Energy Saving Quick Wins

We are responsible for the energy we use within our home. Regardless whether you're a homeowner, private tenant, student or you live at home with your parents. There are many things you can do to reduce how much energy you use & how much that you have spent.

1). Firstly, you need to understand your bill

The information on a typical energy bill, within the UK, can be confusing, but understanding it can go a long way to helping you get to grips with your energy usage.

2). Switch Off Standby

You can save around £30 a year by remembering to your appliances off standby mode. Almost all electrical & electronic appliances can be turned off at the plug without upsetting their programming. You may want to think about getting a standby saver which allows you to turn all your appliances off standby in one go.

Check the instructions for any appliances that you aren't sure about. Some satellite & digital TV recorders may need to be left plugged in so they can keep track of programmes you want to record.

3). Careful In Your Kitchen

You can save around £36 a year on your energy bill by using you kitchen appliances more carefully:

Use a bowl to wash up rather than a running tap & save £25 per year
Only fill the kettle with the amount of water that you need, which can save around £6 per year
Cutback your washing machine use by just 1 cycle per week, this could save £5 per year

4). Get A Shower Head

If you have got a shower that takes hot water straight from your boiler or hot water tank (rather than an electric shower), fit a waster efficient shower head. This will reduce your hot water usage while retaining the sensation of a powerful shower. A water efficient shower head could save a four person household (e.g. family of 4 or even a shared student flat) as much as £75 per year on gas for water heating, as well as a further £120 on water bills if they have a meter.

5). Less Time In The Shower

Spending 1 minute less in the shower each day will save up to £7 off your energy bills each year, per person. With a water meter, this could save a further £12 off annual water & sewerage bills. If everyone in a 4 person family did this, then it would lead to a total saving of £80 per year.

6). Draught Proofing

Unless your home is very new, you will lose some heat through draughts around doors & windows, gaps around the floor, or through the chimney. Professional draught-proofing of windows, doors, clocking cracks in floors & skirting boards can cost around £200, but can save around £20 per year on energy bills. DIY draught-proofing can be much cheaper. Installing a chimney draught excluder could save around £15 per year as well.

7). Take Control Of Your Heating

More than half the money spent on fuel bills goes towards providing heating & hot water. Installing a room thermostat, a programme & thermostatic radiator valves & using these controls efficiently could save you around £75 per year. If you already have a full set of controls, turning down your room thermostat by just 1 degree can save you around £75 per year.

Whatever the age of your boiler, the right controls will tell you:

Set your heating & hot water to come on & off when you need them
Heat only the areas of your home that need heating
Set the temperature for each area of your home

8). Get Savvy With Smart Controls

Smart heating controls are the latest innovation to help you control your heating & understand your energy usage. They allow you to control your heating remotely via a mobile app, meaning that you can manage the temperature of your home from wherever you are, at whatever time of the day.

9). Switch to LEDs

You can get LED spotlights that are bright enough to replace halogens, as well as regular saving bulbs ('compact fluorescent lamps' or CFLs). They come in a variety of shapes, sizes & fittings. If the average household replaced all of their bulbs with LEDs, it would cost about £100 & save around £35 per year on bills.

10). Turn Off Your Lights

Turn your lights off when you are not using them. If you switch a light off for just a few seconds, you will save more energy than it takes for the light to start up again, regardless of the type of light. This will save you around £15 off your bills.