Save over £270 a year with these simple energy saving tips
Over the past couple of weeks, the news about energy price hikes has been inescapable. Now more than ever we all need to be more efficient with our electric, gas, water and oil. So, here are some easy energy saving tips that we can all use to help reduce our future energy bills.
(The figures are based on an average household and savings could be more or less depending on how many people are in your household)
1 – Be smart with water
Buying a more efficient shower head can cost as little as £25 but can save a massive £96 a year on water alone (plus the additional savings on electric/gas). Click Here for more info.
A survey showed that 30% of Brits admitted to leaving the tap on while brushing their teeth and 19% leave it running while washing the dishes. To put this in perspective, doing the washing up in a bowl can save the average household around £25 a year.
Likewise, only fill your kettle with minimum water required to make your drink.
Wash at 30 degrees and ideally with a full load, unless your machine has the “quick wash” or “half load” option.
Don’t forget – these figures are for saving water only, the additional gas and electrical savings make this a great way to reduce your bills. If you have ever watched your smart meter when the kettle boils, you will know how much energy this will also save! A kettle uses up to 3,000 watts, which makes it the most expensive household appliance to run. Drying washing on the line, if weather allows, will save money on electric as this is another expensive appliance to run.
2 – Laptop over desktop computer
If you are working from home (which is quite likely nowadays), choose a laptop over a desktop computer if you can. A laptop uses 20-50 watts compared to a desktop which uses 80-150 watts. By switching to a laptop, you could save over £25 a year.
3 – Cooking efficiency
Try to not open cooker door too much whilst cooking as it loses heat quickly. Also, try not to overfill cooking pans with water. It is best to use a stackable steamer if possible to reduce the amount of cooking rings in use.
4 – Be efficient with heating and lighting
Turning off lights when you’re not in a room can save you around £14 a year on your annual energy bills.
Turning your thermostat dial down by 1°C can save you around £80 a year. If there are rooms in the house which are unused, turn the radiator thermostats down low (although not off entirely as this could cause other problems within the fabric of the building).
5 – Avoid standby
OK, we have all heard of this before! We all heavily rely on our electrical devices, but when they are not in use, make sure you turn them off properly – you could save an average of £30 a year by turning things off at the wall.
6 – Teenagers!!
If you are parent to a teenager (yes we are and it is painfully wasteful and expensive!), try to make sure they turn off their lights, TV, straighteners and any other appliances when they are not being used, it could save you a small fortune.
Remember these are only small changes but they will reward you with noticeable money saving results, and help the environment too.
To find out more about how much energy your household appliances use, click here.
