From changing your light bulbs to insulating your home, here’s how you can slash your energy bills according to the experts

Radiator foil, tape and LED bulbs are just some the money-saving tips being offered to householders to help ease the burden of energy price hikes.

Experts have shared their hacks on ways to save those extra pennies around the home following the sharp rise in energy bills that is set to hit many this year.

Last week, energy regulator Ofgem announced that the energy price cap will rise to £1,971 from April 1, 2022.

This could increase energy bills by an extra £693 a year for people on their supplier's default tariff.

The price cap is the maximum amount an energy supplier can charge for one unit of energy for a customer on their supplier's default tariff.

It’s not a cap on the total cost of your bill, so if you use more energy, you’ll be charged for it but it doesn’t apply if you’re on a fixed rate tariff.

For almost 22 million households energy bills will be at their highest so finding ways to cut costs and stay warm this winter has never been more important.

Luckily there are some simple tricks you can do around your home that can help you cut your bills by up to £375.

Below is a list of money-saving options from Ocean Finance's report that may help to keep costs down this year.

If you’ve got a room that feels constantly chilly, you could be having issues with your heat flow.

Luckily this is easy to fix.

To start with, try rearranging your furniture if possible to make sure nothing is blocking your radiators.

If you have big items like sofas and cabinets in front of your radiators, they can block the heat from filling your room, meaning you’re wasting a lot of heat and having to leave your heating on longer to feel warm.

You can also buy specialist radiator foil for just £10, which fits behind your radiators and helps reflect the heat back into the room.

Don’t forget to regularly bleed your radiators too. It keeps them working more efficiently and gets rid of any cold spots.

Draft proofing your home is another quick fix to stop the heat from escaping, so you don’t need to leave your heating on as long.

Using things like old blankets and jumpers to stop drafts getting under doors, and even putting a sponge in your letterbox to keep warm air in and cold air out can make a big difference.

For trickier spots, this £3.09 tape can be placed around your windows and doors to create a seal and stop the cold air escaping.

Opting for a free smart meter to be installed in your home can also save you up £36 per year, and lets you keep track of your costs with ease.

Some experts also recommend cutting down on your shower time by turning it off as you lather up with soap and shampoo, and turning it back on to rinse.

They estimate that cutting a shower time from 10 minutes to just three minutes of hot water usage can save you a massive £80 each year.

Smart thermostats are also increasingly popular, and can help save hundreds of pounds.

Installing thermostats like this tado starter kit can be controlled remotely from your phone, and allow you to turn on the heating in rooms of your choosing, rather than the whole house.

That means on your way home from work you can turn the heating on for your living room so it's nice and warm for you getting home, rather than having to heat the whole house when you won't be using every room.

Turning your thermostat down from 20°C to 18°C can also make a huge difference to your energy-saving.

Tools like the Google Nest Learning Thermostat can actually learn what temperature you like your home to be at and adjust accordingly, as well as turning heating off when you're not home and detecting any drafts and even turning off the hot water when you're away for a few days.

One easy (and free) way to save money is to simply turn your appliances off at the wall, rather than using standby.

Rather than leaving TVs, phone chargers and other items plugged in, turning them off or unplugging them can save you up to £80 each year.

Switching the light bulbs you use can also have a big impact, and potentially save you a massive £126 a year.

Changing to LED smart bulbs can save you £10.35 per bulb in buying costs alone, meaning changing 20 incandescent bulbs to LED can save you £207.

LED smart bulbs are also far cheaper to run, and can save you as much as £126.30 each year in electricity costs.

Washing your clothes between 30-40 degrees will cut down on how much energy your machine needs to spend when heating the water, having a huge impact on your energy costs.

Air drying instead of using a tumble dryer also helps cut costs, saving you almost a third on your bills, which works out at around £53 a year.