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With energy price increases outstripping inflation in recent years, homeowners have less disposable income to spend on themselves. This is particularly challenging for households on low incomes who may be forced to cut back on luxuries just to pay their energy bill.
While there is little we can do about rising energy costs, there is plenty we can do to help reduce our energy consumption. According to research by Utility Design(opens in a new window), households in the UK waste around £4.4 billion a year just leaving the lights on.
So in this article, we are going to look at ways homeowners can reduce their energy consumption. We’ve divided each tip into a specific part of the home to make it easier for you to digest. Advice ranges from easy fixes to eco-friendly home improvements you can make to lower your carbon footprint and reduce your energy bill.
Energy Saving Tip: Is your combi boiler over 10+ years old? Did you know that modern combi boilers are highly efficient and that replacing your old combi for a new A-rated version could help you save up to £305 a year on heating bills. Compare FREE replacement quotes today.
Saving energy doesn’t have to mean buying new appliances or installing double glazing. There are some quick and easy ways to save energy in your home which you can implement today for little to no cost.
With homeowners wasting £4.4 billion a year just leaving the lights on, this is a good place to start when looking to save money. Always turn lights off when you leave a room and be conscious about how many lights you have on at each time.
LED lighting solutions are proven to be up to 80% more efficient than traditional lighting – 95% of energy used is converted to light the other 5% is wasted as heat.
Some energy suppliers may offer a free light bulb replacement service like Utility Warehouse, allowing you to upgrade your home with LED efficient alternatives.
We’d recommend that you reach out to your energy supplier to see what perks they offer, you never know you may be in luck!
Each year we seem to accumulate more and more devices all of which need charging. But leaving chargers plugged in when you’re not using them wastes electricity. So remember to unplug charges once you have finished with them.
You may not realise it but the layout of your room may be affecting the efficiency of your central heating. Putting sofas up against the radiator, for example, can restrict heat circulation. So try to leave a two-inch gap around radiators if possible.
Closing the curtains at night can help to keep heat inside the room for longer. So as soon as the sun goes down close the curtains or blinds and settle down for a nice cosy evening.
Installing reflective foil panels behind your radiators is an easy way to reduce your energy consumption. The panels help to reflect heat into the room and should allow you to turn down your thermostat by a degree or two.
Once you have made the above improvements you will start to see a reduction in your energy consumption. But you don’t have to stop there. Even bigger savings can be made by making improvements to your insulation and central heating.
Around 25% of the heat energy lost in your home goes out through the roof. Improving your loft insulation can reduce this by as much as a third.
Homes built before 1990 didn’t have cavity wall insulation installed as standard. Installing cavity wall insulation could reduce heat loss by up to a quarter.
Old boilers are not very efficient. A typical 15-year-old G-rated boiler is 65% efficient. Replacing it with an A-rated combi-boiler will increase its efficiency to around 95%, saving you a small fortune in gas each year.
Financial help may be available to make improvements In April 2013 the government launched the Energy Company Obligation (ECO) scheme to help reduce carbon emissions and tackle fuel poverty. Under the scheme, major energy companies are obliged to provide financial support for home improvements which reduce carbon emissions.
To qualify for ECO you must own your own home or have the permission of the landlord to make improvements. You must also receive at least one qualifying benefit and satisfy the relevant income requirements.
You can find out more about the government’s ECO scheme and the qualifying criteria in our Government Boiler Help Article.
The kitchen is one of the most power-hungry rooms in your home. So focusing on saving energy here can make a big difference to your energy bill.
Heating water in the kettle for cooking is not only quicker, it saves energy as well. Plus it means spending less time in front of the stove, which is an added bonus.
If you have a gas hob make sure the flames are just heating the base of the pan. If you see flames licking up the sides you are watching money burn away too.
Modern ovens are well insulated which means your food will continue cooking even when the heat has been turned off. So turn your oven off 5-minutes early.
A freezer clogged with ice is not operating efficiently. So get into the habit of defrosting your freezer every time it develops a quarter-inch of ice.
Just like boilers, new fridge freezers are much more efficient than old ones. Updating your fridge for an A+++ model can save around £113 per year on energy costs, paying for itself and more during its lifetime.
While we can’t promise to reduce the amount of laundry you have to do, by using these tips you can at least cut the amount of energy used doing it.
NEVER put a half-load in the washing machine. Save time and money by doing your laundry in one go.
If your washing machine has an economy setting, use it. This reduces rinse times and temperatures saving both water and energy.
Tumble dryers are energy hogs, so try to avoid using them if possible. Dry your laundry outside instead. You’ll find it smells fresher too.
It may be tempting, but drying clothes on radiators reduces the amount of heat emitted into the room. This will cause you to turn the thermostat up.
If you must use the tumble dryer, put eco-balls in it, these will help to separate clothes so more air can circulate, shortening drying times by as much as 30%.
Making a few simple changes to your morning bathroom routine can make a big difference to your energy bill.
An eco-friendly showerhead uses much less water than a traditional one while still giving you a satisfying shower. Less water means less energy is needed to heat it.
According to Energy Saving Trust (open in a new window)shaving a minute off your daily shower time could save you up to £8 per year (per person).
Unplug any unused chargers for bathroom accessories such as electric toothbrushes, shavers and hair straighteners.
Using a hairdryer is not only bad for your hair, but it also uses a lot of energy. If possible let your hair dry naturally until it is around 70-80% dry. Then finish with a hairdryer on a low setting.
Condensation can be cleared from an average size bathroom in around 20 mins. So running an extractor fan for longer than this wastes energy. Make life simple and install an extractor fan with a 20 min timer.
These three one-time fixes are cheap and easy to install and will get your central heating system working more efficiently.
Having your boiler PowerFlushed will remove any dirt, sludge and debris which builds up over time. This allows hot water to circulate more freely enabling your boiler to operate more efficiently. A PowerFlush can cost anything between £300 to £1000+ and should be carried out every 5-6 years.
Thermostatic radiator valves allow you to adjust the temperature of each radiator individually. This means you can turn down radiators in rooms which you don’t use often, thereby saving money in the long run.
A water softener will not only improve the taste of your tap water, it will also reduce limescale build up in your appliances. This allows them to operate more efficiently and last much longer.
The above tips should give you plenty of ideas to help reduce your energy consumption. While there is a lot to think about here, you don’t have to apply them all at once. Start by implementing those which involve simple changes to your daily routine; such as turning off lights, boiling cooking water in a kettle and unplugging unused devices.
Then you can look at implementing some of the more comprehensive ideas such as installing thermostatic radiator valves, or a new boiler. And don’t forget financial support is available for households on low incomes to make environmentally-friendly improvements to their home.
Our articles (linked below) should be able to help you on your energy saving venture. We explain the cost savings a new boiler can bring to your home and the government’s ECO scheme – designed to provide financial help (to qualifying homes) to install energy-saving technologies.
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