Energy Saving Tips
With just a few simple changes to your lifestyle and your home, you could be saving hundreds of pounds on your heating, gas and electricity bills. So, if you're looking for ways to cut down on your spending, try these free energy saving tips below.
How to save energy in the kitchen
The kitchen is a key area of the home when it comes to energy wastage, with a huge amount of energy to be saved when cooking if you know where energy is most likely to be wasted. Here are just a few of our tips.
1. Use a microwave. Heat up food in the microwave as often as possible - it’s generally the most efficient way to heat up and cook food because its relatively small size means that a stronger level of heat can be focused on whatever’s being cooked.
2. Be water-conscious. When you’re boiling food in a pan, make sure you only use the amount of water needed to cover the amount of food you’re cooking, because boiling water you don’t need can waste a lot of energy.
3. Take it slow. To save energy (and lessen the need to cook when you get home after work), try using a slow cooker to cook throughout the day - they only use about as much energy as a light bulb.
4. Leave enough defrosting time. Defrost frozen food in the fridge overnight or while you’re at work. Defrosting food in advance typically halves the cooking time and also means that you don’t need to use the energy of a microwave to defrost more quickly.
5. Don’t go for metal trays in the oven. Use glass or ceramic dishes in the oven wherever possible because they retain heat better than their metal counterparts, making them the most energy-efficient option.
6. Get the fans out. Invest in a fan-assisted or convection oven, which circulates heat throughout the oven. This means the heat doesn’t have to be as high as it would in a normal oven.
7. Use the right size pan. Always use a pan which is the right size for the amount of food you are cooking - this means you won’t waste energy while heating a bigger surface area than you need.
8. Use the right size hob. When you’ve selected your pan, make sure you use the right size hob for it. A bigger burner will waste energy and a pan that’s too big will take longer to get to the right temperature.
9. Keep heating rings clean. Similarly, make sure you keep your heating rings as clean as possible - any food that sticks to the ring will absorb heat, which will make it less efficient.
10. Use the right ring for the right thing. If you're going to use the oven, cook a few meals at a time to get the most out of having your oven on and hot, especially if lunch-prepping for the week ahead is your kind of thing.
Energy-saving laundry tips
Because of the amount of water used in washing clothes and the amount of energy that goes into drying them, there’s a few ways you can bring down your energy usage and financial spend when doing the laundry.
11. Shrink your bills, not your clothes. 90% of a washing machine's energy expenditure is spent heating the water, so if you wash your clothes at 30-40°C you're saving a significant amount of money.
12. Hang up your laundry. Air-dry your laundry rather than tumble-drying it, particularly if the weather is warm or windy.
13. Save yourself ironing time. Take your clothes out of the dryer before they're completely dry - they'll iron much quicker and you'll use less energy on your drier.
How to save gas around the home with our money-saving tips
There’s a lot you can do to use less gas around your home - here are just a few of them.
14. Install a smart meter. If your supplier offers smart meters to customers like you, it’s a no-brainer to install one. By clearly indicating where you’re spending the most on your energy, you can take steps to cut down usage wherever possible and save money.
15. Upgrade your gas appliances. With more energy-efficient appliances on the market than ever before, make sure you’re investing in the models which use gas in the most efficient way.
16. Invest in a smart thermostat.A smart thermostat will enable you to track your gas usage and make adjustments when it comes to using less.
How to save electricity around the home with our money-saving tips
Similarly to gas, there are a few changes you can make around your home that could help cut down your average electricity usage and the amount of money you have to spend.
17. Use energy-saving lightbulbs. A lot of electricity is used in lighting your home, but you can use less energy by investing in specific energy-saving lightbulbs, which are readily available. You won’t lose any light, and you’ll save money too.
18. Install dimmer switches. This way you’ll be able to light a room as much as you need, which means you can tailor the amount of electricity you’ll be using to do so.
19. Use energy-efficient electric appliances. Some appliances, like dishwashers, run on electricity as opposed to gas, so it’s worth seeking out the most energy-efficient models to ensure you’re not spending more than you need to. Look for models rated A+++ by the EU as a general guide.
20. Don’t leave anything plugged in that isn’t being used. A lot of wasted electricity occurs through leaving appliances plugged in that aren’t being used. Even charger cables that don’t have anything plugged into them, but are still connected to the socket, can waste electricity, so it’s often better to err on the side of caution by unplugging anything that isn’t being actively used and switching the power off at the plug.
Use insulation and home improvements to save energy and money
During the winter, insulation is one of the key ways you can bring down your energy costs when it comes to heating your home. Here’s how.
21. Insulate the loft. A quarter of your home’s heat is lost through the roof as warm air rises, and older properties that already have insulation in place may not have the recommended levels, particularly if it was installed in the 1970s or 1980s. It’s therefore vital to ensure that your loft or attic space is properly insulated to prevent that heat loss.
22. Double that glazing. If you’ve got single glazing (or a lot of heat is being lost through the doors and windows), install double glazing to more efficiently trap heat.
23. Insulate the walls. Whether you have cavity walls or solid walls, both can be insulated (or re-insulated) to encourage heat retention. There are now government-backed full and partial grants available to help you pay for insulation if your home has cavity walls.You can also insulate gaps between the floor and skirting boards.
24. Insulate hot water pipes. Uninsulated water pipes mean it takes longer for hot water to become hot while it’s running. Insulating the pipes will help prevent water wastage.
25. Consider solar panels. Having solar panels installed on your house could save you as much as a third on your electricity bills.
26. See if you're eligible for help. There are plenty of energy help schemes available that could give you a discount on your bills if you're eligible.
Save energy and money around the home
27. Stay warm, cut costs. Turning your thermostat down by just 1°C can save you as much as £80 per year!
28. Layer up. Wearing more jumpers, socks and slippers around the house and putting an extra blanket on the bed means you won't be tempted to turn the heating up.
29. Turn the pressure down. A high-pressure power shower is a luxury but you'd be surprised how much water they use - sometimes even more than a bath.
30. Install a new boiler. Apart from ensuring boiler safety, upgrading to a highly-rated boiler can improve your home’s energy efficiency.
31. Don’t leave the tap running. Turn the tap off when you’re brushing your teeth or washing your face - it can waste more than six litres of water per minute while it’s running.
32. Get a water-efficient shower head. This will cut down the amount of hot water you use but still feel like a strong shower.
33. Turn the lights off. When you leave a room, don’t leave the lights on unless you’re coming back.
34. Run cold washes in the washing machine. Washing your clothes at 30 degrees rather than 40 can save you a third on your washing bills - you’ll have to do a hot wash sometimes, but sticking to 30 whenever possible can make a world of difference.
35. Use halogen lightbulbs outside. These bulbs consume around a quarter less electricity than incandescent bulbs without losing any brightness, so they’re a no-brainer for any exterior lighting.
36. Put exterior or security lights on timers. Your neighbours won’t thank you for keeping your exterior lights on all night, and neither will your wallet. Make sure any exterior lights are on a timer or activated by motion so they only come on when needed.
37. Opt for an electric lawnmower. Electric mowers are much less hassle to use than petrol-powered mowers, and are obviously more energy-efficient as well. Try and invest in one if you can.
38. Keep pools and hot tubs covered. Keeping the heat trapped underneath the cover of a swimming pool or hot tub means you’ll have to spend less energy heating them up again when you’re ready to use them. You can also buy solar covers to heat the water.
39. Educate the household. Energy will only be saved if everyone in the house recognises the importance of saving it. If you’ve got kids, try and turn energy saving into a game to teach them why they should remember to switch things off.
Stop overpaying on energy
40. Compare gas and electricity prices with Uswitch to make sure you're on the cheapest tariff