The Ultimate Guide to Saving on Energy Bills

The Ultimate Guide to Saving on Energy Bills: Night Rates, Day Rates, Tariffs & Smart Tech Explained

Energy bills in the UK are rising, and navigating tariffs and smart technology can be confusing. Whether choosing between providers like Octopus or OVO energy, opting for a smart meter or even trying to figure out the variable day and night rates it can feel like you’re just running in circles and getting nowhere.

In this guide, Warm4Less is going to break it all down so you can learn how energy tariffs compare to each other; how night rates can save you money; what smart meters do to help, and how to choose the right setup for your home. No matter your energy provider, this blog will help you make smarter cheaper and greener energy choices, day or night.

Tariffs

Energy tariffs refer to how much energy providers charge for gas and electricity usage. There are 2 main types of energy tariff:

• Fixed tariffs
• Variable tariffs

Fixed tariffs charge a set price over the course of the deal that can’t be influenced by the market.

There are many advantages to fixed tariffs:

• It is easier to manage expenses when you know what you will be paying
• You can save money by starting a contract before prices rise
• There is less stress with no need to monitor the energy market

While a fixed tariff is the ‘safer’ option, it still has several drawbacks:

• You must commit to a supplier and rate without knowing how the market will change
• You can’t benefit from falling prices
• They can offer higher prices than variable tariffs

Variable tariffs fluctuate depending on the state of the market overall. Naturally, this comes with its own positives:

• Your rates will decrease alongside energy prices
• Most variable tariffs have no or very low exit fees
• They let you jump to a fixed rate when prices are low

On the other hand, variable tariffs can be seen as being the risky alternative to fixed tariffs:

• Prices can rise with little notice
• Budgeting is difficult with fluctuating costs
• No protection from price spikes

Thankfully, homeowners can relax with the peace of mind in knowing that there will always be a set maximum price for energy tariffs, known as the energy price cap.

Energy regulators such as Ofgem (Great Britain’s energy regulator) are responsible for setting the price cap on energy tariffs in accordance with the state of the energy market. Due to current falling wholesale energy prices, the UK’s price cap has decreased by 7% on 1^st July 2025 to £1,720/year for a typical household. Note, the price cap refers to a cap on the cost per unit of electricity, rather than the overall bill. This means that you will still pay more for the more units you use, but the price per unit will be capped. The price cap is reviewed and adjusted every three months by Ofgem.

Switching Tariffs

Switching Tariffs can be an exceptionally confusing process when it comes to finding the best providers and comparing the deals available to you. If you are considering switching tariffs, we’d recommend that you:

Check your current tariff. When reviewing your current tariff, take note of the unit rates (per kWh) and if there is a standing charge, the contract end date and if any exit fees will be applicable when leaving early.

Compare energy deals. The top comparison websites/apps in the UK allow you to directly weigh up the positives and negatives of every energy provider available. The top comparison companies in the UK are:

• Uswitch
• Compare the Market
• Energy Helpline
• MoneySuperMarket

Keep an eye out for all the different prices, contract lengths, renewable energy options and the quality of their customer support.

From here, choose the option that appears the best to you and sign up; the switch typically takes 5 working days to complete. While there will be a final bill from your initial provider, there will not be any interruptions with the energy supplied to your property.

On the date of the switch, send your new supplier the opening readings to ensure you can only be charged for what you use.

From here, you’ll be all set up and ready to go with your new plan.

Smart meters

Smart meters play a huge role for saving money on bills. Although installing a smart meter does not directly save money, they do help users monitor and reduce usage. You need to understand what it means and how to utilise it effectively.

Unlike traditional meters, which simply register a running total of energy used, smart gas and electricity meters can record half-hourly price and consumption data and provide automatic meter readings to your energy supplier.

They allow you to infer the best ways to save, although households with smart meters are more likely to find good deals following endorsement from the government for the sake of a cleaner, more flexible energy system.

As of 29^th May 2025, roughly 39,000,000 smart/advanced meters had been installed in Great Britain, making 61% of all meters, smart meters.

This is because of the benefits like:

• Remote top-ups from home which applies to prepayment smart meters
• Being able to see credit balances at home
• Energy providers can act swiftly when the supply is down
• Homeowners are charged for the energy they use and not estimated bills

Smart meters share usage data with your energy supplier and the figures displayed are usually accurate and reflect real-time usage, helping you get immediate feedback on your saving efforts. As a result, the displayed data can be trusted to be accurate meaning you will get immediate feedback on the effectiveness of your saving methods.

How can you get your own smart meter?

The first step to getting your own smart meter is contacting your energy supplier directly. From here, they can determine whether you’re eligible for a free installation.

If you live in the UK, the cost will be covered by your energy provider as part of the national rollout and standard installation visits are free; call-out charges only apply for unusual or non-standard access issues.

The next step is to arrange an appointment with an engineer through your energy provider. The engineer will conduct a safety check on your old meter and remove it before installing the new smart meter.

All testing is part of the free install and the installer will provide a simple explanation of how to use your meter.

Drawbacks of Smart Meters

Despite the clear advantages and government push of smart meters, they still have their own potential risks and many homeowners refuse to even consider getting their own smart meters.

According to Sky News, 3.98 million smart meters in the UK were faulty by the end of 2023 meaning 11% of all smart meters had some sort of fault. Meanwhile, the formal dispute testing of analogue meters showed that 7.1% came out as faulty. This means that out of the 22,000,000 meters in the UK, roughly 1,540,000 can be expected to be faulty.

This proves that changing your meter to a smart meter will increase your chances of having a faulty reading from 7% to 11% and increase the chance of being charged an incorrect amount.

Smart meters depend on the network infrastructure, simply meaning that they rely on the network to send your energy data to your supplier but when outages occur, readings may be obscured.

To follow, areas with localised connectivity issues will experience much more frequent obstructions to the extent that 10-30% of all smart meters at any time are experiencing outages.

Off peak electricity

Most homeowners have a single rate of electricity and so always pay the same stagnant price, however, many energy providers often charge a different amount depending on the time of day.

For example, Economy 7 is a time-of-use tariff which offers cheaper electricity for 7 hours overnight but also offers higher prices throughout the day. Off peak hours can vary from provider to provider so make sure you check what these hours are and if your provider does offer a cheaper night rate.

This kind of plan is very popular with people who can use appliances during off-peak hours (such as overnight), like people who run appliances overnight.

Conveniently, this is very easy to do with the use of a smart plug or timer because they can be used to set a schedule for an appliance’s activation times.

They can be used to temporarily cut/provide the power supplied to any kind of electrical appliance, including (but not limited to:) dishwashers, washing machines, heaters, EV chargers, and even air fryers.

Depending on energy provider, rates can vary:

• Day rates (usually 7am-midnight) typically vary from 30p – 35p per kilowatt hour
• Night rates (usually midnight-7am) typically vary from 10p – 15p per kilowatt hour

These flexible rates can be combined with a home battery, so that energy in the daytime can be drawn from a personal rechargeable battery/generator.

When considering that many home batteries can be used in tandem with solar panels, this becomes a very efficient and sustainable plan while also being cheap.

In conclusion, saving on your energy bills isn’t just about choosing the cheapest tariff, it’s about understanding how and when you use energy, and taking advantage of the tools available to manage that usage in a smarter way.

Whether it’s switching to a better-suited tariff, installing a smart meter, or shifting your usage to off-peak hours with the help of smart plugs and timers, the small changes you make today can lead to significant savings tomorrow. At Warm4Less, we believe that understanding your energy options is key to making practical, cost-effective choices. With the right information, you can cut unnecessary costs, use energy more efficiently, and make your home more sustainable.