October 25th, 2021 by Sarah Miles

As gas prices continue to escalate, we all need to find ways to reduce our gas consumption and our energy bills. Electric blankets can be a big part of that solution, here’s everything you need to know:

What is the energy crisis?

The energy crisis refers to the range of factors that have come together to put a strain on the availability of global gas supplies and therefore increase the cost significantly.

What has caused the energy crisis?

Multiple factors have played a part in causing the energy crisis, all of them to do with the price of gas. Last winter was a long, cold one that meant gas stockpiles were depleted. The emergence from lockdown across large parts of the world has resulted in a surging global demand for gas, straining supplies across the world. Other problems are unique to Britain. We had a calm summer which means wind power generation was lower than usual, further increasing demand for gas to make up for it. This means stockpiles have been depleted and availability has been compromised, causing these price spikes we’re seeing in our energy bills.

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How long is the energy crisis likely to last?

It’s uncertain at this time. This may only have been a temporary issue had any of the above factors happened in isolation, but because they’re all happening at once experts are saying it could last all winter and well into next year.

Will my bills go up?

The simple answer is, yes probably. Unless you have a fixed rate deal, it is highly likely that your energy bills will rise. There’s no point shopping around with other providers now either, as nobody is able to offer cheaper prices in the current climate.

How can I keep my bills down?

If you can’t buy cheaper energy, the next best thing is to reduce your consumption. In fact, if we all used less, it would relieve some of the pressure on the industry and help the environment as well.  There are a number of ways to reduce your consumption but the one we’re talking about in this article is by using electric blankets and heated throws.

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How does an electric blanket reduce energy consumption?

The main advantage that electric blankets have is that they apply heat directly to people. This is much more efficient than heating all the air in a room in order to make people warm, which is how central heating works. By using an electric blanket, or a heated throw, you can turn the heating down low to keep the chill off the room, or even turn it off completely.

Other benefits are that they run on electricity, rather than gas, which is where the main issues are, and that the heat they produce is very controllable so you can determine the temperature very accurately as well as take advantage of functions like timers and heat zones.

Are they expensive to run?

There would be little point making the switch to electric blankets if the running costs were high on electricity instead of gas. Well, there’s no need to worry about that as an electric blanket could run all night for just a few pence.

Are they expensive to buy?

Unlike many other investments and adaptations designed to reduce energy consumption and wastage, the upfront cost of an electric blanket is very low with really good quality ones coming in at under £80.