How To Save Money On Your Energy Bills

Tip #1: Make sure you have loft insulation topped up to the recommended depth – this is currently 270mm, but going as high as 400mm will give you extra toasty benefits. Roughly 20% of heat generated in the home is lost through a cold loft space. 

Tip #2: Seal your loft hatch. You can use sticky backed foam tape to do this, and it’ll stop any draughts. Warm air rises, so it actively wants to escape upwards.

Tip #3: Install cavity wall insulation. Get in touch with your energy provider to see if they have free insulation schemes in your area – you could get Cavity Wall Insulation and Loft Insulation for free. Roughly 30% of heat generated in the home is lost to uninsulated walls.

Tip #4: There’s grants available for new heat pumps – ask your energy provider about this too. Heat pumps use electricity instead of gas, but often with the grants you may also be eligible for Solar Panels too, cutting the running costs down of the heat pump considerably! The grants we’ve mentioned here are called ECO4, and ECO4 has offshoots called LA Flex and the LAD Scheme. 

Tip #5: Draught Proof around your front and back doors to stop heat escaping through small gaps. Again, sticky back foam tape works great and doesn’t cost much.

Tip #6: Baths vs Showers: It’s typically stated that you can save energy by switching from having a bath to a 4.5 minute shower. And while this is true, some people, ourselves included, enjoy a hot soak at the end of a stressful day. If you’re weighing up whether you should have a long hot soak in the bath or a long hot shower, opt for the bath as it’s cheaper. If you’re wanting to jump in the shower quickly and get a rinse, go for the shower and keep it as cool as you can while still being comfortable. 

Tip #7: Obviously, keep windows closed in the winter. Don’t let the warm air escape. 

Tip #8: Invest in some heavy curtains and close them as the sun goes down. They’ll act as a better thermal barrier than blinds.

Tip #9: If you’ve got a chimney, invest in a chimney balloon to block off the hole leading to outdoors and stop cold air coming in. Just remember that it’s there before you light the fire!

Tip #10: If you’ve got a regular boiler with a hot water tank, turn it down to 40 degrees. There’s no point in having scalding hot water at all points of the day and night when even when in use, you’ll just be adding cold water to the mix to make it comfortable to touch. 

Tip #11: Insulate that hot water tank. It’ll help you minimise heat loss if you get a water tank jacket, also saving you money on your heating bills.

Tip #12: Invest in double or triple glazing if you haven’t already. The thermal benefits are very impressive and over time it’ll pay for itself in energy saved. 

Tip #13: If investing in extra glazing is out of the question, invest in magnetic secondary glazing instead. It’s much cheaper and there’s plenty of options online!

Tip #14: Turn down your thermostat. Most people have it set at around 19 degrees. What you’re aiming for is to not be cold – you’re not aiming to be warm. 17 or 18 degrees is fine. 

Tip #15: Blankets and jumpers – if you want to get to that toasty temperature, invest in blankets, jumpers, dressing gowns etc. Extra warmth for free.

Tip #16: Open kitchen windows instead of using the extractor fan – ventilation with no electricity used. 

Tip #17: Clean the back of the fridge/freezer. Dust on the back of the pipes make the appliance less efficient because it can’t get rid of the warmth as effectively. 

Tip #18: A full fridge or freezer is easier to keep cool, as there’s less space to cool. Also when defrosting food, keep it in the fridge to help keep the fridge cool for free.

Tip #19: Curtains open when the sun is up, curtains closed when the sun is down. This is solar gain, and can help warm your home for free, then keep the warmth in at night.

Tip #20: When buying new appliances, opt for higher rated, energy saving models instead. They’re usually slightly more expensive, but they’ll pay for themselves over time to keep your bills lower all year round. 

Tip #21: Big light on or lamps? If you need a light on in the room, stick to one light. Having the “big” light on is cheaper than having 2 lamps using the same bulbs. If you’ve got lamps with smaller LED bulbs it may be more efficient to have the lamps on.

Tip #22: Cook with microwaves: if you’re reheating food or there’s meals you can make in the microwave instead, opt for the microwave as they use less energy than cooking in the oven. 

Tip #23: Check your fridge and freezer seals. If they’re damaged then warm air can seep in making them inefficient. 

Tip #24: Turn off lights when leaving rooms. Turn off lights when not needed. If you’ve got the TV on in the evening, you might not actually need that light on. Go for the cinema experience instead. 

Tip #25: Air dry clothes outside when you can. 

Tip #26: Investigate the “heated Clothes Dryer” before you buy it. Many are marketed as being more efficient than the regular dryer, and many are, by the hour. However, it takes a lot longer to dry your clothes this way. They are more efficient with lighter clothes such as underwear and T shirts. As an admin note, I personally have a “DrySoon” heated clothes airer and this type of clothing takes around 5 hours to dry with the cover on and draws around 300 watts, making it twice as effective as a dryer. With heavier clothes though, such as hoodies and jackets or even bed sheets, it can take 12-13 hours, making the tumble dryer more economical for this type of clothing. So work out how much energy your dryer uses and consider that drying at 3000w for one hour is better than drying at 300w for 13 hours. 

Tip #27: Clean the filter on your clothes dryer to keep it running efficiently and letting that warm, damp air escape. 

Tip #28: Only boil as much water as you need – don’t boil a full kettle if you’re only making one cuppa. When boiling veg or pasta, just put enough water in to cover the food. 

Tip 29#: Bring to a boil or fast track it? On the topic of pans and food – it’s often cheaper to boil the kettle to get the hot water instead of waiting for the pan to heat up on the hob. 

Tip #30: Pan lids wherever possible. The pan lid helps keep the heat in the pan, so your food will cook quicker, costing less in energy. 

Tip #31: Use the correct burner for the pan you use. Small pan, small burner, big pan, big burner.

Tip #32: Use your washing machine on the lowest temperature. Most washing powders and pods are designed to work at 30 degrees. There’s no need to be running your washer at 60. 

Tip #33: do full loads in the washer if your model doesn’t have a “half load” setting. 

Tip #34: Use tap aerators. They’ll save you water but keep up the flow rate.

Tip #35: Low Flow Shower Heads. The principal is the same as the tap aerators – less water used without impacting flow rate. 

Tip #36: Use power strips for your plugs, then switch off the power strips at night – putting things like your TV or phone chargers, laptop chargers, PCs etc into standby mode still draws power. Flip the power strip plugs to fully turn them off.

Tip #37: If you’re tech savvy you can set a shut down timer on your laptop or PC if you watch tv to fall asleep. There’s a guide on how to do that here.

Tip #38: Install radiator reflectors. They go behind your radiators and bounce the heat back into the room instead of the wall.

Tip #39: When you’re phone is charged, unplug it. 

Tip #40: Install a smart thermostat: many let you operate it through WiFi – turn it on when you’re on your way home, turn it off an hour before leaving home. 

Tip #41: Try and avoid electric heating unless you have solar panels – electricity is more expensive than gas, and a combi boiler is more efficient and cheaper to run that electric storage heaters.

Tip #42: turn the radiators down by their valves in rooms you don’t use. If you’re not in there, they don’t need to be warm.

Tip #43: Don’t put your thermostat near the front door or on externally facing walls – it’ll impact the sensor making it think the room is colder than it is. 

Tip #44: Charge at night if you have an economy plan – night time tariffs are typically far cheaper.

Tip #45: An eco model of dishwasher is more energy efficient, and easier, than washing by hand. 

Tip #46: If you’re a single household, then watching TV on a laptop is usually more efficient than watching it on a big TV.

Tip #47: Glass and Ceramic dishes are more efficient in retaining heat in the oven than metal dishes. Your food will cook quicker and easier by making the switch, using less energy.

Tip #48: Place mats and rugs over hard flooring such as laminate or vinyl flooring so your feet don’t get cold while you’re stood – especially useful for kitchens whilst cooking or bathrooms when getting out the bath or shower. 

Tip #49: Opt for carpets where possible – carpet acts as a thermal barrier and as well as keeping your toes toasty, carpet also helps keep heat in the room and away from the cold sub-floor.

Tip #50: Cut the costs on your new carpets (or laminate or vinyl) and spread it over time with Easipay Carpets. Our Pay Weekly Plans are interest free, are highly competitively priced and you can spread the cost from as little as £10 per week! Use the form below to get in touch with us and we’ll send out a rep to your home where we’ll measure up for free while you pick something you love and discover how low you can be paying for your new flooring!