January. The bleakest month of the year. When lights go on earlier and the thermostat works overtime.
Christmas is now well and truly done…and a hopefully bright New Year has begun. We’ve joined gyms, made promises to ourselves to get fit and shed the extra pounds gained from weeks of festive overeating. But what can we do about those pounds we don’t want to lose? Like those we waste through the cost of ‘overheating’ our homes in winter…
January 10th is National Cut Your Energy Costs Day – a day that reminds UK householders to check our homes for leaks, draughts, and other hidden places we may be wasting energy in our properties. Completing a yearly energy audit can help spot where improvements can be made, helping us to trim excess weight from the heftiest bills of the year.
10 Tips to Save Money & Energy
By considering the following tips and ideas on January 10th – we could all save more energy and money not just on National Cut Your Energy Costs Day…but throughout the rest of the year.
Switch to a programmable or ‘smart’ thermostat:
Investing in a smart thermostat can be useful if you often forget to turn off the heating when you go to bed or leave home. Having the choice of selecting days and times when you want to heat your house can help you keep temperatures under control and avoid wasting money on heating areas that are not in use. Just turning room temperatures down by 1-degree centigrade could reduce heating costs by 10%.
Insulate your hot water tank:
If your water tank isn’t well insulated, it will lose heat fast. This means your boiler will have to heat the water repeatedly. By insulating your tank properly, you can save about £80 on your yearly energy bills.
Check your appliances:
Old and inefficient appliances such as refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers and washing machines could be making your energy bills higher – especially those that are 10 years old or more. Checking the energy efficiency rating can help. The rating is based on the cost of buying the item and how much it costs to run. The more efficient the appliance, the quicker it will pay off the original purchase price.
Check your insulation:
If your house gets icicles or has patches where snow melts on the roof you might have insulation problems. Insulate attics and lofts well. Also, seal and insulate the foundation walls of any unventilated crawl spaces. Check for moisture and damage issues. There are government grants that could help you insulate the whole of your house for free.
Why is home insulation so important?
Check your windows and doors:
If you can feel draughts or air leaks, caulk or apply a weather strip. Adding energy-efficient coverings such as curtains or blinds can also help.
Check your landscaping:
If trees block your windows, you may be losing natural sunlight that can warm your home naturally during the day.
Switch to heat pumps:
They use electricity to transfer cold air outside into warm air inside, efficiently heating your property. You may qualify for UK Government-backed schemes that can help you to have these installed for free.
How does an Air Source Heat Pump work?
Install solar panels:
Sunlight is a renewable energy source and is FREE…which will obviously save you money on heating bills in the long run. You may qualify for government grants to have a solar heating system installed for free.
Do Solar Panels work in the UK?
Change your lightbulbs:
Use LED bulbs instead of regular energy-saving bulbs. These use minimal energy, are long-lasting and are instantly bright when switched on. Just remember to turn them off when you leave the room!
Switch off and unplug:
Phantom loads or vampire power is electrical energy used by electronic devices and appliances left plugged in or on standby mode. These can be devices like TVs, computers, game consoles, phone chargers and certain kitchen appliances. Although they may seem to be using very little electricity, they are wasting energy. If you regularly leave your hairdryer plugged in… it could be costing you £3.00 a day!
By following these tips…we can all hopefully have a happier and financially healthier New Year!!!
