Put a spring in your step and pounds back in your pocket

With clocks going forward an hour on Sunday (25 March), summer is finally on its way. uSwitch.com, the independent, online switching and comparison service, is urging people to put a spring in their step and pounds back in their pockets by using the longer, brighter days to spring clean their finances and check they are with the most competitive energy supplier.

For those intending to give their home finances a spruce up, uSwitch.com is offering the following helpful hints on how to save money and energy for a financially healthier spring:

Make a change: if you have never switched your energy supplier before then it is likely that you are still on an uncompetitive standard product offered by a local supplier in your area. This is likely to be British Gas for your gas supply and your local electricity board

Double up: signing up for a dual fuel tariff i.e. getting your gas and electricity from the same supplier could save you up to £28

Get connected: managing your accounts online can cut bills by up to 9%. If you have never switched before, moving to a dual fuel online tariff and paying a monthly direct debit could save up to £218 - online customers pay on average £76 less than those on standard tariffs

Be energy efficient: turning down the heating by just one degree can save 10% on your annual energy bill. Ensuring that your home is properly insulated will drive the costs down too

Don’t let stand-by be a drain: the UK wastes nearly £1 billion of electricity each year just by leaving appliances such as TVs on stand-by

Lighten up: UK households use £1.9 billion worth of electricity every year on lighting. If every house installed just three compact fluorescent light bulbs (energy saving bulbs) we could all save enough energy over one year to light every street in the UK

Geoff Slaughter, Energy Product Manager at uSwitch.com comments: “Although springtime is when many of us turn our heating down or off, it’s really important that we don’t then forget all about our energy bills until next winter. Some of the recently announced energy price reductions are not kicking-in until April and there are some real savings to be made by switching - up to £325 – which is enough to put a spring in anyone’s step.

“We should all be looking more closely at the energy deals now available and thinking seriously about getting the best value we possibly can, whether this means switching to dual fuel, online or to a completely new provider. Add to this a few basic energy saving measures and you could reduce your annual bill significantly, putting some valuable extra cash back in your pocket.”