Henry Smith MP has given his backing to Big Energy Saving Week at an event in Parliament. The campaign, run jointly between the Energy Saving Trust, the Department of Energy and Climate Change, and Citizens Advice, offers free advice on how to reduce energy bills. Henry said; “I am grateful to Citizens Advice, the Energy Department and the Energy Saving Trust for organising Big Energy Saving Week. With a young family I understand the difficulties of balancing the family budget, and ways for people to reduce energy prices are always welcome. “I would urge people to look take a look on the website – www.bigenergysavingweek.org.uk – to see how we can take action to reduce our energy bills.” Rt Hon Ed Davey MP, Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, added; “The easiest way to cut energy bills fast is to shop around for the cheapest energy deal and switch suppliers. Thanks to government action to reform the energy market the number of independent suppliers has almost trebled since 2010 – encouraging greater competition which helps drive down prices.   “We’re also making it easier and quicker for people to switch, and the major energy suppliers have confirmed that switching times will halve by the end of this year to just two and a half weeks.” Big Energy Saving Week have also published information on five ‘myths’, following an Ipsos MORI poll of over 2,000 respondents: ·         “Turn the heating up when it’s cold outside. Half (52 per cent) turn the thermostat up when it’s cold outside. A home shouldn’t need this as the thermostat is there to maintain the home temperature whatever the weather.·         “Turn up the thermostat to heat the room quicker. Over a third (35 per cent) turn their room thermostat up when they want the room to heat up quicker. This does not help a room become warmer any quicker and only heats the home to a warmer temperature.·         “Leave the heating on low constantly. Thirty-eight per cent think it is more energy efficient to leave the heating turned on at a low temperature constantly, rather than turn it on and off. This means these homes are heated when no-one is there to benefit and then the home is too cold when people are in the home.·         “Hot water runs out if you stop feeding the tank. Nearly a third (31 per cent) leave their water heating on all the time to make sure they never run out, which could be costing far more on their energy bills than necessary.·         “Keep electric storage heaters on all the time. Our research also found that few people with electric storage heaters fully understand how they work (only 38%). This means that households with electric heating could be paying through the nose by not taking advantage of cheaper night rate electricity.” For more information on Big Energy Saving Week, please visit www.bigenergysavingweek.org.uk Follow Henry daily via: www.twitter.com/HenrySmithMP 
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