All of us need to maintain our bodies at a certain temperature, with the elderly, the infirm and the very young being especially vulnerable.

If there is one thing that the UK public has realised in the last few weeks is that winters are getting fiercer, and in order to get through them at a level of comfort, efforts and investments have to be made to the home. Not only is it important to install and maintain a heating system that will provide enough heat in the home to get through that period, it is also equally important to ensure that the heat that is generated is retained.

That’s why proper insulation is very important, as it helps to preserve the heat generated by a heating system. Insulating a home need not be a backbreaking expense but, like many other similar applications, it is better if the installation is put in while a property is being built.  Older properties tend not to have original insulation, and it may need to be added later, at more expense and considerable upheaval. However, when it comes to issues of health, then expense should be less of a consideration. As far as finance is concerned, a decent insulation system will return its investment, but it will be over a reasonably long term.

Insulation comes in many forms. These include fibrous insulation, foam insulation, insulated panels and even straw panels that are designed to aid proper insulation techniques. In the meantime, alternatives to conventional fibreglass, cellulose, and mineral wool are in a state of constant development and are slowly finding their way onto the market.

People are inclined to devalue the importance of proper insulation, as it represents the classic case of “out of sight, out of mind”, and that’s why the UK government is constantly mounting campaigns to stress the importance of properly insulating the home, as well as providing wide-ranging benefits for those who do. For example, UK residents who are in receipt of benefits may also be entitled to a grant of up to £3,500 for home insulation, through a government-backed scheme known as the Warm Front.

 For More information visit http://britishgasboilers.co.uk/gas-and-electricity.htm

Tags: British Gas, Energy Bills, energy costs, Energy Efficiency Advice, Heating and Hot Water, heating bills, insulation

The freezing weather of December and January has left a very large number of UK homeowners with sleepless nights.  With heating systems running around the clock, they are living in fear of when the next round of utility bills bounces on their doormat.   A recent survey has confirmed that around forty percent of the UK population are having serious problems facing the prospect of their gas and/or electricity bills being so high for this period and that they will be unable to meet them. Expectations are that the average energy bills for the two-month period will rise by at least a third.

This question is, in such an unprecedented situation where millions of UK householders are faced with such a problem, what can the authorities and the major energy suppliers do to ease the burdens?

British Gas has already announced that they will be willing to advise customers on issues such as how to extend their payment terms, as well as being able to contact the Citizens Advice Bureau for further guidance. 

According to a British Gas spokesperson any help that will be offered will be determined on an individual basis, with the elderly and the vulnerable liable to receive extra help, both from British Gas as well as  the UK government.

Currently UK residents who are entitled to a pension credit or other benefits are entitled to a £25 cold weather payment towards their energy bills, with the only condition that have been seven consecutive days with the temperature forecast or recorded to be running on or below freezing point.  With temperatures reaching minus 20° C in parts of Scotland, and with most of the UK enduring sub-zero temperatures for close to three weeks, it will be interesting to discover if the UK government will find a way to increase that subsidy.

For the future, consumers are advised to visit British Gas’ website to learn more about improving energy efficiency in the home.  Pensioners are also entitled to receive a winter fuel payment to help towards keeping warm. This can be between £125 and £400, depending on their situation.

For more information on heating bills visit http://www.britishgasboilers.co.uk/gas-and-electricity.htm

Tags: British Gas, Energy Bills, energy costs, Energy Efficiency Advice, Heating and Hot Water, heating bills

We live in the internet age and those who choose to avoid this glaring fact do so at their peril. Cutting household bills should be everyone’s priority these days and there is no doubt that by paying your gas and electricity bills through the internet save money and a fair chunk at that. Not only that, but you can use the power of the internet to compare various utility supply companies’ tariffs, and get the best deal. In the long term, loyalty isn’t always the best policy.  

Another way to whittle down your gas and electricity bills is to be analytical by understanding how your account is prepared. How is this done? Every month your gas and electricity supplier takes a little amount of money from you for the pleasure of having you as their customer.  This loyalty charge covers the cost of maintaining you as customer, even if you didn’t use a single drop of electricity or gas. All companies have fixed charges on their bills, but they can vary. So it pays to compare! The rest of the charges on your account will be variable, depending upon how much gas or electricity you use. Again, take your time to calculate how much you are using, and take physical meter readings if you suspect that you might be paying too much.

Take your time online and look for the best deals, and if you don’t already know how to do so, learn now to pay these your gas and electricity accounts through your credit card online or set up a direct debit to pay them.  It’s difficult to argue with the facts, and the facts are that the cheapest gas and electricity deals are now being found online. The cost for these national bodies to physically raise an account, fold it, post it and then making sure that it has been paid, is considerable. These are costs that the gas and electricity supply companies are interested in saving. It’s a known fact that in the past few years, the power companies now work on a dual pricing structure, with customers who insist on paying their bills in the “traditional” way paying up to a third more than those who pay online.  British Gas dual fuel standard customers can save up to £300 a year by adopting the company’s Websaver 5 tariff billing programme. 

If that alternative doesn’t suit you, another attractive proposal is to pay by direct debit. This payment method not only saves time it also saves money, estimated to be around £70 annually for an average UK family, calculated at 6% of the typical consumption of a UK family for both gas and electricity.

Every penny saved is a penny earned, and these days every penny counts.

Tags: electricity and gas, electricity bills, electricity suppliers, Energy Bills, energy companies, Energy Efficiency Advice, energy prices, gas supplier

With ever increasing fuel bills, it’s good to know that there are a number of ways by which you can get some help.

Most benefits come through eligibility to one, or more of the state benefits, such as Income Support, Disability Living Allowance, Housing Benefit, or Jobseeker’s Allowance. And various fuel grants and schemes are available from the government backed initiatives which come under the umbrella title of the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme and include such names as Warm Front, Warm Deal and Warm Homes.

And help can also come from your energy company, like British Gas, which has devised a number of products and schemes to reduce the pain of rising fuel bills.

Brought together under their Essentials Advance package, British Gas works with its qualifying customers to not only help with bill payments, but also to pro-actively help them save energy.

The Essentials Advance package includes advice on energy efficiency, free insulation (which could help you save well over £250 off future bills) and a discount of £50 off your next bill, after your free insulation has been provided.

To be considered for Essentials Advance, you need to be an existing British Gas customer and receive any following:

• Disability living allowance
• Pension credit
• Attendance allowance
• Council tax benefit
• Housing benefit
• Income support
• Income based job seeker allowance
• War disablement pension (which includes either mobility supplement or constant attendance allowance)
• Disablement pension ( which includes constant attendance allowance)
• Child Tax credit (where relevant income is £15,592 or less)
• Working Tax credit (where relevant income is £15, 592 or less).

If you think you are eligible, British Gas have a network of energy experts who will come around and visit you, talking you through the various schemes and plans that exist to help.

They can be reached via the telephone on 0800 072 7100.

They also provide help with debt support, recommend charities that also help and suggest other home energy plans.

But if you are having a problem with your British Gas bill, do call them on 0800 048 0404 and talk it through with specialist advisers.

British Gas also has established an independent charity, the British Gas Energy Trust, which offers existing customers help via grants and Further Assistance Payments.

For further information, visit: www.britishgasenergytrust.org.uk.

British Gas also has links with six other charities and regularly liaise on how to help people with their fuel bills. They also offer a ‘here to HELP’ programme which offers free, or subsidised insulation, and other key advice, via four of their charity partners, namely Help the Aged, Scope, RNIB and Money Advice Trust. More information can be obtained by telephoning 0845 605 2535.

Furthermore, the British Gas Home Energy Care Team provides help and advice for over half a million of its most vulnerable customers, including providing bills in alternative formats, gas safety checks and appliance controls that are specially adapted for older, ill, or disabled customers. Call 0845 955 5404 for more information.

And if English is not your native language, then British Gas can discuss your bill in a number of other languages, including Polish, Somali, Urdu, Turkish, Bengali and Punjabi.

All this is one very good reason to make sure British Gas is your energy provider.

Tags: British Gas, Energy Bills, Energy Efficiency, Fuel, Fuel Bills

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.

---

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