There are many different ways to save energy in your home, ranging from adopting a few daily habits to installing energy-efficient alternatives to your regular appliances. They all help to shrink your utility bill and reduce your household’s greenhouse gas emissions.
So we’ve gathered 14 of the easiest energy-saving tips typically used in energy-efficient homes, so you can tick them off your list and start saving.
1. Get your boiler serviced
2. Draught proof your home
3. Reset the boiler timer
4. Draw the curtains
5. Insulate your home
6. Turn down thermostat
7. Install a smart thermostat
8. Clear your radiators
9. Take appliances off standby
10. Fit energy-efficient light bulbs
11. Reduce bath and shower time
12. Wash clothes at 30 degrees
13. Use the kettle to boil water for cooking
14. Only fill the kettle with as much water as you need
1. Get your boiler serviced
Your boiler is responsible for 55% of your yearly energy use. We crank up the boiler twice a day for around five months each year, so getting a full service helps it burn fuel as efficiently as possible to save on heating costs. The best time to arrange your boiler service is just before the winter months set in, as your boiler can develop minor, fixable faults over the course of a year that, if left unchecked, could turn into a big deal if there’s a big freeze. Plus, Gas Safe Home Experts are typically less busy during Autumn (rather than Winter). Here are 5 reasons to book an annual boiler service if you need any more convincing!
Besides getting your boiler serviced every year, there are a few easy ways to take care of your whole heating system that will make sure your boiler can do its job properly, such as bleeding your radiators and checking they’re balanced or even turning down your thermostat just a pinch!
2. Draught proof your home
Draught proofing is a relatively cheap and easy job that pays for itself. Plugging all the gaps in your doors and windows stops all your lovely warm air escaping outside, and blocks the cold outside air from inviting itself in. Here are some of the less obvious ways that heat escapes from your home:
- Windows and window frames
- Doors and door frames
- Keyholes
- Letterbox
- Loft hatch
- Chimney
- Floorboards
Be your household’s draught detective and search these places for gaps. Once you’ve located gaps between windows and frames, buy some draught-proofing strips from your local hardware shop (they’re inexpensive). For doors, you can get draught excluding foam or rubber tape. You can use flexible fillers for floorboards and strip insulation for loft hatches. And don’t forget keyhole covers and a decent letterbox flap. Check out our article on draught-proofing your home for more tips and tricks.
3. Reset the boiler timer
With your new energy-efficient hat on, you might want to review your boiler timer settings. For example, 20 minutes should be enough to get the house warm enough before you jump out of bed, and the same goes for the evening when you arrive home.
Most modern boiler controls allow you to have different settings for different days. So if you know you’re always out with the kids on Wednesday evenings, for example, adjust your timer. Older boilers may have mechanical timers that you need to set by hand, while modern ones can be changed with a digital programmer or even via an app on your phone if you have a smart thermostat.
If you’re considering a new boiler, we can help! With our Gas Safe Registered Home Experts at the ready, we’ll install the perfect boiler for your budget at a time that suits you (there’s flexible finance options too! (terms apply)).
How to set a mechanical timer
- Turn the dial to set the current time
- Choose when you want your boiler to switch on and off by changing the pins around the dial
- Set the switch to the timer function to activate your boiler.
How to set a digital programmer
- Set the correct day and time on the programmer
- Choose the ‘Set’ or ‘Program’ option to change the heating schedule
- Use the arrows to adjust the day of the week
- Change the time your boiler activates with the arrow buttons
- Adjust the time when you want your boiler to turn off
- Set the programmer to ‘Run’ or ‘Set’ to confirm your changes.
4. Draw the curtains
Knowing how to save energy at home involves making a few changes, and this change can be made without much fuss. A thick set of curtains can do a wonderful job of trapping heat in your house and insulating your windows from the cold outside. You can search online – or on the high street – for thermal curtains.
5. Insulate your home
If you can insulate the following areas and items in your home you’ll spend less money heating water up, and your hot water will stay hotter for longer. All good for your pocket, all good for the planet.
Loft insulation
If you’re living in a house with an uninsulated loft, a quarter of your heat is literally going through the roof. That means for every £4 on your heating bill, £1 of it has evaporated.
If you’ve already got minimal insulation, upgrading from 100mm to the recommended 270mm can dramatically slash your heating bills. It also helps you do your bit for the environment – if everyone in the UK installed 270mm loft insulation, we could save 2.7 million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year, which is equivalent to taking about 100,000 cars off the road.
Cavity wall insulation
About a third of all the heat lost in an uninsulated home escapes through the walls, so it might also be beneficial to look into getting cavity wall insulation to prevent heat loss. Houses built after 1990 should already have it; if your house was built between 1920 and 1990, it’s likely to have cavity walls and is a good candidate for insulation to be installed. Pre-1920 and your walls are probably solid.
Filling cavity walls is not a DIY job, so you’ll need to hire a registered installer. For an average-sized house with easily accessible walls, a pro will get the job done in around two hours. Read more in our cavity wall insulation guide.
Hot water tank insulation
If you haven’t got a combi boiler, you’ll have a hot water tank somewhere in your home. A British Standard hot water cylinder jacket costs about £15 and you can easily fit it yourself if you follow the manufacturer’s instructions. If you already have a jacket fitted around your tank, check that it’s at least 80mm thick. Topping up your hot water tank insulation from 25mm to 80mm thick could save you around £20 a year, which is more than the cost of the jacket.
Pipe insulation
Pipe insulation is another task you can do yourself, as long as your pipes are accessible. Pipe insulation consists of a foam tube that covers the exposed pipes between your hot water cylinder and boiler, reducing the amount of heat lost and, therefore, keeping your water hotter for longer. Pipe insulation is extremely cheap and you can order it online after measuring up your pipes.
If your pipes are hard to reach, you may need to call a professional. Find out more about keeping your house warm in winter if it’s coming round to that time of year.
6. Turn down your thermostat
Does your thermostat really need to be set to a sweltering 22, 23 or even 25°C? Your thermostat should be set to the lowest comfortable temperature you can manage, which typically ranges between 18 and 21°C. Every 1°C lower you set your thermostat to saves you up to £80 on your annual heating bill (says Energy Saving Trust).
Getting a smart meter can show you in real-time the result of the changes you make, like how much energy you are saving by turning down your thermostat. While having a smart meter alone won’t save you money, it will show you in pounds and pence how much energy you’re using. What you do with that information is where the magic happens.
7. Install a smart thermostat
Did you know you can also get a smart thermostat? Some of these smart thermostats monitor and ‘learn’ your habits and then control your heating accordingly – all automatically. You can download an app that allows you to turn your central heating on and off whether you’re at home or out fishing, which helps you to reduce energy waste.
Want to know more? Read our Why Choose a Smart Thermostat article.
8. Clear your radiators
Your radiators are the foot soldiers of your central heating system and it’s vital to keep them in good health. After years of dutiful service, it’s totally normal for them to get clogged up with dirt, sludge, rust and debris, rendering them less effective at heating up. Left unchecked, these bits and bobs can cause blockages, hardcore corrosion, and poor efficiency.
What you can do is a powerflush. The ultimate spring clean for your heating system flushes out any sludge or rust that may have built up. Our how-to carry out a powerflush article has a step-by-step guide. If you feel it’s not a job for you, get a Gas Safe Registered Home Expert to do it for you.
A magnetic filter is also a great long-term tool in your arsenal. It’s a little device fitted close to your boiler that attracts the magnetic rust particles in the sludge and filters them out of your system. This can improve the water flow and help cut your energy bills. It can also increase the lifespan of your boiler.
9. Take appliances off standby
Here’s the deal: Any appliance that has a standby light and/or is warm to touch is using energy. So get into the habit of switching your appliances off at the wall or unplugging them. Most electrical appliances can be turned off at the plug without upsetting their programming. Timer plugs also let you control when certain devices are switched on and off, and are a good investment for certain appliances.
Weaning yourself off standby mode could save you around £35 a year.
10. Fit energy-efficient light bulbs
If you’re still using old halogen light bulbs in your home, replacing them with energy saving LED bulbs could save you £35 on your electricity bill.
Here’s how to switch:
- Turn off the power
First, make sure the power is turned off. The safest way to do this is to switch the large red power button to ‘off’ on the fuse box. - Let it cool
Allow the bulb to cool before touching it. - Use a ladder
Ensure you can safely reach the bulb by using a stepladder (be careful!). - Remove bulb
Take the bulb out of the socket. The way you do this will depend on whether your bulb has a bayonet mount or a screw fitting:
Bayonet Mount (two prongs, standard in the UK):
Grasp the bulb lightly but firmly, push upwards gently and turn anti-clockwise until it is released from the socket.
Screw Fitting (most common in Europe):
Keep gently twisting anti-clockwise until the bulb comes loose from the socket. - Replace the bulb
Insert a replacement LED bulb lightly but firmly into the socket. Depending on the type, turn it clockwise until it locks into place or keep gently twisting clockwise until it won’t go any further. - Restore power
Once the bulb is in, turn the power back on again and switch on the light. - Dispose of the old bulb
The old bulb needs to be disposed of safely as the glass is fragile and very sharp. Use the packaging from the new bulb to wrap the old one for safe disposal.
If you need a little more guidance, check our How to change a light bulb article for more information.
11. Reduce bath and shower time
Most people know showers are more virtuous than baths when it comes to saving energy. If you replace four baths a week with five-minute showers, according to the Energy Saving Trust you can save £25 per year.
If you absolutely must have a bath, doing it just once a week for a treat and showering for the rest of the week will have a big impact on your savings and your environmental impact over time.
The average length for showering in the UK is around 8 minutes. If you were to spend just one minute less in the shower each day, it could save you up to £7 a year on your energy bills (per person).
12. Wash clothes at 30 degrees
Washing your clothes at 30˚C uses around 40% less electricity over a year than washing at 40˚C or higher. That’s an annual saving of £6. (*Energy Savings Trust).
13. Use the kettle to boil water for cooking
When you’re pre-boiling water for cooking foods like pasta, using the kettle rather than heating it on the stove is quicker and uses less energy.
14. Only fill the kettle with as much water as you need
Hopefully everyone knows this tip by now, but if you want to make a cup of tea it’s more energy efficient to simply fill the kettle up for the cup that you need. This little trick can save you up to £7 annually, according to the Energy Savings Trust.
Bust the myths
And finally, there are plenty of energy-related myths circulating around household topics that we want to help clear up:
Myth: Dishwashers are bad for the environment
More energy efficient than washing up, Bosch and Finish have calculated that the average cost to run a fully loaded dishwasher is just 37p, including detergent, water and electricity.
Myth: Leaving the heating on a low temperature all day is cheaper than turning the heating up and down or on and off
This practice wastes heat when you’re not at home to benefit from it. Furthermore, your home’s unlikely to reach a comfortable temperature if your thermostat is on one of the lowest settings.
Myth: Putting the thermostat on the highest setting will heat your home faster
No matter how high you crank up the heat, the rate at which your central heating distributes it will remain the same. After all, it’s not possible for the temperature to reach 20°C without first reaching 15°C.
Myth: Computer screensavers conserve energy
While you may not be running your processors as you would when using your computer, screensavers don’t save energy as the screen is still drawing power. To really conserve energy, put your computer into sleep mode or turn off your monitor.
Myth: Electrical appliances don’t use energy when they’re plugged in, yet switched off
While manufacturers are working to combat this, some electrical goods continue to draw energy, even when the appliance isn’t in use.
Myth: Solar panels don’t generate energy on a cloudy day
While solar panels work most effectively in bright sunshine, they are still able to collect energy on a cloudy day.
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