Sunday, March 26 marked the beginning of British Summer Time as the clocks jumped forwards by one hour.
This means lighter evenings until they go back again in October time, and hopefully warmer weather as the weeks go on - so you may be thinking about turning off your heating for the summer.
Previously, a central heating expert suggested that yesterday was the ideal time to make the switch, depending on how well-insulated your home is.
But it's still pretty cold outside and now, an energy specialist from the energy-saving app Loop has revealed that you can leave the heating on a little longer and still save money.
The experts are encouraging households to make the most of lighter and warmer days to save on energy costs.
While some natural changes - like using your lights less - can lead to small changes, making a conscious effort to turn down or turn off heating, dry clothes outside, and switch to LED lightbulbs can lead to savings of up to £600.
Research conducted by Loop also found that half of its users kept their heating on until the end of April, while those who switched off in mid-April used 10% less gas.
Energy doctor, Dr Steve Buckley, head of data science at Loop is encouraging households to use the ‘spring’ forward of the clocks to spring clean your energy use.
He said: "The clocks going forward is a signal to spring clean your energy usage to make sure you’re only spending what you need to on your energy bills. In fact, you could cut your bills by nearly £600 by adapting your usage from this point onwards.
"Firstly, some natural changes, like using your lights for an hour less a day throughout the British Summer Time when it’s lighter outside, could result in a small saving of up to £24 across the season. But there is also action you could take to see a bigger reduction in your usage, helping you to lower your bills even further.
"The real savings to be made are on gas, which you can use less of as the days get longer and warmer. For most households, the majority of gas is used on heating, generally making up more than 80% of a home’s total bills according to our internal Loop user data.
"Research we conducted last spring also showed half of Loop users kept their heating on until the end of April. But those who turned their heating off earlier in the month, used 10% less gas overall than those that didn’t. A good example of where a conscious decision to make a change has a sustained impact."
Steve also explained that although spring is warmer than winter, it can still be chilly in the mornings.
But minimising the heat in the mornings is a good way to save, as your house will heat up naturally as the day goes on. You should also check your thermostat and see that it's not set too high, which will lead your heating to run when it's not needed and waste money.
He continued: "If you aren’t ready to turn your heating off completely, turning down your thermostat by as little as one degree can also result in savings, reducing gas usage by 10%. You can boost this by turning down even further – from 21 to 18 degrees for example - could save around 30%, that’s over £300 for an average home."
You could also save around £100 just by turning the heating off for an extra hour over the day for the next month.
Elsewhere in the home, there are a few cost-cutting ideas you can try as the weather gets warmer - for instance, turning off the tumble dryer in favour of drying laundry outdoors.
The energy support schemes are coming to an end this month, meaning many households will feel the pinch.
Steve added: "By analysing and understanding the way you use energy through a smart-meter app like Loop, you can cut back and make savings.
"We’ve seen our users cut their electricity bill by 16% and their gas by 10%, with some saving as much as 30% beating the price increase expected this month. Whatever the time of year, it’s always a good idea to reduce energy usage and cut costs wherever you can."
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