Four easy ways to save £550 on energy bills this winter

The top tips were simple, but could reap big rewards

Rising energy bills have been playing on people's minds as they toy with the idea of putting the heating on. As temperatures begin to drop, search volumes have rose 60 per cent as people question "are energy bills going up?"

More people were also typing "help towards my energy bills" into search engines as they looked for ways to protect their household budgets. The Express reports that the 10 per cent energy price cap increase from Ofgem, which kicked off at the start of October, was expected to increase bills by £12 every month - equating to almost £150 extra a year.

However national housebuilder, St. Modwen Homes, has four hacks that could help slash energy bills by more than £550 this winter. The top tips were simple, but could reap big rewards.

READ MORE: 'I'm an energy expert and this is why you shouldn't paint your radiator black'

Bleed your radiators

Air bubbles can accumulate within radiators over time, and stop them from heating up as well as they should. Those who bleed radiators and remove the excess air will improve the efficiency of radiators without having to turn the thermostat up. It takes a few minutes to do and can reduce energy bills by up to 20 per cent, which works out to around £350 a year.

How to bleed a radiator:

• Turn the boiler off and allow sufficient time for any radiators to cool.
• Position a towel under the valve and then use a bleed key - available from most hardware DIY shops - to slightly open the bleed valve by turning it anti-clockwise.
• A hissing noise will indicate that air is escaping.
• Once the hissing stops, close the valve.

Don't leave appliances on standby

Turning off unused lamps, toasters and kettles instead of leaving them on standby could save around £40 a year. Smart plugs and timers can help to do this automatically, or daily reminders could be set on smartphones or smart home technology.

Don’t heat empty rooms

Most UK homes have a radiator in every room - but not all rooms will be in constant use. Those located in a spare bedroom that is largely untouched could be turned off to save some cash. This could slash energy bills by 4.5 per cent - that's an extra £50 in your bank.

Heat the human, not the room

It's possible to through the winter without using the heating at all - as long as you’re savvy and don’t mind layering up. Investing in an electric blanket would allow people to stay warm at night and could cost as little as 3p an hour to use, in comparison to a whopping 22p per hour for standard energy supplies.

Using an electric blanket instead of turning the heating on over the winter months could save £136.80. With an electric blanket costing as little as £24.99, that could be more than £110 in savings.