Due to the backlog of COVID, and consumerism culture ever-increasing, we’ve once again hit an all-time-high in our bills increasing. This can be a stressful time for many, as the cost of living nowadays is still currently soaring. And while the small things we can do in our individual households won’t solve the global crisis, a little goes a long way – and if you can reduce your energy consumption at all, why wouldn’t you? It’s good for your bank account as well as the environment!
Firstly, it’s worth noting the most common ways that your homes lose energy:
Here are 8 useful ways in which you can save energy in all aspects of your home.
1. Never leave your TV on standby
It goes without saying, usually, but doing this can waste up to £250 a year! If you’re not watching anything turn that plug socket off and save yourself some coin.
2. Fan Ovens are key
Obviously, this may not be in everyone’s control, but if you’re in rented accommodation, you will most likely have a fan oven/grill. This allows heat to get to your food a lot quicker than ‘fancier’ ovens will, slow cookers or air fryers will for instance take much longer to cook your food, equalling lots more energy used for the exact same result – cooked food.
3. Keep your fridge full
Now this one may seem strange, but weight/pressure on fridges actually has a lot to do with how much energy it exerts. If your fridge is often on the empty side, you’re likely to be spending more energy on it. If you don’t eat a lot, or can't fill your fridge for any reason, pop some glass bowls of water in any empty spaces you have, and you’ll be grand.’
4. Hand-wash instead of dish-washers
This was a tough lesson to learn during my university days – as I was blessed to have a dishwasher with my housemates. As we rarely hand-washed our dishes and instead stacked them all in the dishwasher, we ended up having to pay excess at the end of our tenancy, if you can – try not to overlook money versus convenience in this instance. Spend an extra couple of minutes handwashing, and you’ll save water usage drastically.
5. Low temperatures on washing machines
Even if you are washing bedding or towels, which, hygienically is absolutely vital to have on high temperatures – reducing it from 90 degrees to 60 degrees will save your hot water usage, and will still be more than enough heat to kill germs/stains etc.
6. Insulation
This old school gem will mean you’ll rarely have to put the heating on! Now, in the UK – the houses here aren’t designed to insulate naturally, as we live in a cooler climate. But by insulating your attic (if you have one) and even your walls – your home will be much warmer which means less time using heating! (It also can help if your home experiences damp problems, who knew?)
7. Defrosting
If you’re a batch cooker (I salute your dedication) and not only that, it saves you money! Regardless, defrosting your food ahead of time, taking it out of the freezer and popping it in the fridge, will save lots of kilowatts in energy you may have used on defrosting your frozen goods in the microwave!
8. Every degree celsius matters
Turning down your heating to just one degree cooler can save your household up to £80 a year. Sometimes it’s tempting to pop the heating on as soon as we feel a chill (Hey, I do it too!) But popping an extra layer of clothing on and reducing that heat will make all the difference.
If you’ve clicked on this blogpost, I’m going to guess you’re a fan of home tips? Why not check out this blogpost on these handy tips on how to risk assess your property?
By Caitlin Stimpson