8 Energy Saving Tips For The Home

Content: 1357 words

Reading time: 4 min 56 sec

Article by: Ryan Thomas

According to Ofgem, the government regulator for gas and electricity in the UK. The average household spends £1,254 a year on heating and energy. This means that energy is one of the biggest expenses for families.

Although many of us are continuously searching for the cheapest energy provider. Hopefully to save a few pence or the odd pound each month. We could be doing much more to help reduce our energy costs.

Here we will take a look at 8 energy saving tips for your home that will reduce your bills.

Each time you have a shower or a bath and turn on the extractor fan you are consuming electricity. Instead of reaching for the switch to activate the fan, why not open a window instead?

Opening a window will aerate and rid the bathroom of condensation in the same way as a fan. Fresh air is not only good for you, it brings a freshness to a room. It is also free and you could be surprised how much money that will save you.

If you must use an electric fan use a fan with a timer. That way you can set the overrun to operate just long enough to clear any steam.

Sitting down for your evening meal, you don’t tend to consider the cooking costs involved. By using your oven whether it be gas or electric, you are being charged from the moment it's turned on.

If you are cooking for an hour 365 days a year you can understand how that can have a massive impact on your energy bill. In order to save on these costs, we recommend switching to a microwave oven. Although microwaves won't cook everything, you should use them whenever possible.

A microwave oven cooks food much quicker than a conventional oven. It will cut down on the amount of energy you use and so cut down the size of your bill.

Have you ever heard the saying “the house is lit up like Blackpool Illuminations?”. Well, it may be a little over-dramatic but leaving all the lights on does come at a price.

One way in which you can reduce your lighting costs is to invest in a table lamp or two. Table lamps have only one bulb so use very little electricity. The main ceiling light will often have three or four lamps and use much more. That's a good reason for changing them to LED bulbs as soon as possible.

You can insert LED bulbs in table lights. But it helps to learn about LED light bulbs first. They have many benefits and are a great way of saving money.

As you know, LEDs are far more cost-effective. They consume a lot less power than other bulbs. One of the best energy saving tips I can give you, is to change all your standard bulbs to LED bulbs.

We all enjoy the warmth and relaxation of taking a long soak in a bubble-filled bath. Every now and then that's all well and good but it does cost more than a shower. If you take that bath every day your energy bill will quickly mount up.

That bath had your boiler active for up to half an hour. And if your one for topping up that cooling water, maybe even longer. You can lower the cost of bathing by taking a short electric shower instead of a long bath.

Electric showers heat up water as it passes through the unit. There is no need for your boiler to be activated and store preheated water. Electric showers only heat the water they use so a shower can cost as little as 1p a time.

Why not cut out the cost of using a tumble dryer to dry your clothes. You can easily do that by hanging them out on a washing line. Tumble dryers can take hours to completely dry clothing. And even the best of them can still leave a room with condensation. If that happens it could mean turning on that extractor fan again using even more power.

Tumble dryers can really add to your energy bill when there is no need. A simple change like hanging your clothes out to air dry can make a huge difference. You also have the added benefit of leaving your clothes smelling fresher. And, clothes that are hung out to dry do not require ironing. No ironing means you can save money on that too.

Having dimmer switches installed does come with an upfront payment. But, this simple change is going to be cost-effective in the long term. Dimmer switches will immediately start saving you money on your future electricity bills.

It's a simple fact that bulbs that are dimmed use less power, thus saving you money. And these days all LED bulbs have a dimmable version. So you will not be restricted by the type of LED bulb you can use.

When the cold weather comes electric heaters are essential for keeping warm. However, far too often they are too powerful for the room they are heating. And, it never occurs to people that they should adjust the controls to regulate the heat output.

Before you know it the room gets much too hot and power is being wasted. Electric heaters can be very expensive to run if not used correctly. First, you should always switch the selector switch to half heat. Second, you should set it's thermostat to mid position.

If required, you can adjust the stat and turn the selector switch to full heat once the room has warmed. Doing it this way cuts down on power usage and in turn, cuts down your energy bill.

How many times have you dashed in from work gasping for a cup of tea? You quickly fill up the kettle, plug it in and switch it on. Did you ever stop to consider the cost of boiling too much water? A full kettle takes longer to boil and uses more energy.

Most modern electric kettles have markers to measure the water. Markers that indicate how many cups of tea that amount of water will make. In order to save money, you should only fill the kettle to your desired number of cups. That will enable the kettle to boil faster and use less energy. You will also get a quicker cuppa!

Whilst we are all eager to cut down on our energy costs, many things like those mentioned above get overlooked. Incorporating some simple cost-effective habits into your lifestyle could have a dramatic effect on your energy bill.

So don't spend hours searching for cheaper energy providers. Instead, spend more time learning about ways in which you can make your home energy-efficient. I think you'll find the ones mentioned above in our 8 energy saving tips is a good place to start.