How green energy can save you £380 and help the planet too

YOU could help save the planet and yourself a whopping £380 by switching your energy bills to green energy.

Many top energy suppliers started offering green tariffs in both an attempt to save the environment and to secure new customers.

uSwitch has gathered the top ten cheapest energy deals and six of them are green

They’ve also gone cheap to make sure they can compete with the energy saving deals going around at the moment.

In fact, the cheapest energy deal on the market is currently a green one, so you could save hundreds by switching and help the planet at the same time.

Rik Smith, energy expert at comparison website uSwitch told The Sun: “Suppliers are offering more and more renewable energy options, so there’s now even more choice in the market.”

What is green energy?

Green energy refers to generating electricity via hydro, solar, wave or wind power – basically by not exhausting the Earth’s resources.

Renewable gas meanwhile, comes from something called anaerobic digestion which involves breaking down biodegradable materials.

Both of these are in place of using fossil fuels to generate gas and electricity, such as burning oil, gas or coal, which causes harmful carbon emissions to be released into the atmosphere.

Going green could save the planet and yourself a few penniesCredit: Getty – Contributor

But there are different “shades” of green energy. Some suppliers will only offer green tariffs while over will have a mixture.

And how green tariffs are also varies. Typically, you’ll find a tariff with 100 per cent renewable electricity but only 10 per cent renewable gas as this is harder to produce.

Also, while some will create their own renewable energy others will use fossil fuel “brown” energy but offset your energy usage by investing in climate change programs or planting trees, for example.

How cheap are green tariffs?

The good news is that green tariffs don’t have to break the bank. Mr Smith said: “Green tariffs are now within easy reach of energy customers who want to limit their carbon footprint but don’t want to break the bank.”

In fact, the cheapest energy deal on the market for an average energy user is a green tariff, according to data from uSwitch.

This is Outfox The Market’s One Variable 5.0 variable tariff costing £873 a year.

The provider also has the cheapest fixed deal on the market – its FIX’D 19X 7.0 tariff costing £891 this year.

As it’s fixed for one year this protects you from price hikes but does mean it comes with dual exit fees of £60 if you leave early.

How to find the cheapest energy deals

FIRSTLY, you’ll need to have a recent bill to hand. This will have all the details you need, including the name of your tariff and your recent spending on gas

Use a comparison website: Customers can use websites such as uSwitch.com or Energyhelpline.com to compare tariffs and find a cheaper deal. You could save up to £400 a year if you’ve never switched before.

There are other service you can turn to: MoneySavingExpert’s Cheap Energy Club will let you set up an email reminder that alerts you when cheaper deals become available.

Things to do before you switch: Compare prices and before you switch check to see if you can get cachback from a website like Quidco or TopCashback

In comparison, energy prices are capped a year £1,254 so if you’re on the priciest tariff you could save a whopping £381 a year by switching to Outfox The Market’s cheapest deal.

And in fact six of the top ten energy deals are green – although of course the best provider for you depends on where you live and how much energy you use.

So always do a personalised comparison using a free online tool before switching.

And don’t forget to check reviews to see how their customer feedback is – this is something MoneySavingExpert.com’s Cheap Energy Club details after listing the results.

According to Mr Smith: “Whether you’re on a standard variable tariff or a fixed deal that’s soon coming to an end, a green energy tariff could not only help reduce your carbon footprint but also save you money.”