There is something in us all that likes to compare the bad things that happen to us. From surgical scars to how long we waited for a bus, the list is very long. One of the biggest competitions, and especially after emerging from a long and especially cold winter is, how high was your electricity bill? To be honest, the completion should be handicapped, for some people have naturally higher demands for electricity which is set by the size of their family, the number of rooms in their home, and any special needs that they may have.

Taking these factors into consideration, in any event, should allow a person to calculate how much to expect when their electricity bill comes along, especially if they have gathered statistics from previous years and according to season. If the bill has appeared to climb from the previous years for a season, then no time should be wasted in analyzing what went wrong, and correct before the next competition comes along.

It would be easy to say “well just switch off all the lights and sit in the freezing cold without a television, and that way you will save a fortune on your electricity bill.” But that would not be the point of the exercise. Energy is there to be used, but used wisely.

That means switching off lights whenever they are not needed, with the same rule applying to the television or television as well as the home computers.  Preserve warm or even cold air in a room by sealing all the doors and windows to preserve an even temperature. This is a low cost solution to a problem that will save a lot of money all year round.

Washing machines and tumbler driers are notorious users of energy, and are particularly in use over the winter months as people wear a lot more clothes, and cannot hang their washing out to dry. Try and use the off-peak hours to do your washing. You will be amazed how much you save. If you have an electric water heater, make sure that you don’t let it heat water to a temperature.

Although they take very little time to heat up food, microwave ovens use huge amounts of electricity. Instead use your home oven to re-heat food. It may take a lot more time, but will save a lot of money.

If you invest in fluorescent bulbs, and even change the existing ones in high-use fixtures, you will save around sixty percent in electricity consumption.  It all adds up.

There are many ways to cut down electricity consumption and with it the amount of money you will need to lay out. That way you can join the lowest electricity bill competition. It’s much more fun to win.

Tags: British Gas, electricity and gas, electricity bills, Electricty, Fuel, Fuel Bills, fuel consumption

British Gas HomeCare is one of the most comprehensive maintenance and repair programmes available today, but just how useful is it for the average householder?

Lets face it, every central heating system will go wrong at some stage. Now, you’re either one of those people who prefer to save their money and take the risk that things won’t go drastically and expensively wrong, or one of those that only rest easy when they have protected themselves against every eventuality. Or, like most people, you occupy the middle ground. You would like peace of mind, but you don’t want to pay the earth for it.

The British Gas HomeCare plan was created to cater for all those owning and running a boiler and central heating systems, and a number of other systems and appliances. For those that believe prevention is better than cure and those want some protection against often crippling repair bills.

You could argue that one downside of the programme is that it is complicated and does require a bit of effort to choose the best particular plan for your particular needs.

But lets see if we can explain it, without too much fuss.

Basically, for a set monthly fee, the British Gas HomeCare plan will cover you against a graduated list of things that can go wrong with your boiler, central heating system, and other systems and appliances. The more you pay, the more things are covered. And within each level of the programme, you can opt to effectively pay an excess (as with a car insurance) and pay less per month.

Right, the first level of HomeCare and one which covers the boiler and its controls, is Level 100, or to be precise, HomeCare Flexi 100™. This starts from £9 a month and the Flexi in the title basically refers to the £50 excess, which represents a £50 fixed fee per repair. Therefore, no matter what your repair costs British Gas, it will only cost you £50 per repair. Now with boiler repairs averaging around £250, you’ll be £200 better off straightaway.

Of course, the observant amongst you will notice that the price is ‘from’ £9. To get an accurate quote, you have to give your postcode and like everything in the U.K., much will depend on where you live.

Still on Level 100, the next step up is to HomeCare 100™. This is basically Level 100 without the excess; an all inclusive price.

Up one step further and you reach Level 200, and HomeCare Flexi 200™, which from £13 per month and the £50 fixed fee per repair, has all the benefits of Level 100, but also, covers radiators, hot water and pipework. And yes, you’ve got it, if you want to remove the £50 fixed fee per repair charge, you have to pay from £17 a month to attain the HomeCare 200™.

So, from £17 a month, or £240 a year, you get peace of mind cover on your complete central heating system. And, with the average cost of a central heating system repair of around £250 to £300, this has to be, in anyone’s book, good value.

But, Level 200 is not the top and you can go further, into the heights of Levels 300 and 400.

The HomeCare Flexi 300™ has the benefits of 200, but from £14 a month and the £50 fixed fee per repair clause, extends cover to your plumbing and drains. Take out the repair clause excess, and you get the HomeCare 300™ which from £22.50 is an exclusive price for the Level 300 coverage.

When you reach the heights of Level 400, initially with the HomeCare Flexi 400™, you can add, from £17 a month, home electrics to the benefits of Level 300 and if you don’t want the £50 fixed fee per repair clause, you can opt, from £27 a month, for HomeCare Flexi 400™.

Okay, so it might be a wee bit complicated and it is slightly irritating that the prices are from, rather than set, but even so, even the gravest of cynics might see that the British Gas HomeCare plan could save you a lot of money.

Tags: Boiler, British Gas, Central Heating, Electricty, HomeCare

British Gas Wales trades under the name of Nwy Prydain.

And although Cardiff-based Nwy Prydain provides exactly the same service as British Gas, there are some interesting variations.

These include no standing charge, so customers have the advantage of only paying for what they use. This innovation was first introduced by Nwy Prydain and has proved very popular with customers. They also offer a significant discount if you take both electricity and gas from them.

A further bonus is their Free Bill Payment Cover which offers to clear your energy bills in case of accidental death – something not to be sniffed at these days.

And British Gas Wales, under the guise of Nwy Prydain, has a Welsh language service, meaning that Welsh language speakers can get the best from the company and its various offers.

Nwy Prydain is a one-stop energy company.

It not only provides an extensive range of competitive tariffs for gas, electricity, or duel fuel (gas and electricity), it covers your home maintenance and repair needs. This includes anything from installing a complete new central heating system, to providing hassle-free maintenance over its long life. For existing systems, it also provides a comprehensive repair service, meaning that most parts of your system, including your boiler and radiators, can be repaired quickly and cost-effectively.

But http://www.britishgasboilers.co.uk/about-us.htmis not only about energy and central heating systems. It can effectively cover all your home repair and maintenance needs, including most plumbing and drains; electrical appliances; gas appliances; and, kitchen appliances.

It also sets out to help its customers by offering advice and tips on all the major issues connected with running a home. These include understanding how your bill is calculated; how to pay your bill; suggesting ways that your bill could be reduced by sensible practices around the home; tips on basic maintenance to help avoid future problems; what to do in the event of a breakdown; and, take some of the mystery away from central heating systems in general.

Nwy Prydain also promotes active energy efficiency, with reports and advice available on general energy savings; energy efficient products (including light bulbs); how to save energy and help your wallet; and, the introduction of new technologies and grants that are being made available for domestic use.

All in all, Nwy Prydain is one of the most pro-active energy companies operating today.

Tags: British Gas, Central Heating, Electricty, Fuel, Gas, Nwy Prydain

A social tariff is there for those that need help to pay their fuel bills.

With fuel prices gobbling far more of people’s home budgets than ever before, rules are now in place which try and make it clear who is needy and how the energy companies should respond.

The regulator of the Office of the Gas and Electricity Markets, Ofgem, has set some quite strict guidelines.

But, firstly, who qualifies for the help? It is those people that are deemed vulnerable customers and those that are seen as fuel poor customers (defined as spending on energy more than one tenth of their income).

After some confusion when the idea of social energy tariffs were first introduced, Ofgem stepped in to clarify the situation, now demanding that social tariffs should be equal to the energy provider’s most competitive (cheapest) tariff. It was thought unfair in many quarters that those having a hard time to pay their energy bills, were those that were, ironically on the most expensive deals.

So following Ofgem’s stance, the energy companies had to commit to a spend of £225 million between the years 2008 and 2011 on social tariffs.

One of the U.K.’s largest energy companies, British Gas, was the first to introduce a social tariff, having recognised the concept of fuel poverty way before many of its competitors.

The British Gas social tariff, known as The Essentials Tariff, is currently the largest in the U.K. It has the laudable aim of reducing the energy bills of over 750,000 of British Gas’s most needy customers.

These include people with Pay-As-You-Go electricity and gas meters, those without a bank account and the ones who have signed up to the British Gas Winter Rebate plan. For many of these customers, the new guidelines will make a meaningful difference to the prices of their electricity and gas.

And there are other ways to get help with your fuel bills, including grants and schemes, which tend to be grouped under the heading of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme.

It depends in which part of the U.K you live to who administers the scheme and who sets the eligibility criteria.

In England, it’s called the Warm Front Scheme and in Wales, the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme. You are eligible if you are on a wide number of benefits.

For more information have a look at the EAGA website at www.eaga.co.uk or phone 0800 408 0694. Details about home energy efficiency schemes, and how to apply, are available by calling your local Energy Efficiency Advice Centre on freephone 0800 512 012. For other grants, contact your local authority or energy supplier and find out if they have any information.

You can also phone the Energy Saving Trust on 0845 727 7200 to ask about grants and schemes in your area.

In Scotland, it’s called the Warm Deal Scheme; for more information visit: www.scotland.gov.uk. In Northern Ireland, its called the Warm Homes Grant and have a look at the EAGA website at www.eaga.co.uk.

On a general basis, a home energy efficiency grant is not something to be sniffed at. They range from £500 to a very significant £5,000; so there’s no excuse not to try and use the grant system to keep warm.

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For more information on Social tariffs Visithttp://www.britishgasboilers.co.uk/

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Tags: Electricty, Fuel, Fuel Bills, Gas, Social Tariff

British Gas Wales trades under the name of Nwy Prydain.

And although Cardiff-based Nwy Prydain provides exactly the same service as British Gas, there are some interesting variations.

These include no standing charge, so customers have the advantage of only paying for what they use. This innovation was first introduced by Nwy Prydain and has proved very popular with customers. They also offer a significant discount if you take both electricity and gas from them.

A further bonus is their Free Bill Payment Cover which offers to clear your energy bills in case of accidental death – something not to be sniffed at these days.

And British Gas Wales, under the guise of Nwy Prydain, has a Welsh language service, meaning that Welsh language speakers can get the best from the company and its various offers.

Nwy Prydain is a one-stop energy company.

It not only provides an extensive range of competitive tariffs for gas, electricity, or duel fuel (gas and electricity), it covers your home maintenance and repair needs. This includes anything from installing a complete new central heating system, to providing hassle-free maintenance over its long life. For existing systems, it also provides a comprehensive repair service, meaning that most parts of your system, including your boiler and radiators, can be repaired quickly and cost-effectively.

But Nwy Prydain is not only about energy and central heating systems. It can effectively cover all your home repair and maintenance needs, including most plumbing and drains; electrical appliances; gas appliances; and, kitchen appliances.

It also sets out to help its customers by offering advice and tips on all the major issues connected with running a home. These include understanding how your bill is calculated; how to pay your bill; suggesting ways that your bill could be reduced by sensible practices around the home; tips on basic maintenance to help avoid future problems; what to do in the event of a breakdown; and, take some of the mystery away from central heating systems in general.

Nwy Prydain also promotes active energy efficiency, with reports and advice available on general energy savings; energy efficient products (including light bulbs); how to save energy and help your wallet; and, the introduction of new technologies and grants that are being made available for domestic use.

All in all, Nwy Prydain is one of the most pro-active energy companies operating today.

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For more Information on British Gas or their Products visit http://www.britishgasboilers.co.uk/

Tags: British Gas, Electricty, Energy Bills, Fuel, Gas, Nwy Prydain, Wales