10 Great Ways to Reduce Your Energy Bills

Turn down your thermostat.

It may sound a little obvious but it’s amazing how many people fail to do this. Suppose your thermostat for your heating is set at 27ºC (81ºF). Turn it down slightly to 25ºC (77ºF) and see if you notice the difference.

Invest in double-glazing.

This might look like an expensive option but with the heat they trap, the money you’ll save, this year and every subsequent year, will soon pay off your initial layout (also double-glazing will add value to your home when you sell it).

If you can’t afford double-glazing, then buy thick curtains.

If you can’t afford double-glazing, then why not invest in other ways to trap in the heat? Big thick curtains are a good option, as are curtain liners. And don’t forget your front and back doors – get draught excluders and door curtains.

Insulate your loft and consider cavity wall insulation.

You’ve reinforced your doors and windows but that’s only part of the story. You also need to ensure you don’t leak heat through your roof and walls. In many areas, grants are available to make these options less expensive.

Lag your boiler and water pipes.

You’ve paid for the fuel to heat your hot water, so make sure it stays hot for as long as possible. Lagging your pipes and putting a jacket on your boiler will trap lots of the heat in for longer.

Convert to a condensing boiler.

A new boiler, with all of today’s efficiency features can save you up to 40% on your fuel bills. If you add a brand new control panel, which will be much more accurate, then you could increase your savings to up to 50%.

Buy a dishwasher.

Once viewed as a luxury, modern dishwashers are much more efficient than their old counterparts. A recent studied showed that a full dishwasher used on an economy cycle once a day is more cost-effective than manual washing-up at a sink.

Don’t leave appliances on Standby.

If you leave your TV on standby when you go to bed, then it uses more electricity than it did while you were watching it that evening. Many appliances when on standby use up to 50% of the energy they’d use when fully on. So say goodbye to that little red light. And while you’re at it, do you really need to light empty rooms?

Go Solar. Go Wind.

This may still sound like something out of science fiction but more and more homes are fitting solar panels and wind turbines. The cost of these is going down all the time and their technology is advancing at a rapid rate – making them not only affordable to more and more people but also paying for themselves in less and less time. And, they’re incredibly Green!

Use Price Comparison websites.

There are now lots of these – just Google ‘price comparisons’ to find a wide choice of them. Next, get your last few gas and electricity bills (if you have them) and enter your details. The more information you can give about your patterns of fuel use, then the more accurate savings these sites can give you.

Remember small changes can add up to make a huge difference.

If you implemented all of these changes, then you’d certainly save lots of money. But why stop there? Think of your daily uses. When you wash your hands, do you leave the warm tap running? Do you boil more than one cup of water when you make a coffee? See? The extra changes are adding up already.