Countering the Energy Rate Increases
At a time when thousands of Irish householders are struggling to make energy bill repayments the Commission for Energy Regulation have granted Bord Gais permission to increase gas rates by 8.5% from October 1st 2012.
“This is another difficult decision for the Irish consumer to take” according to Colm Griffin of Purchase.ie, an Irish company which specialise in the sale of products to help consumers to reduce their domestic bills and a finalist in the 2012 Green Awards.” It comes only 12 months after the gas rates increased by 22% and will have a negative impact on the disposal income available to families”.
With oil rates on what seems like a constant incline there is likely to be further bad news for consumers in the coming days as it is seems almost certain that all the main electricity suppliers in Ireland (Bord Gais, Electric Ireland and Airtricity) will also increase rates and implement the increase from October 1st.
“People can complain about this all they like but unfortunately this decision has been made” Griffin added. “A more positive approach might be for consumers to focus on ways to counter the price hike and reduce their energy usage”
Griffin suggests many ways in which people can achieve this goal.
If you use radiators to heat your home you can ensure the room reaches a comfortable temperature faster by installing a Radiator Booster fan on top of the rad. The Booster pushes the warm air throughout the room faster meaning you won’t need to leave your heating system on for as long.”
“Use energy saving bulbs whenever possible and try to avoid using appliances such as tumbler dryers as these are very heavy on your energy bill. If you got to use them insert Dry Cubes in the dryer as this will reduce the drying time by about 30%
Griffin adds that a lot of money is wasted by heating water which is never used and people should consider products like the instant hot water tap and water saving showerheads as a way to counter this issue and make long-term savings.
In the kitchen ensure that you regularly clean the coils on your refrigerator and use a fridge thermometer to ensure that both your fridge and freezer at the right temperature. Don’t boil a full kitchen of water when you just want to make one cup of tea or consider opting for an Eco Kettle to help make this decision for you.
You pay enough money for heating oil so protect it against theft with a Watchman Oil Security Alarm and ensure to draught proof your home including the fireplace with a chimney balloon.
If you are finding it difficult to identify why your bills are so much its probably worth investing in an Owl Energy Monitor which will tell you exactly what you are spending in real time and what the accumulative figure is since you last re-set it.
For more energy saving tips go to
http://purchase.ie/advice/
Purchase.ie have an extensive range of products to help reduce energy usage and can be viewed at
http://purchase.ie/energy-
Use the discount coupon sept10 for 10% off the entire product range throughout the month of September . For telephone orders call 01 8428187 and quote the code.
