With all of the big six UK energy providers now having announced a price hike for this year, many consumers are faced with the very real worry of how they will pay their bills in 2011. If you are worried about bill increases, or if you want to become more energy efficient in order to help the environment then there are a lot of simple measures you can take which can make a significant impact on your usage levels.

In addition to introducing energy efficient products into your home such as light bulbs, you may also want to increase your level of insulation and fit double glazing. Small day-to-day changes such as powering off electrical devices completely instead of using standby and washing clothes at a lower temperature can also help you make savings. Also, don’t forget to check your meter readings regularly as your bills are likely to based on estimates which can be inaccurate. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that by implementing energy-saving measures like these the average UK household could save up to £250 a year.

To make it easier to monitor your energy usage on a day-to-day basis there are now a range of gadgets available which are designed to help consumers boost their energy efficiency. These dedicated displays can be placed and countertops or tabletops and show you how much energy you are using. All you have to do is programme in your energy tariff  and you are able to view the current read-out of your homes energy running costs. This makes it much easier to reduce your consumption and also to budget for your future bills. There are a number of these products on the market so to check which will best suit your needs look at the ranges provided by specialist technology retailers like http://www.maplin.co.uk/.

Finally, if after all of your energy-saving efforts you still feel like you are paying over the odds consider making changes to who and how you pay for your electricity and gas. Savings can be made by switching to direct payments and according to gas and electricity regulator Ofgem, customers who switch both gas and electricity suppliers could potentially save up to £100 a year if they do their research properly. For more tips on how you can reduce your energy usage, see: http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/