Eleven ways to save energy, money, and help prevent climate change...
1. Turn your thermostat down. Reducing your room temperature by 1°C could cut your heating bills by about ten percent. This could save about £40 per year. Also, have your radiators fitted with thermostatic radiator valves so that temperature can be controlled room-by-room.
2. Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat shouldn’t need to be set higher than 60°C/140°F.
3. Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
4. Always turn the lights off when leaving a room.
5. Don’t leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave appliances on charge unnecessarily.
6. If you’re filling up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher, use the half load or economy programme.
7. Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements if you’re using an electric kettle).
8. A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath, so fix leaking taps and make sure they’re fully turned off.
9. Use energy saving light bulbs. Just one can save you up to £100 over the lifetime of the bulb – and they last up to 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.
10. One of the biggest causes of high fuel bills and energy inefficiency comes from old boilers and generally those over 10 years old. By law, new boilers in England and Wales must be of the high efficiency condensing type, which can help you save up to one third of your heating bills, and even more if you upgrade to modern controls as well.
11. Insulate your hot water tank with a jacket – it only costs a few pounds, and with all the heat it traps in, pays for itself within months. To have one fitted that is at least 75mm thick (3”), could save around £20 per year.
**Source material from the Energy Saving Trust