Can you save money when the clocks go forward?

The clocks go forward by an hour on Sunday March 31 and Energy Doctor Steve Buckley, from energy saving app Loop, thinks it’s possible to save up to £350 by following some simple steps if you see the clock change as a cut-off point for high energy usage in your home.

Turn your heating off 

 Previous research by Loop showed many people keep their heating on until the end of April.

Mr Buckley said: “It’s very easy to forget to change it when the weather warms up, especially if your heating is on an automatic timer.”

If you have the heating on for an hour a day, turning it off now rather than in April is estimated to save you around 10% in gas usage - that’s an average saving of £100, according to Mr Buckley.

The increased daylight and sunshine also allows you to naturally heat your home by opening curtains to let the sun in and heat up rooms during the day. If the weather is still chilly though, it’s worth keeping blankets and hot water bottles out so you can stay warm without feeling the cost.

Closing curtains as soon as it gets dark also helps to keep the warmth in for the cooler evenings.

Turn the lights off

Using lights for an hour a day adds up to a saving of around £18 over the summer, according to Mr Buckley. Many of us work from home now, and sometimes daylight isn’t that bright. But you can save even more by swapping to energy-efficient LED lightbulbs.

 Check your thermostat

Mr Buckley said: “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%.”

If you can turn it down further, from 21 to 18 degrees, for example, you could save around 30%, which is around £170 for an average home each year, the expert calculated.

Stop using the tumble dryer

The warmer weather makes drying clothes outside much easier, which means you can stop using your tumble dryer for a few months if you’ve been using one. This can save a bumper £110, according to Loop.