SHOPPERS have been rushing out to bag an energy-saving gadget from Tesco that doesn’t cost anything to run.
Millions of households are looking for ways to make their budgets stretch as the cost of living soars.
Bills for the average household stand at £2,500 a year despite a Government applying a discount – known as the energy price guarantee.
So many families are looking for ways to stay warm in winter without having to fork out extra for heating.
It’s seen shoppers rushing out to buy products that keep you warm without having to turn the thermostat up.
Now, Tesco customers have been buying up a Silent Night self-heating mattress topper that doesn’t cost anything to run.
You place a mattress topper on top of a mattress to make your bed more comfortable.
The Silent Night mattress topper is available from Tesco in single, double and king sizes with prices starting from £20 for Clubcard members.
The deal was shared on the Money Saver by Dansway Facebook page and dozens of people have commented on the post.
One said: “What is this magic?”
Another, tagging their friend, said: “I literally just spotted this. I NEED.”
A third shopper was full of praise, saying: “Best thing I ever bought. Lovely and warm.”
The self-heated mattress topper works by reflecting back human body heat so you don’t have to plug it in.
So you could save some money by using one of these instead of a hot water bottle or electric blanket.
Under the current price cap it costs 7.8p to boil a full kettle of water to put into a hot water bottle.
So if you boiled a kettle of water once a night across January and February, that would cost you roughly £4.60 in total.
It costs 3.4p an hour run a 100 watt electric blanket.
So if you used one of those for eight hours a night across January and February, it would cost you £16.05p.
The single and double sized Silent Night mattress toppers are both on sale on Tesco’s website.
Tesco says the products are available for delivery or collection from now until January 25.
The single size is £20 for Clubcard members and £25 for those who don’t have the loyalty card.
The double size is £25 for Clubcard members and £32 for those without one.
They are not guaranteed to be on sale in your local Express or Superstore though so it’s worth calling ahead to see if they have them in stock.
We have approached Tesco to find out how much the king size costs and will update this story when we know more.
Of course, it’s always worth shopping around when looking at buying any product as you might find it cheaper elsewhere.
Websites like trolley.co.uk let you compare the prices of thousands of products across a number of high street supermarkets.
If you want to branch out a little, Price Spy lets you compare prices on products ranging from mobile phones to perfume and trainers across 6100 shops.
Nowhere else is selling the Silent Night mattress toppers cheaper than Tesco though.
Marks and Spencer is selling the single size for £32, double for £40 and the king for £45.
There are some other ways you can keep warm this winter on the cheap.
You might not think about it, but eating regular meals helps you stay healthy and can keep you warm too.
Layering up helps too. Naturally, the more clothes you have on, the warmer you should feel.
Thermals tend to be the best choice when it comes to your first layer and sports clothing is a good choice as a base layer as it’s designed to soak up sweat.
Shops like Decathlon can be useful for this type of kit, or try your local charity shop if you want to save potentially even more.
Martin Lewis previously revealed the best option out of leaving the heating on all day or on low continuously – and it’s best to only turn it on when you need it.
There’s help on offer if you’re struggling to pay for your energy bills.
Thousands of households are in line for help through the Household Support Fund (HSF).
The fund has been extended multiple times with the latest tranche worth £421million.
But who is eligible, and what you are entitled to depends on where you live as each council decides how to allocate their portion of the fund.
But, in some cases, you could receive hundreds, like in Blackpool.
Millions of households will be in the process of receiving their £400 energy rebate as well.
The money doesn’t have to be paid back as it’s a grant.
It has been split into six instalments. £66 was paid in October and November and £67 in December.
A further three instalments of £67 are to be paid in January, February and March.
Thousands of households on prepayment meters, that receive their discount via vouchers that need to be redeemed, are being urged to cash in their October vouchers or risk missing the deadline.
A number of energy providers offer customers grants for customers struggling to pay their bills as well.
British Gas even offers grants to people who aren’t its customers too.
