'I tested Martin Lewis' £30 no heating method to stay warm at night'

As the temperatures drop through the autumn, many of us are looking at ways to stay warm without seeing our energy bills soar. Personal finance expert Martin Lewis advises to "heat the person and not the home" to help keep costs down, with electric blankets one effective way of doing this.

Uswitch states electric blankets are just pennies to run continuously for an hour. The actual amount of electricity used and the cost to you will ultimately depend on the blanket's own heat settings, which typically range from 18°C to 56°C, and the time it takes to reach the desired temperature. According to the July 2025 price cap, it can cost as little as £30 per year to run an electric blanket if used on the lowest setting.

Following Lewis' advice, CornwallLive reporter Danielle Kate Wroe bought an electric blanket for £30 from popular home retailer Dunelm.

Danielle said she is already a big fan of her "game-changer" £119 electric mattress topper from Dreamland but decided to try the Dunelm electric blanket as an alternative.

She said she "didn't hold high hopes" initially for the blanket due to it being "significantly cheaper" than the Dreamland topper, but was left impressed.

Danielle said she put the electric blanket onto its highest setting while getting ready for bed, and was "utterly astounded" after climbing in.

She wrote: "It was pleasantly warm - not quite as hot as the other mattress topper, but it exceeded my expectations. It may be £89 cheaper, but that doesn't mean it's any less impressive, and it left me pondering whether the pricier one was truly worth it.

"£89 is not an amount to dismiss lightly, particularly as the cost of everything else continues to rise."

Danielle kept the blanket on the medium setting throughout the night, describing it as "perfectly adequate".

"I wouldn't say it outperformed the Dreamland one, but it's certainly functional and would be perfectly suitable for daily use - especially if you're new to mattress toppers," she said.

The CornwallLive reporter said the purchase from Dunelm "seemed to warm up in fewer areas than the Dreamland one, but it was simple enough to locate the warmth and get comfortable".

Danielle continued: "Of course, there's also the potential for significant savings during the chilly winters.

"Shelling out thirty quid might feel like a hefty initial investment, particularly if you've yet to experience the product's benefits."

But she added "you'll recoup at least that amount within a week".

Energy experts from consumer and product experts Which? Have also advised using electric blankets to stay warm while keeping energy costs down.