According to moneysupermarket.com, most energy tariffs are calculated by reference to a medium-sized house.

However, around 42 per cent of the population live in smaller homes and so can roughly halve the amount of energy that bigger houses use.

Paul Schofield, spokesman for moneysupermarket.com, said that energy providers use default figures for their calculations even though “most of us aren’t average”.

As an example, he pointed out that “British Gas Click Energy 4 is the cheapest product on the market for an ‘average’ house in 13 of Britain’s 14 regions, but for people in small homes it is other providers that lead the way”.

He advised householders to find out what their typical energy use comes to, in order to allow them to make the best decision.

In related news, British Gas recently launched an energy saving challenge – Green Streets – aimed at reducing emissions.

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