A father was so panicked about the rising energy price cap he insulated his home using £1 carboard and polystyrene that he bought on eBay.
Nigel Cleall slashed his energy bills after installing DIY insulation throughout his Worcestershire home after originally opting for a heat pump.
Father-of-two Mr Cleall told MailOnline that he was spending almost £800 a month keeping his family warm even with the air source heat pump.
And with bills set to rise yet again in January, he decided to take action to guard against the increase to the Ofgem energy price cap.
The 52-year-old installed polystyrene tiles at his flat in Martley in his one-man crusade against the cost-of-living crisis that is gripping Britain.
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He placed the tiles on his celing, added thermal wallpaper and plastered over the heat-saving concoction to complete his DIY insulation.
And he has scrapped his old heating system in favour of electrical panel heaters which cost £60 and have been placed in every room.
But Mr Cleall says he remains worried sick about the increase which is looming in the New Year.
He said: “I am always worried about my finances, and I always have to work everything out to see if I have enough money at the end of the month.
“I would’ve been more worried last year but because of what I’ve done in my flat I’m slightly less bothered now. I’ve near enough saved 75% on my energy bills.
“I still worry about my money but I’m not in the situation where I was last year. It was a case of having no heating on because I couldn’t afford it.”
His cost-cutting has already kicked in, as he paid £220 on his last bill despite having the heating on throughout the enire month.
Mr Cleall says he was paying 26p per KW per hour prior to his changes, adding that the heat pump he was using had to be on 22 hours a day, chalking up a daily cost of £28.
Seeing how much money he was saving on energy bills also inspired him to offer help to more vulnerable people in his community this Christmas.
Mr Cleall has offered to house and feed two elderly people over for Chrismas lunch so that they can relax instead of worrying about costs.
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