Brits ration heating when costs rise

Most UK households are rationing their use of heat, according to research carried out for energy trade body Energy and Utilities Alliance (EUA).

Around 70% had turned off their heating entirely at some point between January and March 2024, according to polling carried out earlier this year. For 15%, they did this every day and a further one in three said they turned off their heating most days. For over-65s, one in six turned off their heat entirely.

When it came to turning down the thermostat, 68% said they turned it down to lower than they wanted to, with 22% doing this every day and 28% on most days. Seven in ten over-65s said they had done so.

With the Energy Price Cap confirmed to rise by 10% from 1 October 2024, Mike Foster, CEO of the EUA, says: “The evidence suggests households will simply resort to rationing their energy use. Praying for a warm winter is not a recipe for successfully keeping people healthy in their homes.

“With some tough decisions being made by the government, we need to focus on actions that keep people warmer so that the days of self-rationing, with its inherent risks, cease.

“Focusing attention on insulation, although boring, brings results. We know there are nearly 4 million ‘easy to treat’ lofts that need insulation and 2.5 million homes have ‘easy to treat’ cavity walls that could be insulated.

“It’s also time for Ofgem to embrace the campaign led by Money Saving Expert Martin Lewis and scrap energy bill standing charges in favour of all costs being simply based on what energy is actually used. That way, if people do ration their use or make energy efficiency improvements, they get better financial savings for doing so.”