Ways to reduce your energy bills

By making a few changes you can reduce your energy bills. Some are simple and some will cost an initial outlay, and some involve making some investment changes now which will help save you money in the long run.

Which has put together some tips on ways to save on your electricity and gas bills and reduce your carbon footprint by making your home more energy efficient.

According to Which here are some top tips and what they could save you in pounds:

1. Review your energy bill for small savings
2. Choose energy efficient appliances to save up to £425
3. Add insulation to save up to £290
4. Get a new boiler: save around £195
5. Replace light bulbs to save £180
6. Install and use central heating controls and save £75
7. Draught proofing: save around £25
8. Use less hot water.

1. Review your energy bill for small savings

Sadly, cheap energy deals have gone over the last few months, so it’s not actually a good time to switch energy provider.

If you haven’t switched recently or were moved to a new provider when yours closed (as many have), you will most likely be paying out-of-contract rates, also known as a variable or default tariff.

These are now among the cheapest tariffs so it’s worth staying put for the moment.

Fixing a deal comes with a set period of price security – but you’ll pay a premium for it. La mare really good. However, you’ll find that not many suppliers are offering this right now and, given that prices will be rising again when the October price cap comes into effect, it’s worth keeping an eye out in case your provider does advertise a fixed deal.

Look at what’s available on the energy market in your area using Which? Switch.

2. Choose energy efficient appliances to save up to £425

If you need to or are thinking of replacing an appliance, you can cut your electricity bills by choosing energy-efficient models.

Washing machine running costs can vary from anything between £15 to £70 a year. Look at the EU energy-efficiency rating on the appliance. Which lab tests reveal the annual running costs for every large appliance.

How much money energy-efficient appliances can save you per year according to Which:

• Fridge Freezer – £138
• Tumble dryer – £137
• Washing machine – £69
• Dishwasher – £44
• Built-in oven – £37

Their research shows that swapping power-guzzling kitchen appliances for energy-saving models could save you up to £425 a year in total.

3. Add insulation to save up to £290

If you have a loft and cavity walls, insulating both could save you up to £290 a year on your bills.

Laying loft insulation of 270mm in a typical three-bedroom semi could cut around £135 a year from energy bills.

Solid-wall insulation is more expensive but could save you £210 in the same type of house.

Even if you have already installed loft insulation, you could save an extra £100 a year by topping it up from 120mm to the recommended 270mm.

You can also reduce heat loss through your windows by replacing single glazing with double glazing.

4. Get a new boiler: save around £195

Heating is responsible for more than half of your energy bill each year, so replacing an old, inefficient gas boiler with a modern energy-efficient one will make a big difference to your payments.

Swapping an old G-rated gas boiler to a new A-rated condensing one with a programmer, room thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves could save £195 a year according to the Energy Saving Trust for a typical semi.

If you live in a detached home, you could save £300.

Buying a new boiler can cost a couple of thousand pounds, including installation. So, if money-saving is your top priority and your boiler isn’t beyond repair, balance your savings against the cost of the upgrade.

In addition, gas boilers won’t be around forever so if you’re looking to the future, consider renewable heating systems such as air source heat pumps.

5. Replace light bulbs to save £180

Switching to energy-saving light bulbs is an easy way to save money. An LED light bulb costs around £1.71 a year to run so it could cut around £180 from your energy bills over its lifetime.

• Light bulb costs compared Type Lifetime Annual running cost*
• Halogen 2,000 hours (around 2 years) £8.42
• CFL 10,000 hours (10 years) £2.04
• LED 25,000 hours (25 years) £1.71

*Annual running costs are based on a typical 700+ lumen bulb, used for around three hours per day for a year.

LEDs are the most energy-efficient light bulbs using almost 90% less energy than traditional incandescents.

6. Install and use central heating controls and save £75

If you don’t already have a room thermostat, programmer, and thermostatic radiator valves, installing them – and using them well – could save a typical home £75 a year according to the Energy Saving Trust.

It will also cut your home’s carbon emissions by 320kg a year.

Heating controls should let you:

• Set your heating and hot water to turn on and off to suit you
• Heat only the parts of your home that need it
• Set different temperatures for different areas of your home Keep your home at a temperature that’s comfortable, without wasting heat.
• If you only have one thermostat for the whole house, each degree you turn it up will increase your heating bill by around 10%, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

So, put on a jumper before you turn up the heating. Electric heaters If you only need to heat one room in your home, it may be cheaper to use a portable electric heater and keep the thermostat turned down.

For those who live alone or work from home, investing in an electric heater could save on heating bills over time as you’re not heating your whole home unnecessarily.

Electric heaters are best used sparingly though. Electricity is much pricier than gas per hour. how efficiently you control your heating already and whether you’d prefer it to using traditional heating controls. Find out how to buy the best smart thermostat.

7. Draught proofing

Save around £25 Stopping heat from escaping through unwanted gaps around doors and windows could help you save around £25 a year in a typical home, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

You could save even more with professional draught-proofing.

Take a look at the following areas:

• Windows – Use draught-proofing strips around the frame. Brush strips work better for sash windows
• Doors – Use draught-proofing strips around the edges and brush or hinged-flap draught excluders at the bottom
• Chimney and fireplace – If you don’t use your fireplace, use an inflatable pillow to block the chimney, or fit a cap over the chimney pot. If you have an open chimney, this alone could save you £18 a year Floorboards and skirting
• Floorboards need to move, so use a flexible silicone-based filler to fill the gaps
• Loft hatches – Use draught-proofing foam strips to keep heat in.

Already repaired large draughty areas. Consider smaller holes that let in air, such as keyholes and letterboxes. Find out more in our guide to draught proofing.

8. Use less hot water

Though you might only use your heating in winter, you use energy year-round to heat your water. So, heating and using it wisely will impact your bills. Plus, if you have a water meter, these tips will help you save money there too.

If you have a hot water tank (rather than a combi boiler), use your heating controls to turn your water heating on and off, so you only heat as much water as you need. High-volume power showers can use more water in less than five minutes than a bath.

Fit an eco-shower head and your shower will still feel powerful, but it’ll cut down on your hot water use.

Other tips to try:

Wash up in a bowl, rather than under a running tap

Use a shower timer so you know how long you’re spending in there.

Keeping your shower time to four minutes or under and swapping one bath a week with a four-minute shower can save you £35 per person, the Energy Saving Trust estimates Insulate your hot water tank and pipes, so water stays warmer for longer.

9. Find out if you could get energy efficiency grants

Energy schemes and grants are available to help pay your energy bills or to support you with the costs of renewable heating.

They include:

• Warm Home Discount – £140 (increasing to £150 in October 2022) mainly to pensioners and those who get certain benefits
• Winter Fuel Payment – £100 – £300 per winter for those born before 26 September 1955 Boiler Upgrade scheme (launched in May 2022) – up to £5,000 to replace your current gas or oil heating with low-carbon heating
• Help with loft insulation and boiler costs from energy suppliers.

Find out what Government home energy grants you’re eligible for.

If you decide to take any of the steps which will include making changes to your home such as loft or wall insulation, ground source heat pumps or solar panels, please don’t hesitate to contact us at Sherratt Builders.

Source: Which

Photo by Lissaa Spiridonova : https://www.pexels.com/photo/close-up-photo-of-a-light-bulb-11787170/

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