Aside from rent, the biggest outgoing for you and your housemates will be your shared house bills and Glide Utilities will organise and share out the costs of your utilities making life much easier.

The amount you pay, however, is up to you and the others in your home.

Glide’s student broadband deals and energy rates are great value. It’s important to us that we provide our customers with competitive prices as well as excellent service. Your bills will be predicted by us based on ‘average use’ and your monthly bills will reflect this.

However, if the household is sensible then your shared house bills could amount to less than our prediction and you will receive that money back at the end of your tenancy.

We’ve collated a guide on how to save money on your energy bills. Get focused and receive a proportion of your bills back in time for summer.

Students who happily share the bills

Most student houses are large and occupied by a number of students who happily share the bills.

Each person will have different expectations of when the heating should be on and how high or low.

Have a chat amongst yourselves and agree on a plan of action. No whacking the heating up while sitting in a vest top in winter and no leaving windows open allowing that much needed heat to escape.

Ask your potential landlord how much insulation the house has and if it is inadequate suggest an increase or consider looking at a different property. Good quality, well placed insulation is important as your heating bill is effectively you paying for heat loss and the need to re-heat.

Heat the house strategically. Why heat the bedroom during the day? Don’t have the heating on when you are in bed. He or she who comes home drunk at 3am might feel chilly while they raid the kitchen with the munchies but hopefully it will make them go to bed sooner and make less noise (… here’s to hoping).

Set the heat to come on in the morning for a couple of hours and then come back on again at teatime when everyone’s back from lectures.

Consider having different settings for each room, lower in the bedroom and higher in the living room. Get to know the house and the radiators to see which are adjustable and how, it sounds like a parent thing to do, but you’ll be thankful you get to know this now!

Don’t worry, we’re not advising that you live in a cold house, no one wants that. The temperature should be around 16 degrees minimum according to the World Health Organisation. Just be aware that being super toasty warm at all times costs money.

Make a big difference to your eventual shared house bills

Keep a track of draughts. There are cheap, quick forms of insulation that can make a big difference to your eventual shared house bills. Good quality foam and sealant is available for around £10 from most home ware shops.

Use it to seal heat leaks in windows and any pipework joints. Ideally your landlord should assist with these small repairs.

Suspect that precious heat is escaping through the floorboards and under doors? Add a rug to insulate and adhesive foam strips underneath the doors. The room will be warmer, brighter and as better fitting doors will bang less, quieter.

The electricity used on ‘standby’ isn’t a big amount in most houses, usually about £20-£30. In a large student house with lots of gadgets and technology, this amounts will be proportionally more.

Switch off TVs, entertainment and games systems as a matter of routine as these take up most energy. Switching off at the wall can be a faff so invest (a little!) in a timer to switch everything off for you.

Make energy conservation a habit

Always being aware that your energy usage is a habit that will be useful for life. Shared house bills will continue past university life into first jobs and eventual family life, so now is definitely the best time to get to grips with it.

Always think efficiency as well as conservation. Switch to energy saving light bulbs but turn them off too. Not all your housemates will buy into your energy saving crusade but the bit you do to help is worth it nonetheless.

You can also:

Put lids on pans.
Switch off the lights when you leave a room.
Have short showers not baths.
It’s unlikely you’ll share the bills for tumble dryer usage as student houses rarely have them. If you do, don’t use it, dry on an airer instead.
Only boil the water you need not a full kettle each time.
Ask your landlord for good quality lined curtains.

Great offers on student broadband deals

Don’t forget too that on top of reducing energy usage to cut down on bills, there are some great offers on student broadband deals which will also help save money.

Using all or some of these tips will lead to you and the housemates who shared house bills receiving an amount of money back each. It may not be hundreds but any extra spending money for summer travels or just a few nights out with your mates, has to be a good thing and the team at Glide can tell you everything you need to know!