Households go without heating to save on energy bills
With a general election looming, uSwitch.com is calling on the country's politicians to make affordable energy a priority after research revealed the extent and misery of energy rationing in British homes this winter.
The high cost of energy is forcing British households into a self-imposed ‘ice age' with people cutting down or rationing their heating due to cost, according to new research from uSwitch.com, the independent price comparison and switching service. Despite being the coldest winter in 30 years, seven out of ten people (69%) cut down or rationed their energy usage while half (50%) even chose to go without heating in an attempt to keep costs down.
Of these, over a third (37%) went without heating occasionally, while over one in ten (12%) regularly went without. Just 29% of people - less than three in ten - didn't feel the need to go without heating this winter to keep costs down - a shocking indictment of life in modern day Britain.
While many felt forced to turn heating off, others compromised by keeping the heating on, but at a level lower than comfortable. In fact, almost a quarter (22%) put up with being colder indoors than they would have liked to be in an attempt to cut costs. As a result, many turned to tried and tested methods of keeping warm including only using one or two rooms in their home (27%), dressing in more layers (78%), leaving the oven door open after cooking (32%) and wrapping up in a blanket when sitting down (50%).
Sadly for some though, the cold actually forced them out of their homes with one in ten (10%) visiting friends, family and even the local library just to keep warm.
The downside of the self-rationing seen this winter is that quality of life and health has suffered. Over one in ten (12%) of people say that the cutbacks they made on heating in order to manage costs affected their quality of life or even their health. And despite making such cutbacks 18% of people are still concerned about their next energy bill.
However, almost four in ten (38%) felt they achieved the right balance between keeping their home warm and managing costs this winter, while a third (33%) took up energy efficiency measures to keep costs down. Unsurprisingly the bitter cold experienced this year has focussed consumers' minds on energy - 89% now say they are more aware of the cost and a third (34%) say they are now more likely to introduce energy efficiency measures at home in the future.
Ann Robinson, Director of Consumer Policy at uSwitch.com, says: "Let us be clear that this is not about people becoming more energy efficient - this is about people going cold. And sadly it has taken a bitter winter to bring home the bitter truth about the impact high household energy costs can have on quality of life and health in Britain today.
"The reality this winter is that many households were forced into a self-imposed ‘ice age' with people cutting down or rationing their heating due to concerns about cost. This isn't just shameful - it raises a huge question mark over the ongoing affordability of energy in Britain and this is something that now needs to be tackled as a matter of urgency.
"While many households were forced to compromise on heating this winter because of worries about the cost, the good news is that it has woken 89% of us up to the fact that energy bills are now substantially higher than just a few years ago. It has made us aware that we now have to start thinking about and managing our energy usage very differently to in the past.
"Households can do this by making sure they are paying the lowest possible price for their energy and learning to use less of it. As a result of this winter, a third of people are now more likely to adopt energy efficiency measures to help them bring their heating and energy costs down. I would urge the industry to capitalise on this sentiment now by talking to customers about the help that is available to them."