7 hours Ago By James Flanders
IF there is a way to reduce my energy bills – I will try it. As a consumer journalist, I am always looking for ways to save money and the offer of free energy is tempting but are the schemes any good?GettyEnergy suppliers are bribing customers to adjust their energy usage[/caption]Wilfried Haubenberger - Commissioned by The Sun Fabulous MagazineChief Consumer Reporter, James Flanders digs deep and crunches the numbers to see if there are real savings to be had[/caption]British Gas, EDF, E.ON Next, OVO, and Scottish Power are bribing customers to adjust their energy usage to off-peak periods by offering attractive incentives.
By making small changes – like running your dishwasher early in the morning or doing your laundry over the weekend – they claim you could see noticeable savings on your energy bills.Having closely followed the energy crisis since prices soared and were eventually capped by the government in 2022, I couldn’t help but wonder if these promised savings were simply too good to be true.However, after digging deeper and crunching the numbers, it turns out there are indeed real savings to be had – provided you’re willing to be a bit flexible with your energy habits.
To work all this out, we first need to take a closer look at the running costs of my household appliances.Take my trusty Miele washing machine, for example.It’s fairly efficient, costing me around 11p per cycle.
This is because a standard 60-minute ECO wash uses roughly 425 watts of power.To calculate the running cost of an appliance, you first need to convert its wattage into kilowatts (kWh).Since 1,000 watts equals 1kWh, my washing machine uses 0.
425 kWh per cycle. From there, you simply multiply this figure by your electricity unit rate.Mine, capped under Ofgem‘s price cap, is currently 27p per kWh.
That’s how I arrive at the 11p per cycle cost.Next on the list is my Bosch dishwasher, which costs around 67p to run a single ECO cycle.The real energy guzzler, however, is my Miele condenser dryer, which comes in at an eye-watering £1.
52 per cycle.As for lighting, I’ve switched to smart LED bulbs, so they barely make a dent in my bill – costing less than 1p an hour to run so we’ll omit these from the test.Below, I take a look at each scheme, what they offer and how easy it would be to achieve and try and estimate how much they could save me.
British Gas Peak Save SundaysBritish Gas‘s widely popular Peak Save scheme offers customers half-price electricity every Sunday between 11am and 4pm.The supplier says that over 650,000 customers have already joined the initiative, collectively saving an impressive £13million.But how much could I save?Let’s assume I do two loads of laundry each week – one for colours and another for whites.
By running both appliances twice every Sunday during the discounted Peak Save period, I could achieve an annual saving of approximately £84.In comparison, sticking to midweek laundry routines would cost me double that – around £168 per year.I could also save an additional £17.
42 per year by shifting my Sunday dishwasher cycle to the Sunday Peak Save hours.The only drawback? This scheme gives you a relatively short window of time to fit in all your laundry.You can sign up to the scheme by visiting britishgas.
co.uk/energy/peak-save.html.
My typical usageHERE'S the lowdown on my energy usage:Miele Washing Machine (A-rated): A 60-minute cycle costs around 11p.Miele Condenser Dryer: A 95-minute cycle uses a hefty £1.52.
Ouch!Bosch Dishwasher: A 200-minute ECO cycle costs about 67p.Philips Hue Smart Bulbs: Negligible cost, less than 1p per hour.Scottish Power Power SaverFor those who find the restricted timeframe of British Gas’s Peak Save scheme challenging, Scottish Power’s Power Saver Scheme offers a potential solution with greater flexibility.
While both schemes offer 50% off electricity between 11am and 4pm on Sundays, Scottish Power extends this discount to Saturdays as well.This provides a wider window of opportunity for customers to shift their energy consumption and maximise their savings.If I were to shift my washing machine usage to either of these two time windows over the weekend, I could save £84 annually.
Additionally, by scheduling my two weekend dishwasher cycles during these times, I’d save £35 a year – £17 more than the savings from running a single cycle on a Sunday under British Gas’s plan.EDF Sunday SaverEDF’s Sunday Saver scheme encourages customers to shift their electricity usage away from weekday peak hours (4pm to 7pm) in exchange for free electricity on the following Sunday.However, the potential savings with this scheme are more difficult to estimate, as they depend on how much of your typical electricity usage you can successfully shift.
That said, if I managed to qualify for the full 16 hours of free electricity, I could run my washing machine, dryer, and dishwasher entirely free on Sundays.Based on two loads of washing and drying plus one dishwasher cycle, this could save me around £203 a year.However, unlike the other schemes mentioned above, this one requires more effort.
It’s not just about being smart with when I use my appliances on Sundays – I also need to carefully manage my electricity usage during the week.And let’s be honest, when I’m busy with work or social commitments, that’s easier said than done.The thought of sitting in front of my smart meter each evening, with the lights off and devices unplugged, isn’t exactly the most appealing way to spend my time.
Octopus Energy OctoplusOctopus Energy offers its Octoplus members free electricity during times when the grid is at its greenest.When energy market prices drop, the supplier shares those savings with enrolled customers through hour-long Free Electricity sessions.These slots typically occur between 1pm and 2pm during the summer months, when demand is at its lowest.
However, the drawback of this scheme lies in its unpredictability, making it difficult to plan household activities around it.Most appliance cycles – such as washing machines and dryers – take considerably longer than an hour, further limiting the practicality of these sessions for everyday tasks.Moreover, Octopus Energy has only hosted eight of these Free Electricity sessions since the scheme launched last August.
Even if I managed to use my appliances during all eight sessions, the total savings would amount to just £18.40.When compared to other initiatives that offer guaranteed cheaper rates at set times on a regular basis, the benefits of this scheme feel somewhat redundant.
Ovo Energy Power MoveOvo Energy‘s Power Move is a scheme that rewards customers for reducing their electricity usage during peak hours, typically between 4pm and 7pm on weekdays.It’s not a guaranteed discount, but rather a prize draw system.If you successfully reduce your energy consumption during these peak times to below a certain percentage of your daily total (usually 12.
5% or 15%), you’re entered into a monthly prize draw.Prizes range from £2 to £2,000 of free energy.While there is a chance to win substantial savings, the reward is not guaranteed, making it more of a bonus incentive for those already inclined to shift their energy usage.
How do I calculate my energy bill?BELOW we reveal how you can calculate your own energy bill.To calculate how much you pay for your energy bill, you must find out your unit rate for gas and electricity and the standing charge for each fuel type.The unit rate will usually be shown on your bill in p/kWh.
The standing charge is a daily charge that is paid 365 days of the year – irrespective of whether or not you use any gas or electricity.You will then need to note down your own annual energy usage from a previous bill.Once you have these details, you can work out your gas and electricity costs separately.
Multiply your usage in kWh by the unit rate cost in p/kWh for the corresponding fuel type – this will give you your usage costs.You’ll then need to multiply each standing charge by 365 and add this figure to the totals for your usage – this will then give you your annual costs.Divide this figure by 12, and you’ll be able to determine how much you should expect to pay each month from April 1.
Which is best?So, what’s the verdict?These schemes aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution, but they can certainly help reduce costs.Shifting my dryer and dishwasher usage to off-peak times, especially with half-price or free electricity offers, could make a noticeable difference to my energy bills.The key, however, lies in being organised and planning ahead.
For me, British Gas and Scottish Power’s schemes come out on top.They stand out because they provide the predictability needed to estimate meaningful, regular savings – something the other schemes struggle to offer..
