Citizens Advice is warning that some families are seeing up to 30 per cent of their energy bill "go straight out of the window" because of a lack of insulation. The charity said that many families will continue to struggle with high energy costs and cold, damp homes despite the recently announced bill freeze due to a lack of investment in basic cost-saving measures like insulation.
The UK Government's freeze on energy prices means the average household bill will be £2,500 a year from October 1, but this does not mean it is the maximum you could pay for your gas and electricity. Put simply, the more you use, the more you will pay and similarly, use less and you will pay less.
Citizens Advice said more than a million people living in homes with an energy performance certificate (EPC) rating of F will face an average bill of more than £3,000.
It added that draughty and inefficient homes mean they will lose £950 worth of the heat they pay for through the walls, windows and roof, it warned.
The UK-wide charity calculated households would save a combined total of £8.1 billion per year if all homes had an EPC rating of C.
Almost half (44%) of homeowners are actively considering improving their homes, but cost was cited as the main reason by those who are not.
Citizens Advice chief executive Dame Clare Moriarty said: "The UK Government's bill freeze puts an emergency stop to terrifying price hikes. Now we need an exit strategy from this energy crisis.
"Bills are going through the roof - literally for people in cold and draughty homes, where heat seeps out when they turn up the thermostat. This is burning through many people's tight budgets.
"Insulating our homes is the long-term solution that will cut down our bills and reduce our dependence on gas. The government must make it a top priority."
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