FOUR common energy savings "tips" might not be saving households any money at all, according to experts.
The advice comes as energy bills are set to rise by £500 for the average household in April.
Under the current energy price guarantee a typical UK household pays no more than £2,500 a year.
But when the cap on energy bills hits £3,000 a year many will be looking at new ways to cut their bills.
This is because the exact amount that your energy bills will rise by will depend entirely on your own usage – so if you use less than the average household, expect to pay less than £3,000 a year.
Separating fact from fiction when it comes to energy saving is important to ensure that cutting down on energy bills is not only effective, but simple too.
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We spoke to Dominick Sandford, managing director at ElectricalDirect to find out the common myths which claim to save households cash on their bills.
Dominick also shares six energy-saving tips that can help cut your costs by up to £426 a year.
But first here are Domninick's four energy-saving myths.
Tin foil behind radiators
You might have heard that placing silver foil behind the back of your radiators can help reflect heat back into your room.
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The intention here is to minimise the amount of heat that can escape through your walls – but it's not as nifty as it sounds.
Dominick said: "It is a trick that has been passed around for many years – the idea of making radiators more effective by placing tin foil behind them, and not letting heat escape needlessly into cavity walls.
"However, if your cavity walls are already adequately insulated, putting tin foil behind your radiators will have little to no effect on your energy bills, as the cavity wall insulation is already there to keep heat in."
"Even if tin foil was placed behind radiators installed on uninsulated cavity walls, the radiator will still need to be powered for the same period of time for it to have the desired effect."
According to Dominick, any benefit is still minuscule when following this tip.
Turning water heaters off when not in use
For those who don't have a combi boiler and rely on stored hot water in a tank, turning off your water heating when not in use may sound reasonable – but all is not what it seems.
Dominick said: "Turning your boilers and water heaters on and off will result in the tank needing to be reheated over and over again whenever you need hot water. "
To help avoid these extra costs Dominick recommends that households invest in a hot water tank insulation jacket to keep their water hotter for longer.
"With a hot water jacket, you can heat up your tank to the desired temperature and keep it there for most of the day, possibly all day," he said.
You can buy a hot water jacket for less than £20 at a number of retailers including B&Q, Toolstation and Screwfix.
Using your thermostat at a higher temperature for short periods
Maintaining a steady room temperature is actually far more efficient than flicking your heating on max for short bursts of time.
Dominick said: "The purpose of a thermostat is to keep a room at a steady desired temperature.
"Therefore, it does not matter how much quicker the room heats up, it will take the same amount of time to level out back to the desired pre-determined temperature, while still using the same amount of energy.
"It is recommended to only use your central heating when you are at home."
In fact, reducing the temperature of your thermostat by just one degree can save you over £100 a year, according to Energy Saving Trust.
When it comes to your thermostat, Energy Saving Trust also recommends you should set it to the "lowest comfortable temperature".
For most of us, this is between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius.
It's just the right balance between keeping your home warm and keeping those energy bills as low as possible.
Painting radiators black
Sorry to break it to you, but painting your radiators black will not help you conserve energy and slash your bills.
Dominick said: "This myth is again based on half-truths – it is true that black and dark-coloured materials and objects absorb heat faster than white or lighter ones.
"However, this is only the case with heat that is generated through light, so even though painting your radiators black might bring a certain aesthetic flair to your décor, it will do absolutely nothing to reduce your energy bills."
Six energy-saving tips that cut your bills
Firstly, households can save £156 a year by using a timed heating programme instead of manually switching their boiler on and off.
With a timed programme households won't need to remember to turn off their heating when they go out or head to bed.
Keeping your showers under four minutes can help slash your energy bills and bring down your water bills by £95 a year.
This is because long showers drain your hot water heater, meaning energy is required to reheat a new tank.
Households that opt to dry their laundry on a line or clothes horse can also slash their energy bills by £70.
This saving is made when households cut using their tumble dryer.
Washing clothes at lower temperatures can also help slash your bills.
While particularly dirty garments need a higher temperature wash, cleaning most of your clothes at 30 degrees instead of 40 degrees could save you £9 a year.
Households that stop leaving their devices on standby when not in use can also save £65 a year.
When you’re finished with a device, turn it off at the socket to ensure you're not wasting more energy than you need.
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Finally, leaving the tap running while brushing your teeth could set you back £31 a year.
So make sure to keep your tap off when you brush.
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