Energy Saving Tips That Won’t Cost You a Penny!

It can often cost you money to start saving on your energy bills we’ve come up with a list of energy-saving tips that won’t cost you a penny. They are easy to do and you won’t have to invest money to save.

#1 Bleed your radiators

If you find that your radiators are taking a while to heat up, there are cold patches at the top, or you hear a lot of gurgling sounds you need to bleed them. Radiator bleeding is quite simple, make sure you know the process before starting. SSE Energy has a helpful step-by-step guide that explains how to bleed radiators.

#2 Shorten your shower

Shaving just 1 minute off the length of your shower can result in an annual saving of £65 for an average four-person home, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

#3 Keep your doors closed

A very simple and effective way to reduce draughts and keep in the heat is to keep the doors closed whilst you’re in a room. This will help keep the heat in and reduce the amount of work your central heating has to do.

#4 Drop a degree

Just lowering your thermostat by one degree could result in an annual saving of £115 for a normal home, according to British Gas. Most homes have their thermostat set to 20°C. However, according to the World Health Organization in winter healthy adults require a temperature of just 18°C. Except the extremely young and elderly need somewhat higher temperatures.

 

#5 Reduce the flow temperature of your combi boiler

The flow temperature refers to the water that circulates throughout the boiler system and this is what heats your radiators. It typically operates outside of its most effective range since the default setting is higher than is required. Innovation Organization Nesta has created a money-saving boiler challenge that it claims could reduce gas bills by an average of 9% (£112 annually).

#6 Reduce the heat of your radiators in rooms that are not being used

Avoid heating empty spaces and unused rooms by simply going around your home and turning down the radiators in unused areas. The Government estimates that lowering radiator valves to 2.5 or 3 could result in an annual saving of £70. However, some homes may cause condensation, which can raise the possibility of mould growth. Ensure that you don’t turn your radiators to 0 and the lowest setting you leave your radiators on is the frost prevention setting which is usually indicated by a snowflake. This just allows a small amount of hot water to flow through the system and prevent the pipes from freezing.

 

#7 Do fewer loads of laundry

When it comes to washing your clothes make sure you’re not just washing a handful of items and you’re doing a full load every time. You should also consider washing your clothes at 30°C this could help you save up to £34 a year. For general washing, this is ideal however you may want to raise that temperature for stains that are a little more tricky to remove.

 

#8 Change the setting on your TV

On average, each day we watch TV for four hours. With the TV being on for so long this consumes a lot of energy, modern TVs usually have settings that help them perform as energy efficiently as possible. Most include “Power Saving” settings which change the screen brightness to use less electricity. A lot of us forget to turn the TV off when we’re home and going about our day. Make sure your TV has a sleep timer that turns the TV off after a predetermined period of inactivity.

 

#9 Use the microwave instead of the oven

Microwaves use far less energy to heat meals. Where it’s possible try and use your microwave over your oven as it requires a lot more energy to heat up. On average two baked potatoes take 10 minutes to cook in the microwave with an energy cost of £0.063. two potatoes take 1 hour in the oven with the cost of £0.248.

#10 Clean the filters in your dryer

Most tumble dryers contain an easily accessible filter that collects lint from your clothing. This can build up over time and makes your dryer work harder to do its function. If you have to use your dryer make sure this is emptied before each use.

 

As you can see none of these energy-saving tips require much effort or any financial input. They may not seem like they’d save you much money but if you put them all into practice it can make a big difference.

 

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