Energy bills are set to soar again this winter as the energy crisis in Europe worsens.

Prices have soared in the past year as demand surges – this has been greatly exacerbated by the conflict in Ukraine and ensuing tensions with Russia.

As a result, the current price cap on energy bills, as set by energy regulator Ofgem, is £1,971 having increased from £1,277 on 1 April.

But as announced on 26 August, this cap will now rise to £3,546 on 1 October.

In practice these figures are quoted for the ‘average’ home usage, so you could end up paying more (or less) depending on what you actually use in your home.

Although tricky, this means it is still possible to save money on your energy bills. There are a few ways of doing this.

Make changes to your home

The first, and more costly way to make long-term changes to your energy consumption is by changing the way your home uses, conserves, or even produces energy.

The Government has launched a tool that you can use to get an idea of what potential upgrades you can make to your home, the costs and potential savings.

Ideas include installation of cavity, roof and floor insulation. Also, installing a heat pump to replace a gas boiler, or solar panels to produce your own heating or energy.

It also includes ideas such as upgrading your windows to double glazing, installing smart thermostats to regulate your heating more efficiently or buying more energy-efficient home appliances.

While these are all good ways to make your home more energy efficient, the issue with many is that they’re either not practical depending on your property or require personal investment that won’t realise the financial benefit for some time.

Taking the aforementioned Government tool can give you an idea of the saving and costs of each idea.

Make changes to your behaviour

This is where behavioural changes come in and provide the possibility to save money immediately on your energy bills.

All the figures below are quoted by the Energy Saving Trust based on current energy price cap levels and average household by size and usage levels – so this is liable to change come October. But if anything, the cost savings could get better. Here are those tips:

  1. Ditch one bath a week for a shower – £12
  2. Reduce dishwasher usage by filling it completely – £14
  3. Turning off all lights in rooms you’re not using – £20
  4. Washing your clothes at 30 degrees and reducing your number of washes with larger loads (i.e., don’t put one jumper in and put a wash on) – £28
  5. Insulate your hot water cylinder if you have one – £35
  6. Fill the kettle to the level you need, not the top – £36
  7. Installing draft excluders or cushions on doors to prevent heat loss to rooms you’re not using frequently – £45
  8. Turn off the electronics in your house instead of leaving things like TVs on standby when you’re not using them – £55
  9. Dry clothes on a rack or in the garden, avoid the tumble dryer – £60
  10. Take shorter showers. The Energy Saving Trust says under four minutes is ideal – £70

While all these behavioural tweaks save fairly small amounts individually, taken together you’re looking at around £375 a year less on your bills. Were the price cap to rise to £3,400, this would be a saving of around 11% – no small amount.

While in the context of long-term wealth growth this might seem like small fry, the truth is cutting day-to-day living costs is one of the most effective ways to save more for the long term.