Lidl’s £4.99 gadget that could help you cut energy bills by £40 a year is on shelves TODAY
LIDL is selling a £5 gadget that could help you cut energy bills by £40.
The discount chain is selling a range of energy-saving gadgets this week, but one in particular could save you a fortune.
From today Lidl shoppers can pick up a six-pack of Livarno Home LED Light Bulbs for just £4.99.
Moving your lighting to more energy efficient bulbs will drastically reduce your energy bills.
Traditional light bulbs are extremely inefficient – giving off up to 90% of their energy as heat.
Low-energy light bulbs or LED lights are much more energy-efficient and emit a lot less heat than incandescent light bulbs.
According to the Energy Saving Trust the LED bulbs can save you as much as £40.
It says that in the UK, lighting accounts for 15% of a typical household’s electricity bill.
You can save £2 to £3 a year for every traditional halogen bulb you switch to a similarly bright LED bulb, it added.
Writing in a blog post it said: “If the average UK household replaced all of their bulbs with LEDs, it would cost about £100 and save about £40 a year on bills.”
In fact it also added that replacing a 50W halogen with an LED equivalent could cut your energy costs by £75 over the lifetime of the bulb.
Shoppers have previously told The Sun that LED bulbs have been a gamechanger for their bills.
One said: “I know people are worried about rising costs but don’t waste your money on battery powered lights.
“Please go to a pound shop and buy LED lightbulbs.
“We got them for £1 each so ok initial outlay but we changed every bulb and it saved £35 to £40 a month. So paid for itself in the first month.
“When you think that lights can account for 15% of your energy costs it’s worth changing your bulbs.”
It’s important to note though that this is an estimate, how much you’ll save depends on how much energy you used before and how much you use now.
There are three different types of bulbs in available in store: GU10 – 4.8W, 350 lm, E27 – 4.2W, 470 lm, and E14 – 4.2W, 470 lm.
The bulbs are only available in store and not online.
You can find your nearest Lidl shop using the locator tool on the chain’s website.
It’s also important to note that these are middle-aisle items so they won’t be around forever.
How to compare prices to get the best deal
JUST because something is on offer, or is part of a sale, it doesn't mean it's always a good deal.
There are plenty of comparison websites out there that’ll check prices for you – so don’t be left paying more than you have to.
Most of them work by comparing the prices across hundreds of retailers.
Here are some that we recommend:
- Google Shopping is a tool that lets users search for and compare prices for products across the web. Simply type in keywords, or a product number, to bring up search results.
- Price Spy logs the history of how much something costs from over 3,000 different retailers, including Argos, Amazon, eBay and the supermarkets. Once you select an individual product you can quickly compare which stores have the best price and which have it in stock.
- Idealo is another website that lets you compare prices between retailers. All shoppers need to do is search for the item they need and the website will rank them from the cheapest to the most expensive one.
- CamelCamelCamel only works on goods being sold on Amazon. To use it, type in the URL of the product you want to check the price of.
How to get help with your energy bills
If you are worried about paying your energy bills this winter it is worth being aware of a number of support measures which are available.
For starters, the government has begun rolling out its Cold Weather Payment, which gives people £25 for every seven day period of cold weather.
Many gas and energy suppliers offer grants and schemes for customers who are struggling.
For example, British Gas has a fund open to pre-payment meter and credit customers who have found themselves in debt worth up to £1,700.
The Individual and Families Fund was first set up in 2021 to help households struggling with energy debt.
This scheme’s support is available to British Gas and non-British Gas customers.
You might be able to get help with essential costs from your local council through a programme called the Household Support Fund (HSF).
The funding is designed to help people who are vulnerable or can’t afford to pay for necessities like energy bills, water bills, and food.
4 ways to keep your energy bills low
Laura Court-Jones, Small Business Editor at Bionic shared her tips.
1. Turn your heating down by one degree
You probably won’t even notice this tiny temperature difference, but what you will notice is a saving on your energy bills as a result. Just taking your thermostat down a notch is a quick way to start saving fast. This one small action only takes seconds to carry out and could potentially slash your heating bills by £171.70.
2. Switch appliances and lights off
It sounds simple, but fully turning off appliances and lights that are not in use can reduce your energy bills, especially in winter. Turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use, can save you up to £20 a year on your energy bills
3. Install a smart meter
Smart meters are a great way to keep control over your energy use, largely because they allow you to see where and when your gas and electricity is being used.
4. Consider switching energy supplier
No matter how happy you are with your current energy supplier, they may not be providing you with the best deals, especially if you’ve let a fixed-rate contract expire without arranging a new one. If you haven’t browsed any alternative tariffs lately, then you may not be aware that there are better options out there.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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