With the ongoing cost of living crisis many of us are thinking of ways to cut down on our energy use to avoid sky-high bills.
On 1 October, energy bills rose once again with an average household now set to pay £2,500 a year – compared to an already-pretty-costly £1,971.
But with winter just around the corner one energy supplier is offering free electric blankets to its UK customers to stay warm without having to use central heating.
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To help keep its customers warm and toasty as the temperatures start to fall, Octopus Energy will be handing out 10,000 blankets to those who need them most.
From Monday 10 October, Octopus Energy customers will be able to fill in an online form to apply for one of the blankets.
The energy company has said the electric blankets will be given to those who are most in need, which is likely to include the elderly and those who have specific medical needs that require them to stay warm.
Those who aren’t eligible to receive an electric blanket could get one of 5,000 Dreamland discount codes – that can let Octopus customers receive a 50 percent discount on one of Dreamland’s electric blankets and mattress toppers.
Rebecca Dibb-Simkin, chief product officer at Octopus Energy, told The Sun: "Octopus is doing everything we can to help customers through the crisis.
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"Our electric blankets scheme was just one of the measures we’ve taken to help.
"And given the overwhelmingly positive feedback last year, we knew we only had one option – to make it even bigger.
"Heating an individual rather than a whole home can save hundreds off a customer’s bill, and at times that we know how much people are struggling, we hope these blankets can be a real difference maker."
Octopus Energy ran a similar scheme last year, with 8,000 electric blankets handed out to those who needed them.
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According to Octopus Energy, the free blankets helped reduce the average customer’s bill by 19 percent.
Uswitch energy expert Sarah Broomfield, told The Sun that using an electric blanket to warm up your bed means you can lower the thermostat on your central heating as you won’t need the room to be as hot.
She said: "And turning your thermostat down by just 1°C can save you as much as £80 a year."
Earlier this year, a bloke tested all the appliances in his home to find out how much energy they used on standby and was shocked to discover his microwave – when not in use – was costing him a whopping £16 (soon to be £27) a year.
Claire Reid