Energy saving tips
Turn your thermostat down. Reducing your room temperature by 1°C could cut your heating bills by up to 10 percent and typically saves around £55 per year. Your cylinder thermostat should be set at 60°C/140°F to kill any bacteria within the water.
Fit an insulation jacket to your hot water tank. They are inexpensive and save money heating the water. Annual Saving: £20 Cost: £9.99 - £20.00
Always turn off the lights when you leave a room. Turning off lights, appliances and chargers when you’re not using them could save between £50 and £90 a year.
Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave laptops and mobile phones on charge unnecessarily. Leaving our everyday appliances on "standby" costs UK households between £50 and £86 a year on average.
If your shower takes hot water straight from the boiler, try an energy efficient shower head to cut hot water use. This could save you around £75 on water heating and £90 on water bills too.
You could save up to £40 a year by setting the washing machine to wash at 30 degrees and by turning your oven off at the wall.
Use energy saving light bulbs. They last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs, and using one can save you around £45 over the lifetime of the bulb.
If you draught proof your windows and doors, seal skirting boards and fit a chimney draught excluder, you could save around £75 a year on energy bills. One third of all heat escapes through the walls. If your home was built between 1920 and 1990, then insulating your walls could save you £110 on your annual heating bill.
Fix leaking taps and make sure they’re fully turned off as a dripping hot water tap can waste enough energy in a single week to half fill a bath with hot water.
Close curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
Install radiator reflectors. Radiators radiates heat both into the room, and into the wall behind it. That heat can simply be lost to the outside, especially if you have thin single skin walls. Reflectors are installed behind the radiator and help prevent that heat from being lost by reflecting the heat back into the room.
Consider getting a smart meter and in-home display to see how much energy is being used and to find ways to save money by using less energy.
