The cost of living... what can we do?

I reckon it's market forces, they have increased energy prices beyond what many can afford so thermostats are being turned down and even switched off completely. Therefore demand is dropping. Yes the energy companies are making more money from selling less and it's likely we won't have power cuts imposed on us.

 

During the summer, after almost four months of drought, I received my water bill and they said I had used a lot more water than the previous year (not surprising) and suggested that I look for leaks - and then they reduced my monthly direct debit!

 

Heads up for energy price rises of 20% in April. Octopus sent me this:

"While the Energy Price Cap is increasing unit rates in your area, we’re not passing this increase on, and your prices won’t change in January."
...
Looking further ahead, based on current plans, energy prices will rise a further 20% in April — taking a typical home annual bill from around £2,500 to £3,000 — as the Government scales back the amount of support available.

With the £67 monthly credits from the Energy Bill Support Scheme also ending in March, we know April is going to be a difficult time for many."

 

@noisette47 We have solar panels on our roof and had them put there nine years ago. Although we're in a bungalow it is surprising that very few people even notice them. I'm surprised how many times, when I've mentioned them, that friends say they didn't realise we had them. I don't think they detract from the look of the place.

If you put them on the pergola you would then need to run the cables etc. to the inverter and then to your meter. That would be a lot easier if they were on the roof instead.

 

I keep considering solar panels but the cost of them now is bonkers

 

What sort of price are they?

 

Not sure what you mean about insulation.

Yes, the saving would be less. I don't know about west facing but my cousin had east facing ones installed the same time we had south facing ones. The overall difference in power production wasn't as much as we thought it would be. After checking the daily figures (he's about 50 miles south of us so that would affect things slightly) we found that summer production was not much different at all. That is because the sun doesn't rise in the east and set in the west as that is only a generalisation. In the summer it rises in the north east (further north at solstice) so he gets about three hours of sun on his panels in the morning, at solstice, before it hits our panels. In winter the difference is greater but there isn't as much power generation in the winter.

There are grants that people can get. Most are for those on benefits or low incomes, some are for vulnerable people and there is the Smart Export Scheme for others.

Solar Panel Grants in the UK 2022 | How You Can Qualify

We were fortunate to start when there was a better scheme running and we get paid for all the power we generate, whether we use it or it goes into the grid. Having that precluded us from having any other type of grant that was going around. Ours paid for itself in about six years.