HOW TO SWITCH YOUR GAS AND ELECTRICITY

The simplest and often best way to switch energy bills is to use an online service, which can compare the tariffs on offer for you. The services shows you the tariffs available and how much you could save by switching to each one, it allows you to choose what suits you and can rank suppliers by customer service and price. Switching is quick and easy and can be done online. All you need to do is put your postcode into the box to the right and follow the simple steps. The service is free to use and in a few minutes can tell you whether you can save hundreds of pounds. There's no need to fill out any paperwork or sign a new contract - it does the hard work for you

EDF Energy is the most complained about of the 'big six' gas and electricity firms

EDF Energy was the most complained about of the ‘big six’ energy firms at the end of last year, according to figures demanded by regulator Ofgem. The gas and electricity supplier received 8,072 complaints for each 100,000 customers in the final quarter of the year - more than double the 4,001 logged for the second most complained-about firm npower. Britain's biggest energy supplier, British Gas, said it received 2,285 complaints per 100,000 accounts, while E.ON posted 3,023, SSE 1,435 and Scottish Power 1,359. Under new Ofgem rules, the big energy firms must publish quarterly complaints data on their websites, including information about how many complaints were received and how quickly grievances were dealt with. In its last quarterly report in July, watchdog Consumer Focus also found EDF was the most complained about of the energy giants after it was the only one of the six to see an increase in complaints last year. Consumer Focus compiled ratings based on figures from the Citizens Advice Bureau, the ombudsman and its own information from case workers dealing with vulnerable people.

EDF makes £801m in UK as energy bills soar

EDF made profits of £801million from its UK operations last year as bills soared four times faster than inflation, leading to claims it was ‘recession-proof’. The figure is the equivalent of £220 for every one of the 3.7million homes supplied by the French-owned energy giant. It hiked family tariffs by an inflation-busting 10.8 per cent in December, taking the average annual bill to £1,251 a year and plunging millions into misery just as winter hit. But this was due to a £190million financial hit it took on one of its gas fired power stations at Sutton Bridge in Lincolnshire. Without this, profits would have hit £1billion, the group said. Adam Scorer from Consumer Focus said: ‘The energy industry does seems virtually recession-proof, which is very different to the experience of most consumers who’ve seen prices rise and incomes fall over recent years.’

The Hidden Costs Of The Green Deal

Anyone wishing to take advantage of the Green Deal to improve the energy efficiency of thier home should be aware of the financial consequences. The expected financial savings must be equal to or greater than the costs attached to the energy bill, known as “the golden rule” .There has also been doubts cast over whether the central tenet of the scheme - a so-called "Golden Rule" whereby the cost of repayments never outweighs the savings on the bill - will actually be successfully implemented. The scheme requires an assessment of £150 or more to determine what if any work can be done. The cost of this has been suggested to deter many people. The Government believes Green Deal loans will be repaid at a rate no more than 6.92%. Further to these charges there will be an initial set up charge followed by a £20 annual fee, failure to repay a Green Deal will lead to disconnection of gas and electricity supplies. Recent surveys have found little awareness among the general public for the Green Deal. The high interest rates and charges of the scheme have been heavily critised. If the loan is paid off early the entire interest for 25 years is the penalty to pay,this would arise due to the anticipated difficulty in trying to sell your home because any buyers would be put off by the increased fuel bills. It is not yet entirely clear what kind of legal entity is applied to the Land Registry documentation to properties that have received Green Deal loans, or how the mortgage providers will treat those properties when the property is resold or remortgaged.

Should you go for solar PV? We answer your questions

What a difference a few months can make. Not so long ago, solar PV panels were the poor relation in the green energy family, with a payback period of up to 25 years. But the new Feed-in Tariff (FiT) scheme, that provides payments for electricity generated by small-scale anaerobic digestion, hydro, CHP (combined heat and power) and wind power schemes, has changed all that.

"The FiT scheme has been criticised for lacking in ambition compared with other schemes in Europe because it is expected to deliver only 2% of UK electricity production by 2020," says Jonathan Scurlock, the NFU's chief adviser on renewable energy and climate change. "But with a typical return on investment of 8-12%, the Feed-in Tariff makes solar photovoltaic generation a much more attractive investment than it had been previously."
The Feed-in Tariff, which is available for schemes generating less than 5MW per year, is paid by electricity suppliers whether this green energy is consumed by the generator or sold to feed in to the national supply. So, on top of the payment itself, farm-based generators can replace all or at least some of the electricity they currently purchase and sell any surplus.

There are two principal options, invest in a barn roof system or field array or leave the investment to someone else by renting out roof or field space for the duration of the guaranteed 25-year life of the FiT scheme.

• What exactly is a solar panel?

Light shining on a solar panel creates an electric field across layers of silicon in each cell, causing electricity to flow. This DC power can be used straight away or fed into the national grid. Photovoltaic cells were first developed by Bell Laboratories in 1954.

• Aren't solar panels a bit delicate for putting on a shed roof?

They're actually quite robust as there are no moving parts. PV modules have an expected lifetime of 45-50 years, albeit with a progressive loss in performance efficiency.

• What about maintenance?

PV modules need no routine maintenance other than occasionally being cleaned. Inverters and control gear will typically need replacing every 10 years or so.

• Where's the best place to site solar panels?

Cornwall and along the south coast provide the best locations but anywhere that solar panels can be orientated between the south-east to south-west is good.

• What about a good location on the farm?

Installing PV panels on a south-facing barn roof is ideal for energy capture but they can also be mounted in ground-mounted frames in arrays around field margins - as long as they are not shadowed by hedges or trees - or across whole fields.
• Is a roof installation best?

It's likely to be a little more expensive than a ground array but there are advantages - the panels are located out of harm's way, for one thing, and will have less visual impact.

• Are some buildings better suited than others?

They clearly need to be strong enough to take the weight of the installation. Also, given the long service life of PV panels, buildings should have a lifetime at least as long as the panels.

• What about the building's use; does that matter?

Only to the extent that it makes sense to install panels on buildings that consume the most electricity - such as grainstores and intensive pig and poultry sheds and vegetable packhouses. Glasshouses may also be suitable if the panels can be mounted over storage areas or corridors, etc.

• Is planning permission needed?

Best check with the local planning authority. The government's plan is that renewable energy micro-generation equipment installed on commercial buildings will be covered by Permitted Development rights (as is the case for most domestic installations) but this plan is still at the consultation stage.

• Is there any limit to the size of a PV panel installation?

Apart from the size of the roof and the cost of installation, the only limiting factor is the 5mW ceiling of the FiT scheme.

• How does the scheme work?

The Government's Feed-in Tariff is worth from 29p to 41p per kilowatt-hour (p/kWh) depending on the scale of the installation. Systems from 100kW to 5MW generating capacity attract the lowest figures, systems of less than 4kW earn the highest rates.

• Is it a fixed rate or dependent on markets?

The tariffs for new entrants have been set for the first two years; from April 2012 they start to reduce progressively in anticipation of falling capital costs for PV equipment. However, once you've signed up, the tariffs are index-linked to keep up with inflation and guaranteed for the next 25 years.

• Who pays the tariff?

Your electricity supplier makes the payments based on meter readings of the amount of power generated.

• Does the Feed-in Tariff pay enough to get a decent return?

Not on its own, but the electricity generated can be consumed on site to reduce what you have to buy in. Also, any surplus can be sold for distribution via the national grid, being purchased by your electricity supplier who will have an obligation to supply power from renewable sources.

• What's a typical return on the investment?

The NFU calculates 8-12%. A typical small system in the 4-10kW class would qualify for a Feed-in Tariff payment of 36.1p/kWh up to April 2012, so a 9.9kWh installation, likely to cost £35,000-40,000, could earn £3300-3800 from the tariff, with savings in purchased electricity and sales of any surplus coming on top.

A £300,000-350,000 scheme of 99kWh capacity would qualify for a FiT rate of 31.4p/kWh and generate an income of £30,000-35,000 a year before any surplus sales.

• Do all solar panel systems qualify?

Equipment and installers must be approved if the scheme is to qualify for Feed-in Tariff payments. The scheme itself will be accredited by OFGEM, the electricity industry regulator, through its Renewable & CHP Register.

• Are there different ways of buying a system?

Lease purchase schemes are being introduced with payments made over six or seven years qualifying as operating expenditure.

• What about renting my roof or some land?

Solar development companies like Ecotricity and INRG Solar are starting to offer contracts for renting land or roof space for electricity generation and they take care of the capital investment involved and ongoing maintenance costs. Negotiating to acquire ownership of the installation at the end of the 25-year Feed-in Tariff period would provide ongoing electricity cost savings and sales income from a system that could have a life of 50 years or more.

• Are the payments attractive?

This is an immature market, so annual lease payments being quoted at present are pretty variable, notes the NFU. Ground rents for a field array range from just £750 to more than £2500/ha for the 25-year lifetime of the Feed-in Tariff. As far as buildings are concerned, developers will be most interested in larger roof areas - say 700 to 2200sq m capable of supporting a 100-300kW capacity installation.

• How do I get started?

The NFU recommends doing a detailed energy audit of the farm. That will show the savings you can make by using home-generated power instead of of bought-in supplies as well the potential income from sales of any surplus. It will also help you decide on the scale of your solar panel installation. Talk to your professional advisers before entering negotiations, too.

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Solar installation provides high tech lab, energy savings

The TSTC Electronics Center (EEC) got an added boost of power from a new solar cell installation that began in August.

The installation features flat photovoltaic (PV) panels, a solar tracking system and Solyndra solar modules. The Solyndra modules are rows of glass tubes with thin PV film in them that are designed to capture sunlight across 360 degrees, including light that reflects from the white roof below the cells. This removes the arduous task of rotating the older-style solar panels and saves more energy overall.

The solar cells were installed as part of a grant from the State Energy Conservation Office. Several types of solar cells were installed by professionals with the help of TSTC Solar Technology students. Once it's fully installed, the total system will offset the electricity costs for the EEC, as well as serve as a solar lab for TSTC students.

Solar Technology Department Chair Sid Bolfing said the variety and scope of the solar power systems are remarkable, and the added advantage of reducing energy costs and benefiting his students is unique to TSTC.

"We now have a fantastic solar lab on the roof of the EEC, and we're already saving money on our power bill," Bolfing said. "I doubt there is another school in Texas that has a system comparable to this installation. It is a tremendous student learning tool."

Also included in the grant will be another solar installation on the roof of the Kultgen Automotive Center that will be completed by the end of the year.

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Insulation program delivers on energy savings

IT MAY be one of the worst-run government programs in memory, but Kevin Rudd's botched insulation scheme did what it was designed to do.

Figures from the Australian Energy Market Operator show that gas demand in Victorian homes held steady during the 2010 winter, and energy economists believe a driving factor was the extra 279,344 homes insulated using taxpayer dollars.

In Victoria, where most homes are heated with gas, demand normally increases each year by 1-2 per cent.
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But when energy economists compared this winter with last winter, adjusting figures for the weather differences, they found virtually no change in the amount of gas used.

''We did see a much lower growth than we've observed historically,'' said Tony O'Dwyer, principal economist with consultants National Institute of Economic and Industry Research, which forecasts and analyses Victorian energy demand for the market operator.

Estimating the energy saved was difficult and there was some uncertainty, said Mr O'Dwyer, because of the program's reported problems, including homes not receiving insulation and others having it incorrectly fitted. But Mr O'Dwyer estimates Victorians saved 1 to 1.5 petajoules of energy. ''That's quite a lot,'' he said.

That figure assumes a 25 per cent saving in heating use and it has been revised downwards to take into account rorting and fraud. This amounts to about 3 per cent of residential gas consumption during the past winter.

Mr O'Dwyer said that while the program had an impact, it was never going to be large in Victoria compared with other states because about 87 per cent of households already had insulation.

In the 2009 winter, over June, July and August, Victorians used 54.9 petajoules of gas. This winter the figure was almost the same: 55.1 petajoules, normalised to take into account the cold winter.

Other, less significant, factors were also driving gas use down, said Mr O'Dwyer, including a drop in the use of gas to heat hot water (due to shorter showers, more efficient shower heads and more solar hot-water heaters), more efficient heating appliances, and standards to make new homes more energy-wise.
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4 Merritt retailers team up with BC Hydro for energy efficiency

BC Hydro has partnered with four Merritt retailers, as well as 400 others B.C., to provide increased rebates and incentives for the purchase of energy-efficient products.

The Crown corporation announced last week that the partnership with Loblaws (Extra Foods), Canadian Tire, Cooper’s Foods, and Walmart, will provide customers with savings on products like TVs, lighting, and appliances. Hydro is using the partnership to commemorate Power Smart month.

“Customers can receive instant in-store discounts ranging from $3 to $12 off of the price of select specialty ENERGY STAR compact fluorescent light bulbs and fixtures,” said Hydro spokesperson Simi Heer in a press release Friday.

“Some retailers are also offering instant rebates ranging from $80 to $600 on select ENERGY STAR televisions.”

Hydro will feature lighting, electronics and appliance “deals of the week” in the Power Smart section of the BC Hydro website all month long. The site will be updated regularly with new offers.

Additionally for Power Smart month, Hydro will give away gift cards for those who follow the power producer on its Twitter and Facebook pages. Hydro says this is a new initiative to reach more customers through the increasingly popular social media outlets.

BC Hydro also offers mail-in rebates on select ENERGY STAR refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers and clothes washers. Details on mail-in rebates and coupons for seasonal LEDs, drying racks and energy saving kits can be found at powersmart.ca.

As a bonus during October, BC Hydro will offer free (working) freezer removal in addition to the year-round Fridge Buy Back program that removes spare energy-guzzling fridges. Customers can call 604-881-4357 or 1-866-516-4357 if outside the Lower Mainland.

Power Smart month is aimed at educating customers on the benefits and ease of conservation during the winter months.

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G Rated Boilers

A government scrappage scheme that gives people £400 off on the price of a new boiler has been launched today.

Up to 125,000 households in England could benefit from the £50million scheme, which was announced in the pre-budget report as an incentive to install greener heating.

Energy firms including British Gas and NPower have already pledged to match the payment, creating households a £800 discount on new boilers.

According to the government, a new boiler could cut a family's heating bills by about £235 a year.

In total, the scheme would cut as much carbon as taking 45,000 cars off the road and would help secure about 250,000 jobs of boiler makers and installers, the government said.

To qualify, a household must have a working boiler of the lowest efficiency G rating.

There are about 3.5million homes in England with such boilers, although the scheme is only open to the first 125,000 who apply.

The old devices must be replaced with top efficiency A-rated boilers or renewable heating systems like biomass boilers or heat pumps.
The price of a new boiler is about £2,500, most of which would still be paid by the householder.

Only home owners and landlords who privately rent out homes qualify.

The scheme does not apply to Scotland, Northern Ireland or Wales, as their devolved authorities have to decide whether to run it.
Is my boiler G-rated?

The Energy Saving Trust said a boiler is likely to be G rated if:

* If it has a permanent pilot light;
* If it is gas fired and over 15 years old; or
* If it is oil fired and over 25 years old.

Householders can also check the Energy Saving Trust's scrappage scheme guide for more information.
How do I apply?

Once you have established that you qualify:

1. Get several quotes for the installation of a new boiler. Suppliers must visit your home for this and give a proper quote on paper.
2. Apply to the Energy Saving Trust (EST) with your name, address, details of your old boiler, the type of new boiler you want, quote prices, supplier details and confirmation that the installer visited your home.
3. You will then recieve a cashback voucher from the EST. Wait until you get this voucher before you start the installation, or you will lose the money.
4. Pay the installer in full.
5. Send the invoice and voucher to the EST, who will then refund you £400.


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Online customers will be the big winners in energy price war

HOUSEHOLDS paying their energy bills online are cashing in on a price war heating up between the biggest gas and electricity suppliers.
After months of price increases, with energy bills hiked by an average 42 per cent last year, most price cuts announced in recent weeks came into force this week. Now two suppliers have announced further reductions for customers who pay online.
Yesterday British Gas trimmed the average cost of its Websaver 2 online tariff by £11 to £1,034. The cut means the plan is once again the most competitive available, a week after it was undercut by E.on.

Further online rate cuts are expected and, with all of the big suppliers already offering their most competitive prices online, customers able and willing to change their payment habits can make significant savings, said Will Marples, energy expert at comparison website uSwitch.com. "Households only have to take three simple steps to lower energy bills – move to dual fuel, pay by direct debit and sign up to an online plan," Marples explained. "If they ditch their expensive standard plans today and sign up to a competitive online plan they will be quids in."

The average online plan – based on the typical dual fuel customer – is now £1,072 a year, compared with the £1,252 average paid by households on standard plans where bills are paid on receipt.

The most expensive tariff on the market, Scottish Power's standard pay-by-bill plan, is £328 a year higher than the new British Gas rate at £1,362.

The average household paying Scottish Power's rate on receipt of their bill can cut their annual payment to £1,155 just by switching to a monthly direct debit arrangement.

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Price war will reduce gas and electric deals

Households in the UK will be able to take advantage of a price war erupting between energy providers.

Following months of price rises from energy providers, British Gas, which is owned by Centrica, announced it is cutting the cost of its Websaver 2 product by £11.

Dropping its online energy price to £1,034 means British Gas is now offering the most competitive average price after it was undercut by energy provider E.ON last week.
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Money Saving Tips

Everybody has them, but here are our quick n' easy tips on ways to save money:


8. Use price comparison sites – Make sure you are getting the cheapest deals on your energy bills. Moneysupermarket.com estimates you can save up more than £300 a year if you’ve never switch suppliers. Mind you they would wouldn’t they!

11. Switch Stuff Off – We’ve all heard this before but leaving TVs and plasma screens on standby uses power. The Energy Saving Trust says the average household can save £37 a year just by switching everything off. It’s also environmentally friendly so you can feel all green inside.

See how much you can save with ScottishPower

12. Cut the price of a day out – It’s bleak at this time of year and we all need something to cheer us up and entertain the kids. But by booking ahead on online you can make great savings at places like Alton Towers and Legoland. I got a great deal for mums and under 4s at Chessington World of Adventures – a tenner for the day.

13 Get the cheapest petrol – There’s obviously no point driving for miles to find the petrol station offering the cheapest price. But put your postcode into petrolprices.com and they’ll find you the best local price.

14. Turn to the WI - The Women’s Institute is experiencing somewhat of a revival in these economically challenging times. They claim younger people are turning to them in unprecedented numbers to learn how to knit, darn and cook cheaply. One top tip from the WI is using lemons for cleaning products!

Take advantage of some money-saving vouchers

17. Switch Light-bulbs – The experts say we should install low energy light bulbs in our homes as they use about 25% of the power of normal light bulbs and pay for themselves quickly.

18. Make Lunch - Sandwiches from the local café or even the supermarket will set you back at least 3quid a go. 5 days a week and that’s £750 a year. Make a sandwich or take last night’s leftovers in to work in your favourite Tupperware container!


20. Be an eco-driver – this may not sound very Jeremy Clarkson , but the Energy Savings Trust says by changing gear (upward) before you engine hits 2,5000 rpm, driving smoothly at around 45.059mph and turning off the air-con can save £120 a year.
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Wood stoves are hot again

It has overtaken the Aga as the must-have lifestyle accessory – a wood-burning stove is becoming de rigueur in any stylish home, especially one that prides itself on its eco-credentials. Not only do they make a nice rustic detail in the corner of a room – or a contemporary, design-led centrepiece – they use a sustainable, nearly 100% carbon-neutral, source of fuel.

As energy bills soar and we enter a new age of frugality, overshadowed by concerns over the future supply of gas and electricity, wood is an increasingly attractive option: it costs about 1.6p per kilowatt hour, compared with 12p for electricity. David Knox, of Stovax, the UK’s largest manufacturer of wood-burning stoves, says demand was up by 50% in the last three months of 2008 compared with the same period the previous year.

“There has been a rise in demand countrywide, with a desire to return to organic living and to be independent of the grid,” he says. There are waiting lists for some of the company’s most popular models, which include the square, traditionally styled Stockton 5, which has a 4.9kW output and starts at £595 (01392 474056, www.stovax.com).

A secondhand stove can cost as little as £100, with prices rising to £5,000 for a brand-new, state-of-the-art model – Austroflamm’s slim, modern Glass Multi-Fuel Stove, also available from Stovax, starts at about £2,680. Although wood-burners work well when coupled with thermostatically controlled radiators, they are effective on their own: open fires may be romantic, but they waste up to 90% of the heat they produce. A stove in an enclosed unit, by contrast, “means that for every pound you spend on fuel, 88p of it is heating your home”, Knox estimates.Before ditching your energy supplier, however, there are a few things to consider. First, check if your home is in a “smoke control zone”; many UK cities and industrial areas restrict use of fires and stoves as a heating source. If you live in one (visit www.uksmokecontrolareas.co.uk to find out), make sure your stove is Defra-approved. All new models must be installed by an approved fitter from Hetas, the Heating Equipment Testing and Approval Scheme.

You must install a chimney, if you don’t already have one, line an existing one or have a flue pipe built for the gases to escape; this can cost several hundred pounds. And the gases need to be discharged above the roof line, so it’s not practical to have a stove if you live at basement level.

What about getting hold of the wood? With the increased demand for the dense, seasoned hardwood logs that emit the most heat, there are reports of a forthcoming shortage. And unless you own your own woodland, you can forget hunter-gathering, even for fallen logs: the Forestry Commission advises that most woodlands and commons will have restrictions.“If you don’t have a sawmill near you, or a friendly farmer, find a good local supplier,” says Stuart Burgess, of the commission. Based in Herefordshire, Certainly Wood sources wood from local estates and delivers nationally. A bag costs £180 for 1.4 cubic metres (01981 251796, www.certainlywood.co.uk); 4.5 cubic metres should run a stove for a year.

Britain grows up to 1m tons of domestic firewood per year, and the government recently announced its aim to bring another 2m tons to the market by 2020 – enough to heat 250,000 homes for a year. Welcome news for those homeowners about to make the switch.
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Energy direct debits

Many thousands of people across the UK have had their energy direct debits hiked in the last few months, sometimes by as much as two or three fold. Yet often it seems the increase bears little or no resemblance to the increased cost of gas and electricity.

Worse still, many providers WON'T lower the payments without a fight, even when it's obvious you're overpaying enormously.

The price and what you pay aren't the same

The reason this can happen is the difference between the price and what you pay.

• The Price. Power costs are set by suppliers, usually with a daily 'standing charge' plus an additional amount based on energy used measured in kilowatts/hours. So the lower the rate and your usage, the less you owe.
• What you pay. With MONTHLY direct debit, the company estimates annual usage and then divides it by twelve so you pay that each month. Thus with low summer use, you'll usually build up a credit, but this'll be needed for winter months.

The problem is, some bills don't follow this logic and are massively overestimated, as if providers are making the figures up as they go along. What's more, overpay and you'll often have to wait until the end of the year to claim the cash back, whereas underpay and the difference has to be made up straight away.

Do note; QUARTERLY direct debits are different. There you pay depending on what you've used, but the price is then higher.

Fight back NOW

The most important thing is to always do a meter reading. If you don't, it's tough to argue what a reasonable charge is. Assuming you do that, if you're heavily in credit, ask for your money back.

Then it's a question of starting to negotiate and demand an explanation as to why your debit's been pumped so high. Better still send a quick letter explaining it should be lowered.

For a full step-by-step guide to this, including free template letters to send to your provider, see the "Unfair Energy Direct Debit" guide in the 'useful links' section. It also explains how to take a case to the Ombudsman if all else fails.

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Don't wait for price cuts

1) Compare and switch - never switched? Then now is not the time to be complacent as you are likely to be paying a premium on your energy bills. Getting the right deal for you - dependent on where you live, your actual energy usage and how you like to pay - is key to saving those pounds. If you use a price comparison service, check that it is accredited under the Consumer Focus Confidence Code, impartial and upfront about how it earns its money.

2) Pay the easy way - if you pay by cash or cheque you could be paying £94 a year on average more for your energy than paying by direct debit. Not only is direct debit easy, but many suppliers offer a discount for paying this way.

3) Switch two for one - dual fuel (buying gas and electricity from one supplier) can save time and money. Not only do you benefit from dealing with just one bill and one supplier, but dual fuel plans can also offer a discount.

4) Go online - customers on standard plans are paying on average £168 more than new online customers. This is an easy saving to make - don't be put off by it being called an ‘online' plan as some suppliers will only expect you to register online and then manage your account in the same way as before.

5) Keep on top of energy bills - make sure you give regular meter readings to ensure you are being billed accurately and review your energy bills at least once a year to ensure you are still on the cheapest deal.

6) Insulate, insulate, insulate - don't spend hard earned cash heating up the street and not your home. Make sure your loft is insulated to a depth of at least 10 inches.

7) Shed some light on savings - contact your supplier or the Energy Saving Trust to find out whether you would be eligible for a grant or financial help towards making your home more energy efficient.

8) Switch it off - before you go to bed make sure you turn off all appliances such as TVs, computers and DVD players at the socket. Fit energy efficient light bulbs and make sure you turn lights off when not using a room.

9) Turn it down - most of us have the heating on way too hot. Turn it down by just one degree and you could save up to 10% on bills.

10) Cut out the draughts - check your windows and doors are sealed against draughts before the winter chill turns your home into an icebox.
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The 10 big energy myths

Myth 1: solar power is too expensive to be of much use

In reality, today's bulky and expensive solar panels capture only 10% or so of the sun's energy, but rapid innovation in the US means that the next generation of panels will be much thinner, capture far more of the energy in the sun's light and cost a fraction of what they do today. They may not even be made of silicon. First Solar, the largest manufacturer of thin panels, claims that its products will generate electricity in sunny countries as cheaply as large power stations by 2012.

Myth 2: wind power is too unreliable

Actually, during some periods earlier this year the wind provided almost 40% of Spanish power. Parts of northern Germany generate more electricity from wind than they actually need. Northern Scotland, blessed with some of the best wind speeds in Europe, could easily generate 10% or even 15% of the UK's electricity needs at a cost that would comfortably match today's fossil fuel prices.

Myth 3: marine energy is a dead-end

The thin channel of water between the north-east tip of Scotland and Orkney contains some of the most concentrated tidal power in the world. The energy from the peak flows may well be greater than the electricity needs of London. Similarly, the waves off the Atlantic coasts of Spain and Portugal are strong, consistent and able to provide a substantial fraction of the region's power. Designing and building machines that can survive the harsh conditions of fast-flowing ocean waters has been challenging and the past decades have seen repeated disappointments here and abroad. This year we have seen the installation of the first tidal turbine to be successfully connected to the UK electricity grid in Strangford Lough, Northern Ireland, and the first group of large-scale wave power generators 5km off the coast of Portugal, constructed by a Scottish company.

Myth 4: nuclear power is cheaper than other low-carbon sources of electricity

If we believe that the world energy and environmental crises are as severe as is said, nuclear power stations must be considered as a possible option. But although the disposal of waste and the proliferation of nuclear weapons are profoundly important issues, the most severe problem may be the high and unpredictable cost of nuclear plants.

Myth 5: electric cars are slow and ugly

We tend to think that electric cars are all like the G Wiz vehicle, with a limited range, poor acceleration and an unprepossessing appearance. Actually, we are already very close to developing electric cars that match the performance of petrol vehicles. The Tesla electric sports car, sold in America but designed by Lotus in Norfolk, amazes all those who experience its awesome acceleration. With a price tag of more than $100,000, late 2008 probably wasn't a good time to launch a luxury electric car, but the Tesla has demonstrated to everybody that electric cars can be exciting and desirable. The crucial advance in electric car technology has been in batteries: the latest lithium batteries - similar to the ones in your laptop - can provide large amounts of power for acceleration and a long enough range for almost all journeys.

Myth 6: biofuels are always destructive to the environment

Making some of our motor fuel from food has been an almost unmitigated disaster. It has caused hunger and increased the rate of forest loss, as farmers have sought extra land on which to grow their crops. However the failure of the first generation of biofuels should not mean that we should reject the use of biological materials forever. Within a few years we will be able to turn agricultural wastes into liquid fuels by splitting cellulose, the most abundant molecule in plants and trees, into simple hydrocarbons. Chemists have struggled to find a way of breaking down this tough compound cheaply, but huge amounts of new capital have flowed into US companies that are working on making a petrol substitute from low-value agricultural wastes.

Myth 7: climate change means we need more organic agriculture

The uncomfortable reality is that we already struggle to feed six billion people. Population numbers will rise to more than nine billion by 2050. Although food production is increasing slowly, the growth rate in agricultural productivity is likely to decline below population increases within a few years. The richer half of the world's population will also be eating more meat. Since animals need large amounts of land for every unit of meat they produce, this further threatens food production for the poor. So we need to ensure that as much food as possible is produced on the limited resources of good farmland.

Myth 8: zero carbon homes are the best way of dealing with greenhouse gas emissions from buildings

Buildings are responsible for about half the world's emissions; domestic housing is the most important single source of greenhouse gases. The UK's insistence that all new homes are "zero carbon" by 2016 sounds like a good idea, but there are two problems. In most countries, only about 1% of the housing stock is newly built each year. Tighter building regulations have no effect on the remaining 99%. Second, making a building genuinely zero carbon is extremely expensive. The few prototype UK homes that have recently reached this standard have cost twice as much as conventional houses.

Myth 9: the most efficient power stations are big

Large, modern gas-fired power stations can turn about 60% of the energy in fuel into electricity. The rest is lost as waste heat.

Even though 5-10% of the electricity will be lost in transmission to the user, efficiency has still been far better than small-scale local generation of power. This is changing fast.

Myth 10: all proposed solutions to climate change need to be hi-tech

The advanced economies are obsessed with finding hi-tech solutions to reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Many of these are expensive and may create as many problems as they solve. Nuclear power is a good example. But it may be cheaper and more effective to look for simple solutions that reduce emissions, or even extract existing carbon dioxide from the air. There are many viable proposals to do this cheaply around the world, which also often help feed the world's poorest people. One outstanding example is to use a substance known as biochar to sequester carbon and increase food yields at the same time.

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MoT energy check for homes proposed

Householders and factory owners should face penalties if they fail to cut energy use in their properties, according to the Foresight Programme report.

It might mean an owner being denied property insurance or being unable to sell the building if it fails a compulsory energy inspection which would take place every 1-2 years.

To encourage a stronger take-up of green measures - such as better insulation and more efficient boilers - a package of grants and subsidies should be offered by the Government with the possibility of property tax rebates for those who carry out the work.

"To push households and firms into taking action on this issue it may be necessary to signal a strong intent to impose and enforce mandatory regulation at a given time in the future, say three to five years, if sufficient progress has not been made," the report says.

Foresight, part of the Government Office for Science, was commissioned to look at energy systems in the built environment and to examine the challenges over the next 50 years.

Energy use in homes, factories and offices is responsible for more than 50 per cent of CO2 emissions and the report concludes that this will have to change dramatically if the UK is to meet its legally-binding target of cutting greenhouse gas emissions by 80 per cent by 2050.

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the gas & electricity switching service that compares all energy suppliers

The world's first legally-binding bill to cut carbon emissions includes a plan to guarantee homes and businesses that use their wind turbines and solar panels to feed the national grid a set fee for doing so.

But while environmentalists have welcomed the move, the Association of Electricity Producers (AEP) claims that it will undermine existing schemes to force energy firms to invest in renewable energy.

AEP chief executive David Porter told Reuters that, while the idea was commendable, it could mean that energy companies pause their developments to see if they could receive more money by scaling back production and claiming through the new scheme.

The agreement that forces energy firms to produce electricity from renewable sources is called the renewables obligation (RO).

"We are strongly in favour of the renewables obligation and the RO, or a mechanism like it, only works if the government maintains it consistently," said Mr Porter.

"Every time you meddle with it you damage the confidence that people have in the RO and it has to be rebuilt."

If you want to find out more about switching energy suppliers and how you could save up to £378 in minutes, click here.
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Avoid These Energy Rip-Offs This Winter!

Loyal customers lose out

One of Ofgem’s key findings is that customers who are loyal to their energy supplier often lose out.

Those who get their electricity from a company which was formerly the key supplier in their local area are likely to pay around 10% more than new customers who live elsewhere.

Effectively, companies earn extra profit from consumers who have remained loyal to an incumbent electricity supplier -- while offering newbies far more competitive deals.

What’s more, energy companies also modify the tariffs they offer on a regular basis. This means existing customers are likely to get a worse deal than those who’ve just switched to an energy supplier, as each new ‘version’ of an energy tariff tends to be more competitive than the last.

How you pay affects how much you pay

This might not surprise many Fools -- but Ofgem has confirmed that the way you pay for your energy affects how much you’re charged.

Using a pre-payment meter (PPM) is generally the most expensive option. Ofgem data reveals that, at the start of 2008, ‘medium’ gas and electricity users with PPMs paid an average of £125 more per year for their fuel than those who paid by direct debit.

Similarly, ‘medium use’ customers who pay their energy bills quarterly in arrears (by ‘standard credit’) spend £80 more per year than those who pay by direct debit.

Crucially, Ofgem has concluded these price differences are not always justified. That’s because the cost to companies of accepting PPM or standard credit payments is sometimes lower than the premium they charge customers for using these methods of payment.

Once again, suppliers aren’t playing fair with these individuals -- and worryingly, it’s the people who are least able to cope with additional costs that tend to use standard credit and PPMs to pay for their energy.

Doorstep deals are dodgy

According to Ofgem, consumers who change their energy supplier after a doorstep discussion don’t always benefit from the savings they are sold.

In fact, as many as 48% of gas customers and 42% of electricity customers won’t achieve any reduction in the price they pay after signing up with a new supplier in this way -- so it’s certainly not a method of switching I’d recommend.

Avoiding these energy rip-offs

If you want to cut your energy costs this winter, it’s vital to avoid all the pitfalls I outline above.

Here are my top tips for bagging a better deal on your energy:

* Don’t stick with your existing supplier. Ofgem’s report suggests that around 46% of consumers have never switched suppliers or have done so only once -- but as loyalty doesn’t pay in this situation, they’re probably paying over the odds for their energy.

* Consider an online tariff. According to Ofgem’s report, customers who opt to manage their gas and electricity bills online save an average of £50 a year. Just remember, when using an online tool, to always enter your annual energy usage in kilowatt hours (kWh) to get the most accurate price comparison possible. If you can’t find this information, it’s a good idea to phone your existing supplier and ask for it

* If it’s possible for you, think about paying for your gas and electricity by direct debit. This could cut the annual cost of your energy by £80 -- or even more if you’re a ‘high user’.

* Always ensure that your energy bills show actual, rather than estimated, meter readings. Remember, you can read your meters yourself and submit the details to your supplier to ensure you’re being charged correctly.

I believe energy suppliers have been getting away with too much, for too long -- and I’m thrilled that Ofgem has stepped in to issue a few stark warnings. But until we see regulation tightened, customers who refuse to accept poor service, inflated prices and unfair charges hold the key to making these companies behave better.

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Get stuck in to the DIY boom

Sales of do-it-yourself (DIY) “how to” guides at B&Q are up 30 per cent since the start of the credit crunch, indicating that Britons are keen to cut back on tradesmen's fees of hundreds of pounds-plus for small household jobs.

To help readers, Times Money has compiled a list of straightforward tasks that carry big savings if tackled without help, and those jobs best left to the experts.

You can find step-by-step guides for these and other everyday tasks at the websites of retailers such as B&Q (diy.com). Also helpful are the free video guides at specialist websites, such as videojug.com and howto.tv.

For an idiot-proof introduction to DIY, however, consider taking an evening course at a local college (see below). These cost as little as £100 for ten weeks. John Worgan, who teaches the subject at the Hampstead Garden Suburb Institute, in North London, says: “Taking a course means that you get to ask lots of questions and experiment in a safe environment first.”

Put up curtains

Hanging your own curtains is a simple question of cutting a track or curtain pole to length and screwing it to your wall. You will need a pole or track kit (from about £10), a hacksaw, cordless drill and screwdriver (about £15 in total) - all of which will, again, become staples of your tool kit. Note that thick curtains will cut heat loss and your heating bill.

Insulate your loft

The Energy Saving Trust says that loft insulation could save the average family £155 a year in heating costs. For the average loft it should take about an hour to lay roll-out insulation (about £250). You can obtain government grants towards this, regardless of income. For details go to governmentgrants.co.uk.

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