How to save money on your home energy bills
Do these 8 things to save you money on your home energy bills
With heating and electricity bills going up across the nation, everyone is feeling the financial pinch right now. Thankfully, there are relatively painless ways to reduce your energy usage and costs.
Here’s 8 tips for saving on your energy bills.
Turn your heating down – by just 1 degree
How much could a single degree really make for your heating bill?
More than you might think. According to the Energy Saving Trust, turning your thermostat down by just one degree could save you around £60 a year – with other sources claiming the potential savings could be up to £100 a year.
It’s a good idea to lower your thermostat temperature by at least a couple of degrees when you go to bed; since you likely won’t notice the difference while you’re asleep.
All that said, don’t let your home’s temperature drop too low for the sake of your own health. 18°C should be the minimum daytime temperature for your home, with higher temperatures recommended for more vulnerable occupants (such as individuals who are very young, very old or struggling with illness).
Turn your fridge temperature up – and your freezer too
As we covered recently in our post on making offices more energy-efficient, many of us have our fridges and freezers set much colder than they need to be.
And that means they’re likely eating up more energy than they should, too. Each additional degree of refrigeration adds around 6% to your energy usage.
A good fridge temperature is around 3°C to 5°C, while freezers should be set to around -18°C.
Turn down the brightness on your TV
Depending on the model and age of your TV, this tip might not save you a lot of money on your electricity bills; but every little bit helps..
Check your TV to see if it comes with an ‘eco mode’; or alternatively, simply turn down the brightness manually in the settings menu (which should be accessible via your remote control).
While you’re in the settings menu, look for a sleep timer setting and make sure it’s turned on; so your TV will automatically switch itself off if it’s been left idle for a while.
The same advice goes for any computer monitors in the house; and doing the same with your mobile phone can help you achieve longer battery life, which means less charging time on your electricity bills.
If you have the money to do so, you might also consider swapping your current television for a more recent model and/or one with a smaller screen size; which will be cheaper to run throughout the year.
Invest in a smart thermostat
If you work different shifts each day and arrive home at different times, a smart thermostat can potentially help you save money by automatically turning your heating down when you’re not home.
Smart thermostats also enable you to control your heating from your phone via an app, and many smart thermostat brands will enable you to review your recent energy usage within the app (so you can make more economic heating decisions).
Get a smart meter
On the subject of monitoring your electricity usage habits, checking your energy meters and submitting readings to your suppliers is important for avoiding potentially hefty estimated bills.
But it’s all too easy to forget and miss a reading (especially if your meters are tucked away in a cupboard or outside).
A smart meter avoids this by automatically sending readings directly to the supplier; so you’ll only pay for the energy you’ve used.
Plus, smart meters also come with an in-home display which shows how much energy you’re using in real time, displayed in pounds and pence; helping you build better energy budgeting habits to lower your bills.
Getting a smart meter installed is free, as long as your provider is offering them in your area; the cost is simply absorbed into your smart meter tariff.
Wash clothes less frequently and at lower temperatures
Washing machines are often fairly power-hungry beasts; particularly as most of them will take all their water from the cold supply and heat it up inside the machine.
Rather than washing three or four smaller loads throughout the week, aim to complete just one or two fully-loaded drums a week and wash on a lower temperature setting. When reviewing washing machine temperature settings, Which? found that switching from 40°C to 20°C used 62% less energy on average.
If you find that 20°C just isn’t shifting the tougher stains, 30°C will provide better cleaning results while still offering reasonable energy savings.
Tumble-dry with care
Tumble dryers are also big energy hogs, so it’s important to use yours as sparingly as you can and to make sure you’re tumble-drying a full drum each time.
Take time to untangle freshly-washed loads before they go in the tumble dryer, as this will help to reduce the amount of time they’ll need to dry. Keeping your filters clean will also help you maintain the dryer’s efficiency.
Don’t charge devices overnight
We all rely on our phones, tablets and other battery-powered devices on a day-to-day basis; but plugging them in overnight is a bad idea if you want to minimise your energy bills.
Keep an eye on your charging gadgets and unplug them when they’re fully charged, so you’re not wasting any unnecessary energy. Make sure they’re switched off before you begin charging, too; as this means they’ll charge quicker and therefore use less energy.
Most importantly – don’t be afraid to ask for help
If you’ve tried everything to lower your bills and you’re still struggling to make ends meet, don’t hesitate to reach out to your energy provider for help.
Many energy brands have programs and policies in place to assist customers in need; particularly right now when we’re all facing higher bills. It’s better to let them know now, rather than surprise them with missed payments later.
You should also check in with Citizens Advice, who can provide further guidance if you need it.
Need help installing a new smart thermostat or a more energy-efficient appliance?
JC Electrical UK’s expert electricians in London are here to lend a hand; call us on 0208 839 9561 or email info@jcelectric.co.uk for a quote today.
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