Saving energy has become essential to everyday life due to the effects mass consumption has on the environment and rising energy prices. People are finding more and more clever ways to be energy efficient and save money too. These don’t have to cost you, we’ve discovered the ways you can save energy without spending. Most of these simple hacks require a change to an everyday process that’s easy and quick to implement. Try these in your home and start reducing your energy bills today!
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General Energy Saving at Home:
If you’re wondering how to save on electricity at home, there are plenty of simple and free tips you can act on today. Rather than spending big on installing solar panels to generate renewable electricity, why not start small?
You really can reduce electricity consumption with some simple and free swaps. These small changes can make a big difference to your energy bills, creating a more energy-efficient home. Here’s how you can start reducing your energy use today.
Keep Doors Closed
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Closing the door behind you when you leave the room might seem tiny, but it can make a big difference. Keeping your internal doors closed, especially when your central heating is on, will help retain the heat within a room. You’ll keep it warmer and use less heating energy.
Unplug Unused Electricals
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We all know that we shouldn’t leave electrical items on standby, but did you know that many electrical appliances still use a small amount of energy even when they are turned off? If you only occasionally use an item, or you’re going away for a few weeks, unplug electricals at the mains socket. This will reduce any waste energy and could impact your electricity bills more than you expect.
Extra tip: Use energy-saving light bulbs
Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) use 75% less energy than regular light bulbs. This will save you plenty of energy if you spend a lot of time at home in the evenings and during the winter when it’s darker outside.
Stop Under Door Draughts
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A draught excluder (sometimes called a draft stopper or guard) is an inexpensive way to solve the problem of cold draughts coming into your house under your door. A small draught can make your home feel cold, causing you to use more energy on heating.
By simply placing a draught stopper by your door, you can stop heat escaping. If you want to do this at no extra cost, try getting creative and repurposing old, unwanted jeans into a draught excluder.
Seal Your Windows
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Often the windows of a house are the biggest contributing factor to energy efficiency. Check the seals of your windows and make sure there are no cracks or gaps. Use some sealant and cover the space between the window and the framing and trap that precious heating in.
Add Curtains
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Adding curtains to your windows will provide extra heat insulation and improve the energy-saving qualities of your home. The more heat you keep inside, the less you spend on heating and energy bills.
Don’t Heat Rooms You Don’t Use
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This might sound a bit obvious, but heating rooms that are only used for a few minutes at a time is a waste of energy. Only heat the rooms that you spend time in, reducing wasted energy and keeping your energy costs down.
Wear Layers
Sometimes we can be a bit quick to turn the heating system on when we feel slightly cold. If you feel chilly at home, put a jumper or sweatshirt on before turning on the heaters and you’ll save energy and money.
Washing Energy Saving Tips:
We all need to keep our clothes clean, but the way we do this can have a big impact on our energy bill. There are plenty of energy-efficient ways to do laundry, so find out which simple swaps might save electricity in your home.
Wash Full Loads, Wash Cooler
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Washing at higher temperatures might be necessary for some heavily stained items, but most regular washing can be done at a lower temperature and will use 40% less energy annually than washing at 40. Make sure you wash on a full load too!
Air Dry Clothes
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Once your clothes are washed, you could save more energy by air drying them. Try to make the most of a clear day and hang your clothes outside rather than putting them in the dryer. If the weather isn’t too great, hang your clothes inside when you have your heating on. Keeping you warm and drying your clothes at the same time.
Remove Lint
If you need to use a tumble dryer, ensuring you have cleared lint from the tumble dryer reduces drying time, so you’ll use less energy when drying your clothes.
Kitchen/Food Energy Saving Tips:
Small changes in the kitchen can help to keep your electricity bill down. Being mindful of the ways you can reduce energy consumption when cooking and storing food can help you to make quick and effective money-saving hacks.
Use Saucepan Lids When Cooking
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Keeping the lid on your saucepans when cooking will retain heat, causing your food to cook quicker and lower overall cooking times, saving gas and electricity.
Defrost Food Before Cooking
Thawing your food instead of cooking from frozen will reduce your cooking time and therefore save more energy. On average, cooking unfrozen food will save you 15 minutes of cooking time.
Fill Your Freezer
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The fuller your freezer is, the colder the space within it stays. Try not to open it without actually needing to, and be quick when you do. Packing the back of your freezer with large bags of ice, peas, or even using newspaper, then putting food in front will help keep your freezer colder.
This makes it work more efficiently because you’re not constantly trying to cool air. This applies to the fridge too, so make sure the size of your appliance is appropriate to the space you need and not too large or it could be costing you!
Bathroom Energy Saving Tips:
As well as saving electricity and reducing your heating bills, what about water? There are some quick and simple swaps you can make in the bathroom, too!
Shower Instead of Bath
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Statistics show that taking a shower will save you four times the amount of water than having a bath will. So when you can, have a shower over having a bath.
Save on Flushing
Place a drinks bottle filled with stones or marbles in your toilet tank. The tank will stop filling when it reaches a certain point, and the bottle means this will take less water.
Save Energy and Money at Home – Start Today!
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Don’t forget that a smart meter can help you to keep track of how much energy you’re using. This can help you to isolate appliances that push up your energy consumption so you can use them less frequently. For more tips on saving energy at home make sure you check out the Energy Saving Trust website.
We hope you enjoy trying some of these simple hacks for saving energy around the home at no extra cost. We’d love to hear how you get on!