Get Your Energy Savvy On in 2026

Saving energy does not have to mean sitting in the dark in a jumper. There is a whole range of smart tech that can do the heavy lifting for you, and most of it does not cost a fortune.

Start with a smart meter

If you do not have one yet, ask your supplier for a free smart meter. It shows you exactly what you are spending in real time, which changes your behaviour more than you might expect. Seeing the number tick up when the kettle goes on is oddly motivating.

Smart plugs are a cheap starting point

You can pick up a pack of smart plugs on Amazon for under £20. Generic brands like Teckin, Gosund, and Kasa all work well and connect to Alexa or Google Home. Plug in your TV unit or desktop and set a schedule so nothing sits on standby overnight.

Some smart plugs also show you live energy usage per socket, which is handy for working out which appliances are costing the most.

A smart thermostat makes a real difference

Tado and Hive are the big UK names but they start at around £100 to £150. If that feels steep, look at the Drayton Wiser or generic alternatives on Amazon that do much the same job for half the price.

The key feature to look for is geofencing, where the heating turns down automatically when everyone leaves the house and kicks back in on the way home. Most people save enough in a year to cover the cost of the device.

Apps worth having

A few free apps that are genuinely useful:

Octopus Energy app if you are on any Octopus tariff. It shows your half-hourly usage and alerts you to plunge pricing events.

Loop connects to your smart meter and gives you detailed breakdowns of where your energy is going. Free and very good.

Smartlife is an app that links all of your smart appliances together. I use it for electric radiators, smart plugs, lamps and more.

The bottom line

You do not need to spend a lot to get started. A couple of smart plugs and a free app will show you more about your energy usage in a week than most people learn in a year. Start there and build up from it.

My plans for Chris Saves Energy in 2026

This month I launched Chris Saves Energy, my blog all about lowering your gas and electric bills. I’m obsessed with numbers and I get my geek on when I’m looking at my energy bills. I’m with Octopus Energy and I use their Agile tariff, which is directly linked to market rates, instead of following the Ofgem price cap or a fixed tariff.

Most people have no idea that there are ways to save a fortune on your energy bills, especially now the price cap isn’t really a price cap, it’s more like the price that everyone charges, and with Chris Saves Energy, I hope to bring people the information they need to save as much money as they can on their bills.

By the end of 2026 I want Chris Saves Energy to be a credible, trusted resource on UK energy. Not a corporate one. Not a comparison site. I’m just someone who lives this stuff, writes about it honestly, and helps people make better decisions about one of their biggest household costs.

If you’d like to follow along, don’t forget to join my newsletter so that I can keep you up to date with what’s happening once a month. When you subscribe, you’ll also get a free copy of my energy saving tips guide, which includes over £500 in potential annual savings, some of which you can make today!