With sky-rocketing energy costs putting a downer on all of our bank balances and seemingly no energy providers out there that can offer a fairer deal than the ones we’re already getting, it’s only right that we start to do something ourselves to help bring down the cost of our monthly bills. Not only that though, with global warming becoming an increasing threat, we all need to do more to ensure that the world stays a habitable place for each and every one of us. With all this in mind, we’ve put together our five favourite tips for saving energy around the home.
1) Learn to cook efficiently
Cooking is one of the things that most people don’t associate with energy use, but whether you use a gas or electric oven, you’ll be using large amounts of energy. As such, we should endeavor to use the oven and hob as little as possible, and when we do, in the right way. For example, if you’re heating something on the hob in a small pan, make sure you use a small hob and vice versa. Also, ensuring that when you use the oven you cook as much food as possible in one load will make sure you use as little energy as possible. Also consider leaving the oven door open when you turn off the heat, as the warmth will heat your kitchen and only heating the water you need in your kettle.
2) Learn how to be efficient with electronics
For years now we’ve been told that turning off your electronics rather than placing them on standby saves energy, but it might not have been clearly explained. When we turn electrical devices on to standby, we’re effectively telling them to go to sleep, and just like humans, they continue to use energy whilst they do so. If we turn the electrical items off at the switch, however, they won’t use a single drop, meaning more money in our pockets.
3) Get energy efficient in your home
The government are very keen on all of us using less energy, and as such there are programmes to help make our homes better insulated and in less need of heating. You can get free cavity wall insulation, which saves around 15% on your fuel bills (or £98 a year) alongside a loft insulation grant, which could help you save another 19% as well. Alongside these, consider ways to manage temperature in your home like opening windows when it’s warm outside and closing them as soon as it gets cold.
4) Wash properly
A shocking 90% of a washing machines energy is used in heating up the water, therefore it follows that the less it has to heat the water, the less energy it uses. Try washing your clothes at 30-40 degrees and watch your energy bills shrink rather than your clothes. When it comes to drying, hang your clothes outside instead of putting them in the tumble drier.
5) Stay warm
The quickest solution to a cold house is to put on a jumper, and it’s also the one that’ll save you the most energy, so always consider layering up rather than cranking up the heating.
