The cost-of-living crisis has plunged millions of Brits into despair.
With winter approaching and temperatures dropping, how will we afford to heat our homes and put food on the table?
Well some savvy Brits have come up with something that may help with the rising price of heating bills.
And even Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis appears to approve.
Cost-of-living crisis: Heat people, not homes
Martin Lewis has offered some invaluable advice on how to keep warm and avoid cranking up the thermostat.
He said we should aim to “heat the human, not the home” as energy bills rise.
One idea that many Brits have jumped on board with is using an electric blanket.
There’s surely nothing better than slipping into warm and cosy sheets on a cold night.
But whacking up the heating is proving extremely costly at the moment.
Martin said that by concentrating the heat in just one specific area of the home, you could save yourself some money.
Unlike a radiator, electric blankets don’t actually get that hot.
The hottest they can get is around 55°C.
This is because blankets aren’t designed to heat up whole rooms.
So you can lie on top of a blanket in bed and keep warm while only actually using a tiny amount of energy.
How does an electric blanket save you money?
In one example on his website he found a bargain electric blanket that cost £14.
He calculated that it would cost 3p per hour to run and, if used for seven hours a day for seven days a week, it would bump up your electric bill by just £1.37.
Compare this to the price of heating a home – most of which you won’t be using overnight – and you can see where he’s coming from.
As a result, a huge number of Brits have tuned to electric blankets this winter.
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Searches for blankets have rocketed compared to this time last year.
Google Trends is showing a 750% rise in searches for heated blankets.
Hot water bottles have also seen a search increase of 170%.
And, with the price cap rising to £3,000 in April 2023, we imagine the interest in them will show no signs of slowing down.
Central heating a ‘luxury’
Experts suggest many are treating central heating as a “luxury” this winter and would try to avoid using it as often as possible.
Michelle Stark, sales and marketing director at Fasthosts, who carried out the research, said: “Search data is always intriguing to look at when trying to evaluate the impact of national problems, such as the cost of living and energy crisis, and this data is no different.
“It paints a clear picture of people preparing for a cold winter, where many will consider central heating a luxury, searching for alternative sources of warmth, electrical or otherwise.”
Cost-of-living crisis: How much do they cost to run?
Electric blankets cost between 2p and 4p per hour to run at their maximum setting.
Using a lower wattage blanket or a lower heat setting will result in lower costs.
However, the devices can still increase your monthly electric bills, so it’s important to understand the cost of operating an electric blanket – and if using one makes sense for your budget.
Use Martin’s tips here to work out the exact cost of your electric blanket.
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