You can access this information as a downloadable Fact Sheet, here: Energy Efficiency Top Tips

We can literally talk all day about energy efficiency. While every home is unique, and not every Top Tip is relevant to everybody, we’re pleased to present some of the main ways that lots of people can take better control over their home energy use, to ensure they’re able to cut down on energy waste, while also keep feeling warm and well in their home through Winter.

NO COST TOP TIPS

Even if we live in the most energy efficient property, we still need to make sure we’re behaving in the most energy efficient way we can, otherwise bad habits like leaving lights on, and overfilling kettles, can cause our energy bills to be higher than they need to be. Here are some good habits to adopt.

1) Use all your heating controls
Make sure your boiler/hot water cylinder isn’t set higher than 60oC, you’ve got radiators turned down (but not off) in rooms you rarely use, and your programmer/timer is set to ensure your heating is switched off while you’re asleep, or out of the house.

2) Room thermostats are key
Worthy of their own Top Tip, your room thermostat should be set between 18-21oC, unless somebody in the property is particularly vulnerable to the cold, in which case 21-23oC is best. Any higher is a waste of money.

3) Don’t block radiators in
Make sure you don’t have furniture pushed up against the radiators, robbing the room of their warmth. If they’re beneath a window, make sure they’re not covered by your curtains, or your heating will just vanish out of the window.

4) Radiators feeling cool?
If your radiators feel warmer at the bottom than the top, they may have air trapped inside. Bleeding them can ensure they’re working at their best to keep you warm.

5) Close the doors
Thermostatic radiator valves cut the heat once they feel the room has achieved the warmth you want. Therefore, if you’ve got all the internal doors open, all the radiators are trying to heat all of the house. Keep the doors shut, and let each one focus on the room it’s in.

6) Dress for the weather
They may not be glamorous, but dressing gowns and fluffy slippers are a great way to keep feeling warm without paying the price of cranking up the thermostat.

7) Snuggle on the sofa
Throws (heated or otherwise) or blankets can provide great warmth when you’re reading, watching TV, knitting, or indulging in any other hobbies that don’t require a lot of movement.

8) Energy efficient cooking
A family-sized fan oven is designed to be filled with baking trays and roasting dishes, for Sunday dinner. If you’re cooking yourself a potato for lunch, it’ll be quicker and cheaper to use an air-fryer, or microwave.

9) Save water, save money
Use washing up bowls, and reduce your shower time to 4 minutes can prevent the water you’re paying to heat simply going down the drain.

10) Laundry tips
Only run the washing machine when it’s full, always wash as cool as your detergent allows, use any “eco” mode on your appliance, and try to dry your clothes away from the tumble dryer, and also off the radiators.

11) Don’t overfill the kettle
You only need 1 cup of tea’s worth of water in the kettle to make 1 cup of tea.

12) “It’s like Blackpool lights in here”
Switch off lights as you leave the room.

LOW-COST TOP TIPS

Now we’ve reigned in any inefficient habits, it’s worth considering ways you can invest to save even more on your energy bills.

The following items are what we tend to call “easy measures” because they:

• Are cheap to purchase
• Can be installed on a DIY basis
• Pay for themselves through reduced energy bills

1) LED Light Bulbs
LED bulbs use around 10% of the energy required by the old, tungsten filament bulbs, or halogen bulbs. So swapping all your old bulbs can knock 90% off your annual lighting bill, for the next 10 years.
Annual Saving = £13.85 per bulb

2) Under-door draught excluders
If you’ve got a draught whipping around your ankles, all of you starts feeling cold, and you might be tempted to turn up the thermostat. Sliding one of these under your living room door will keep you feeling warmer for less.
Annual Saving = £9 per door

3) Letterbox draught-proofing
You might not think it, but your letterbox can draw a lot of warmth out of your home, and bring in lots of draughts. A simple solution helps plug that gap.
Annual Saving = £9

4) Door/Window frame draught-proofing
If you have wooden framed doors and windows, draught-proof strips can help keep heat in and draughts out. Some strips need to be nailed into place, while others just peel off a sticky roll.
Annual Saving = £9 per door/window

5) Chimney balloons
If you have an open fireplace you never use, we recommend you block it off permanently. But if you do want to use your fireplace, you can inflate one of these balloons in the chimney when it’s not in use. When you want to light the fire, simply twist the valve to deflate the balloon, and reinflate it once you’re done.
Annual Saving = £65

6) Standby Savers
Modern home entertainment systems are incredibly energy efficient. An LED TV only uses 0.5 watts per hour in standby mode. This means if you left it on standby for an entire year, it would only cost you about £1. However, if you want to ensure nothing is left on standby, you can use one of these devices, which lets you switch the TV off with your remote control, and it then cuts the power at the wall. You can then switch the power back on with your remote control.
Annual Saving = £2.30

7) Hot water cylinder jackets
If you have a hot water cylinder that isn’t insulated, these jackets help keep the heat in, so saves you a lot of money as you don’t need to keep topping up the temperature.
Annual Saving = £40

8) Radiator reflector panels
If you have radiators affixed to external walls (e.g. beneath windows), then you’re paying to heat up the air outside your home. By sliding one of these panels behind the radiator, you push more of the heat back into the room.
Annual Saving = £25 per house

You can find many of these items in hardware stores, or some budget stores.