British Gas, OVO, EDF, Octopus customers warned 'stop' using oven

Four hidden energy drainers are adding to your bills. British Gas, EDF, Eon Next, Ovo and Octopus households and customers have been given simple switches to save money as the Cost of Living crisis continues up and down the country.

The Energy Saving Trust has shared little-known mistakes which waste energy. Explaining that using the wrong appliance when cooking is the first pitfall, the EST said: "If cooking a meal for one or two, having to preheat a whole oven could be a huge drain on energy."

The experts at Energy Saving Trust said: “For example, cooking a 600g chicken breast in an air fryer costs £0.14 in Great Britain and £0.21 in Northern Ireland. Cooking the same chicken breast in an electric oven means you pay £0.20 in Great Britain and £0.29 in Northern Ireland.”

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On kettles, they added: “The trouble is that many kettles have a minimum water level of around 500ml. That’s more than you need for a standard mug and around twice the amount needed for a teacup. You can buy kettles that have a one-cup marker so you know you’re only boiling as much water as you need.”

On having a boiler flow temperature set too high, the experts at Energy Saving Trust continued: “Conventional boilers with hot water cylinders need to be set at 65 degrees to keep legionella bacteria away. There’s no real good reason to have it set any hotter. It also means your boiler isn’t running as efficiently as it could be, which drives up your energy bills.

“Try lowering your flow temperature to 65 degrees and see how it helps. If you have a combi boiler with no hot water cylinder, you can lower this even more. But be ready to turn it up again if your radiators can’t keep your home warm enough during a cold spell.”