When you pay your hard-earned cash for something, you want to make sure you get your money’s worth. With our energy-saving tips, you can become more energy efficient and get more out of the gas and electricity you pay for. They’ll help you lower your home’s carbon footprint and save money on your monthly bills 💸
With phrases like net zero, carbon neutral and green goals becoming commonplace, you’d be forgiven for being baffled as to what they all mean. To begin reversing the effects of climate change, we need to start making everyday changes that – collectively – will make a real difference for the planet 🌍
One way of doing this is by being energy efficient. The more energy you save, the fewer carbon emissions contribute to climate change and the more financial resources you save. There are a lot of ways to conserve energy around the house. And with our homes accounting for 40% of our emissions in the UK, it’s a great place to start. And when you save electricity, you save on your energy bills too. It’s an absolute win all-round! 🔋
➡️ And we’re here to help turn these big ideas into simple, everyday actions that we can all do. Here are 10 ways to save energy at home…
- Do full laundry loads - Half-load settings save very little energy, so a full load is much more energy efficient. Do fewer (but fuller) – wash loads instead.
- Use the eco setting - On your dishwasher or boiler, the eco setting heats water more slowly, using less energy. You get the same results; it just takes a little longer.
- Don’t use standby mode - Unless switched off at the wall, appliances like your TV continue to use energy, costing the average UK home £35 per year.
- Careful with that kettle - When making tea or coffee, most of us fill the kettle right up. This means as a country we’re wasting around £68 million worth of energy a year. By filling your kettle just to the level you need, it could save you up to a third of the energy you have been using.
- Switch to LED bulbs - Traditional bulbs are extremely inefficient. Modern LEDs are the opposite, and also last longer so are less wasteful too.
- Use your microwave more - You’ll save energy because it’s quicker than using the oven or stove. It’s worth considering a slow cooker too, as they’re one of the most energy-efficient kitchen appliances.
- Unplug all your chargers - Across the country, people are unnecessarily over-charging their mobile phones, MP3 players, and laptops. Instead, as soon as your device is fully charged, try and get into the habit of unplugging it. Not only will this save energy, it also prolongs battery life. It could also save you about £60 a year on your electricity bills.
- Close your curtains at night - In the day it's important to try to use as much natural - and free - heat (in the form of sunlight) as possible. But when dusk falls, closing your curtains will help your home retain that heat. This helps keep warmth in the room – but try not to drape them over radiators.
- Turn down the temperature - With today’s effective washing machine detergents, there’s often no need to run your washing machine any higher than 30°C – clean clothes, energy saved, job done!
- Update your heating system - New boiler models are impressively more efficient with energy and can make a real difference on your monthly bills, saving you up to £580 a year 1.