government grants and schemes to lower your bills as much as possible. Working with industry professionals to create guides that are jargon-free and easy to implement at home or at work.
I’ll be posting a link to subscribe to the e-newsletters shortly. In the meantime, check out www.energysavingclub.co.uk for more info.
Kate Reilly James 