Easy & Efficient Energy Tips

Tips to reduce our energy consumption have always been a major learning lesson for us. From learning energy tips in school to the constant energy-saving TV adverts, we have always been advised about energy. But with the cost of energy now soaring it is even more crucial to cut any costs where possible.

Easy & Efficient Energy Tips

We all know the simple energy tips such as replacing baths with showers, switching off lightbulbs (even better if LED) and closing windows in order to keep the heat in. These are great starting points to save a few pounds on your bill every year, however, picking up even more small habits around the house can lead to huge savings a year on your energy bill.

Tumble dryers can use significant amounts of energy and are one the most expensive household appliances to run. The energy company EDF suggest that rather than using the tumble dryer hang clothes in a warm room, such as an airing cupboard. And especially in summer when the weather is good, we shouldn’t be using our tumble dryers, but hanging up our clothes outside to dry. However, sometimes a tumble dryer can be the most convenient and quickest way to dry clothes. So rather than not using it, there are some simple tips to make sure you are using the most of your tumble dryer.
Make sure your tumble dryer is in a warm room. If it is kept outside in the shed, it will take longer to heat up. Also, clean your tumble dryer filter regularly. If they are built up with fluff removing it will help the machine to operate more efficiently. Another easy tip that can help you save energy is to use the auto dry setting rather than on a time cycle. This means you aren’t using more energy than you need to.

Other household appliances such as dishwashers, kettles and microwaves can help save you money on your energy bills. Reducing your dishwasher use by one per week, ensuring it is full when using it could save you £14 per year.                                                                                                                                            

By overfilling our kettle, we are using far more energy than we need. By just boiling the amount of water you need saves £11 a year on your electricity bill. And in the UK, 100 million cups of tea are brewed every day. That means if the kettle was over-filled for every cup of tea the UK drink, in a year they would be wasting £396billion a year

A huge cost that can be saved as easy as flicking a switch is doing exactly that. Leaving all our electrical appliances on standby such as TVs can use up significant amounts of energy. Uswitch has also said an enormous 42% of UK households leave the TV for their pet. By turning all our devices off such as our TVs, computers, and gaming consoles, rather than just on standby, you can save up to £55 a year, just from the flick of a switch                                                                                                              

Another culprit of using more energy than needed is overcharging our devices. We are all guilty of over-charging our phones or devices. But rather than plugging in all our devices overnight, charge them either during the day or in the evening before you go to bed. Devices only need around 2 hours to get to a full charge so over-charging them can use a significant amount of energy. Not only is it dangerous as well but it reduces the battery life of the device, therefore, needing to be replaced more often, creating an added cost that can be prevented. By making sure you are only using the electricity you need to charge your devices, you can save a maximum of £60 a year on your bills.

Heating our homes and water is the most expensive cost when it comes to monthly bills. It is an essential need so shouldn’t be cut out, however, there are a few simple, effective ways we can introduce to reduce the rising costs. Turning your thermostat down by just a single degree can save you as much as £80, and you won’t even feel the difference in your home. Also bleeding your radiators regularly to remove the trapped air, can ensure they are working as efficiently as possible.

We know turning the tap off when brushing our teeth can save water, but did you know it can waste more than six litres of water per minute when running. That is 24 litres a day wasted, so make sure to turn it off in-between brushing. Showers are known to be far more efficient than baths, as cutting just a minute off your shower time could save £75 a year in energy bills. However, a high-pressure power shower can use more water than a bath so turning the pressure of your shower down can save costs.

These simple, inexpensive tips can help save you up to an enormous £250 a year, without having to spend much money, if not anything. However, if you are looking to save larger costs, there are ways to save even more money. Although these do entail having to spend upfront costs, in the long run, they will be more beneficial.

One huge cost saving is to properly insulate your loft. A quarter of your home's heat is lost through the roof due to hot air rising. Older properties may have worn insulation or even insulation that now isn’t enough to prevent heat loss, so it is important to get it checked and installed properly. Although it can cost several hundreds of pounds to install, it can also save you £135 off your energy bill, so is immensely beneficial in the long run.

Another larger cost that would be spread over some time would be to switch to newer appliances. This is because older appliances use far more energy than newer ones. This is even more so for your boilers. By switching to a newer more energy efficient boiler, it can make a real difference on bills, saving you up to £195 a year.

Solar panels can be used to generate the electricity you need to power your home. Solar panels not only help power your home but with nearly over half of us expected to own an electric car by 2030, they are also used to charge electric or hybrid cars.                                                                                                

We know using solar energy is so beneficial for the environment, but it can also be beneficial to your pockets. By installing solar panels, you can cut your electricity bill by £400 a year which is a staggering cost. Furthermore, if you generate more power than you use, you can earn money by selling it back to the grid. Not only that but research has indicated that solar panels add around 4% to a house's value, also making it more appealing to buyers as who would not want an energy-efficient house? This means just installing them in your home alone could make you tens of thousands of pounds.
Although the cost to install solar panels can be costly, energy companies such as E.ON provide payment options to help spread the costs to make them more affordable over a while.