Co-operative Energy have provided the first in our series of “Your Life, Your Money” blogs, by providing some helpful energy saving tips.
There are lots of ways to use energy more efficiently in your home. Most cost nothing, some cost a little, but together they could save you a lot of money.
- Heating costs can add up when the weather is chilly. By putting on a jumper and thick socks, then turning down the thermostat by 1 degree, you could save up to £75 a year.
- Using a bowl to wash up rather than leaving the hot water tap running could save around £30 a year on household energy bills and around £30 a year on metered water and sewerage bills.
- Try to be aware of unnecessary lights left on and appliances left plugged in or on standby. Typically a household could save between £45 and £80 a year just by remembering to turn off appliances left on standby or not in use.
- To make sure your bills don’t get out of control, why not invest in an energy monitor. You can get a little display that sits in your living room or devices that upload your data to a handy dashboard on the internet, most of them are for electricity but you can get some for gas too.
- Your hot water tank keeps your hot water hot, so making sure the heat doesn’t escape is important. Try installing a hot water tank jacket or topping your existing one up to 80mm as this could save you up to £115 a year.
- Unless your home is very new, you are likely to be losing some heat through draughts around doors, windows, chimneys and gaps around the floor. Why not buy some draught proofing products such as sealant, draught strips or chimney draught excluders which could save between £20 and £30 a year.
- Remember that baths use more water and energy, costing you more money. Try swapping a bath for a 5 minute shower once a week and you could save £158 per year on energy bills and £25 per year on water if you have a water meter.
- When you switch your heating on, make sure your radiators are bled, thermostats set correctly, and your heating system is programmed to switch on only when needed to ensure your money isn’t being wasted.
- Upgrade your bulbs to energy saving alternatives like CFLs instead of standard bulbs and LED spotlights instead of halogen ones. Making sure all your lights are energy saving varieties could save you £45 a year.
- See if you can save money by switching provider. Co-operative Energy partners with The Co-operative Credit Union find out if we could help you save money http://co-operativecreditunion.coop/offers/.
