Claire Reid
A dad has introduced a ‘no electricity at home’ policy, which sees his family having to strap on headlamps, to save cash amid the cost of living crisis.
Chavdar Todorov, 53, from London, decided he and his family needed to cut back on their energy usage after seeing their bill more than double in price to £320 a month. You can see his plan in action here:
Now he, his wife, Moda, 49, and their children – Teo, 14, and Nicole, 20 – have started to make efforts to try and lower their £3,800 annual bill as much as possible.
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Alongside their use of headlamps, they’ve also decided to limit their use of heating to just once a week and have been wrapping up in blankets and coats instead.
Moda, a yoga teacher, said: “We’re trying to think positive but it’s hard. I don’t put the heating on if I’m home alone and just keep my jacket on.
"My husband came up with the funny idea of using head torches.
“We keep the lights off and use our head torches but it’s scary and I don’t feel as safe. There have been a lot of burglaries in our area. We light candles and try and make it romantic.”
The family saw their bill more than double overnight earlier this year and think it could rise again.
Moda said: “We used to pay £140 a month and in June it shot up to £320.
“We don’t know yet what it’s gone up to again but we’re trying to do everything we can to keep it down.
“We wrap up in blankets and coats and only put the heating on about once a week just to get some heat through the house.
“Our back door isn’t very insulating and you can really feel the cold and wind.”
Chavdar, a banker and decorator, thought to buy £8.48 smart headlights to use instead of having their lights on at home - but the family hope they won’t have to use the lamps throughout winter.
Moda explained: “They respond to movement and are very handy. We use them at night to go to the toilet instead of putting the light one. I hope it’s not something we’ll keep having to do.”
Chavdar added: "It's like we're back in the 18th century.
"We don't know what the bill is going to be like at the end of the month so we're doing everything we can.
"I can now wear the headtorch and get around without switching on the lights. We're reducing our TV watching and only having it on sometimes. We can only do everything we can."