If you’re looking to cut down your
energy bills and save money, it’s handy to know all the different ways you can
easily reduce your energy usage at home. We’ve compiled a list of all the best
energy-saving tips you can try that might help you cut your costs.
How to save on
heating and hot water
The best way to save money on your bills is to reduce the amount of energy you
use at home. A huge chunk of our bills goes on heating and hot water. Here a
few things you can try that might help you become more efficient with your home
heating and hot water:
1. Turn your thermostat down by one degree
You could save around £80 a year if you turned your room temperature down
a notch. According to
USwitch
one in five households set their home thermostats to 22°C, which is three
degrees higher than climate change recommendations. A comfortable
temperature for most people is somewhere around 18°C and 21°C. The
Energy
Saving Trust
says that for every degree you increase the
temperature, it will increase your heating bill by 10%.
2. Less baths, shorter shower
Running a full bath uses more hot water than a quick shower. Keeping your
time in the shower down to four minutes will save even more energy. If you
love a long, hot bath, try keeping this down to just one a week and
hopping into the shower instead on other days. Be mindful if you have an
electric shower, as these can be one of the most electricity-guzzling things in your home.
3. Wash clothes at 30°C
Setting your washing machine to 30°C rather than 40°C will help save
energy, as will ensuring the drum is full every time you use it. Cutting
your usage by just one run a week should also help keep your bills down.
The newest, most efficient washing machines will score an A on the A to G
energy efficiency scale. An older washing machine may still use the
previous energy labelling scale, where an A+++ rating means it will use
less energy than an A+ one.
4. Don’t heat empty rooms
If you have thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs), control how much you heat
each room according to how much you use it. Typically, we sleep better in
a slightly cooler bedroom, so if you can snuggle up under your quilt -
keep your bedroom temperature down a notch or two.
Discover
30
ways to save water at home and at work
5. Don’t keep the hot tap running
Rather than doing your washing up under a running tap, just fill your sink
or washing up bowl and conserve your hot water. Even doing this will help
keep your energy bills down.
6. Fill the dishwasher, switch to eco
Cut some cost by not using your
dishwasher when it’s half empty. Only use it when it’s full, reduce the
temperature and use the eco or energy-saving setting if you have one. An
A-rated (on the most recent A to G energy labelling scale) or A+++ rated (on
the older scale) dishwasher will be the most efficient.
7. Shut doors and curtains, block draughts
Keep the heat in your home by closing your blinds and curtains in the
evening and shutting the doors between rooms. Every little helps! Heat is
easily lost through gaps around doors and windows so some simple draught
exclusion remedies, from sticky strips to stuffed snakes, can work
wonders.
8. Insulate your hot water cylinder
Keeping your hot water hot seems like an obvious trick, but many of us
haven’t invested in a nice, cosy jacket for our hot water cylinders. An
80mm-thick British Standard jacket could save you around £70 a year on
your energy bill.
Read our
28
tips to reduce your carbon footprint
Save electricity with efficient appliances and lighting
Monitoring your usage of household appliances and lighting and ensuring they
are energy efficient will help you save money. Here are some ways you may be
able to cut your energy bills:
1. Don’t standby, switch off
Switch off your appliance at the
mains rather than leaving it on standby mode. If your appliance doesn’t need to
be plugged in all the time to operate, getting into the habit of unplugging
could save you a fair few pounds in electricity if it still has that little
tell-tale light on.
2.Check your energy labels
The newest efficiency labelling scale for washing machines, washer-dryers,
fridges, freezers, dishwashers, TVs, displays and lighting runs from A to
G, where A is the most energy efficient. The previous scale ran from A+++
to G-, where A+++ was the most energy efficient. If you’re looking to buy
new, it’s worth bearing in mind that you need to compare the same sized
appliances when looking at their energy ratings so you’re accurately
comparing like-for-like.
3. Avoid the tumble dryer
If you can hang your washing out, then avoid using your tumble dryer. Keep
your dryer usage for essential times and items if the luxury of space and
sunshine is available.
4. Is your shower electric?
Electric showers can be the most expensive thing to run in your home. So
while taking showers uses less hot water than running a full bath, taking
a long powered shower could also eat up your electricity. Try regular
four-minute showers as a way to help keep your bills down and switch to
the good old eco or energy saving mode if you have one.
5. Turn off the lights
The old favourite is still the
best. Switch off the light when you leave the room - easy! You may not think
each little light bulb amounts to much, but it all adds up over time. If you
haven’t yet replaced all your old light bulbs with new, super energy-efficient,
long-lasting LED bulbs then what are you waiting for?
6. Cut out the kettle
Yes, we know this sounds
controversial when we’re a nation of tea and coffee drinkers. 95% of British families boil their
kettle at least once a day, and 40% of families do so
more
than five times a day
.
That’s a lot of energy to keep ourselves
well-fueled all day. One
canny way to save energy is to switch to a hot water dispenser. The
Virgin Pure Home Water System
uses 38% less electricity per use than a kettle. Switching the Home Water
System to energy saving mode means that it will use 50% less energy. It’s
definitely time to ditch that old kettle.
Find out more about how
much time, energy and water you’re wasting
when boiling your kettle
