Winter weather is here and many families are worried about paying high energy bills in the cost of living crisis.

After last week's news that Ofgem's price cap is set to rise again from January 1, there's a lot of panic about rising bills just as we hit the coldest months of the year, leading to many searching for tips on how to cope with the cost of keeping their homes warm amid spiralling costs and rising energy direct debits.

Using monthly direct debits to pay for energy has been with us since the 1980s, but there's still a lot of confusion and many do not fully understand how they work. One of the most common complaints is when people question why their direct debit payment is more than the energy they are using. This gripe mostly surfaces during the summer months, when usage is lower.

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It's crucial to remember that you are not paying for what you are using at the time when you pay your monthly direct debit, you are paying for your whole year's use divided by 12 monthly payment. In a nutshell, you overpay in the summer to allow you to underpay in the winter and your bills stay the same year-round.

On social media particularly, there is a lot of advice that's not fully thought through from people and influencers who don’t understand, or gloss over, the full implications of cancelling your direct debit. So before you make any decisions, you need to understand the risks.

Paying by direct debit has a lot of benefits which will make it cheaper and more affordable for you to pay in the long-term. Energy providers provide discounts of up to 8% if you pay this way, which you will lose if you cancel and pay when your bill comes in. The idea with paying via direct debit is that you pay the same amount of money for your energy all year so if you were to cancel and only pay what you use each month because you’re struggling, you’ll find you probably pay less in the summer, but are going to find the winter bills a challenge unless you budget for them.

While there is a certain logic to only paying for what you use when you use it, but there are serious repercussions if you cancel when you have debt on your account, which is why it's the worst thing you can do If you find yourself unable to pay what your energy company estimates you need to cover your use and you have built up a debt

This is because if a direct debit is cancelled, it will result in the full amount of the debt being owed in full immediately. If you can't pay the outstanding debt, this could lead to the debt recovery process being initiated, which may involve obtaining and executing a warrant. Ultimately, this could result in a prepayment meter being installed.

Gemma Hatvani, founder of Facebook page Energy Support And Advice UK, says she regularly has to remind some of her 125,000 members that advising posters to cancel their direct debit in a panic is very poor advice.

"Cancelling a direct debit is rarely good advice and in most cases is really poor advice," said Gemma, "People panic and think they will just manage their bills when they come in, but any debt on the account is instantly recoverable and ultimately, the poster could find they are forced to have a credit meter fitted to recover the debt.

"The best thing to do is talk to your supplier and come to an arrangement to clear the debt with regular monthly payments on top of paying for the energy you use. Another thing I have heard people do is cancel their direct debit and set up a standing order, which again is counterproductive as you lose the direct debit discount and the supplier will still start to recover the debt, as a standing order does not constitute a promise to pay. If you can get your supplier to agree to a standing order in writing, that would be OK, but never assume you can just replace a direct debit with a standing order. They are not the same thing."

If you just want to pay for what you use, there is another option known as 'variable' monthly direct debit, which most suppliers offer and unlike a fixed direct monthly direct debit, changes depending on what you use. To do this you must either have a working smart meter or give meter readings to your supplier every month. What you pay will then depend on what you use each month. Expect much higher bills in the winter and lower in the summer, but you generally get a bill a few weeks before your payment is due to go out, letting you know how much your provider will take that month. This gives you the benefit of keeping the direct debit discount.