Only a tenth of Australians would consider changing energy providers to cut their winter energy bill down, but experts say people should.
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The perplexing statistic emerges as Finder research finds 77 per cent of Australians will change their behaviours - and frankly go without - in a bid to reduce their winter energy bill.
The survey of 1071 people in April found just 13 per cent of people would switch energy providers.
In other research by Finder, 27 per cent of people said their energy bill was among their causes of financial stress.
Mariam Gabaji, utilities expert at Finder, Dr Lyrian Daniel, an enterprise fellow at UniSA Creative, and editorial director at consumer group Choice, Mark Serrels, have all encouraged people to call their providers to see what can be done to lower their bill.
Mariam said the best action to take is to compare energy plans to see if you can get a cheaper deal.
"Call your retailer to see if you can negotiate a better deal, but also shop around to see what offers are out there," she said.
"If you are experiencing severe difficulty paying your power bill, talk to your retailer about their hardship program to avoid disconnection.
"They'll also be able to tell you if you're entitled to any government rebates or concessions that can help reduce your energy bill over the year."
Lyrian echoed Mariam's comments about contacting their current provider about any potential discounts or cheaper rates they could consider.
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Mark said similar back in January, citing the BillHero annual subscription service that can do some of the shopping around for you.
In the Finder survey, the biggest behaviour people planned to change to cut their bill was wearing extra clothes (53 per cent), followed by switching off the lights more (51 per cent), only heating the room they're using (38 per cent) and taking shorter showers (33 per cent).
Further down the list, 23 per cent said they don't need to save money on energy bills this winter, while just 12 per cent said they'd use an electric blanket.
The need to stay warm
Tim McCarthy is Sustainable Buildings Research Centre director at the University of Wollongong.
He and Lyrian both said people should not put up with being in cold environments, as it may exacerbate health issues. Being in cold conditions may lead to high blood pressure, exacerbating cardiovascular disease, plus worsen respiratory diseases such as COPD and asthma, plus poorer mental health and higher instances of depression and anxiety.
"Stoicism, particularly in winter, is unfortunately all too common in Australia," Lyrian said.
"Just because our winters are relatively mild compared to northern America or many European countries, doesn't mean that we don't see significant health effects."
Tim said personal mobility is also a factor; less mobile people should have an indoor room temperature of 22 degrees Celsius, but if you can tolerate 21 degrees Celsius, you could save 10 per cent on your electricity bill.
