34 ways to cut down on your energy bills

How to save energy at home

For most households, energy is an expensive essential, not least because of the ongoing shortages across the world. With the global energy crisis hitting many countries hard, coupled with an increase in homeworking, household bills are unsurprisingly skyrocketing. However, there are plenty of steps you can take to lower your energy usage and make your home more sustainable to run.

Unplug everything that isn’t being used

There are thankfully plenty of steps you can take to lower energy bills in your own home. A lot of wasted electricity happens through leaving appliances plugged in that aren’t being used. The energy costs can really add up, so to err on the side of caution, unplug anything that isn’t being used and switch the power off at the plug. Even charging cables that are not in use will still use electricity!

Hang up your laundry

Dryers use up a ton of energy, so cutting them out of your laundry routine can save a bit of money. Instead of turning on your dryer, hang your clothes outside on a line when possible, or even on an indoor clothes airer if you have no outdoor space/the weather does not allow for it, to chip away at your electricity bill.

Install outdoor solar lights

The best way to shave money off your electric bill is to not use electricity at all! Outdoor solar lights soak up solar energy during the day, then light up the outside of your home at night for free.

Use smart appliances

Smart devices and appliances will allow you to keep track of your energy usage for a particular device while on the go. Many smart home devices also come with automatic decision-making skills. While you can override these, they can come in handy as the system learns your needs.

Invest in a smart thermostat

Like other smart appliances, smart thermostats are popular devices that allow you to control the heating in your home from your smartphone. Money Saving Expert says they can do so much more than just turn your heating on and off remotely, with common features including: "multi-room control, hot water control, 'geofencing' to track when you leave and enter your home, draught detection, safety and holiday mode."

Open up your blinds

If the sun is out, make sure to open up your curtains or blinds. Solar energy, even in the winter, can help heat up your home and the best part is, it's completely free!

Seal your windows

An easy DIY job, applying caulk around windows will stop any air leaks that are allowing heat to escape. Remove any old caulk carefully using a putty knife, screwdriver or special solvent and make sure the area is dry. Apply fresh caulk to all joints in the window frame, and any joints between the frame and wall for a tightly sealed window.

Insulate your loft

According to the National Energy Foundation, you can save as much as 20% of your energy bill with good loft insulation. A simple and effective way to reduce heat loss, insulating your loft, attic or flat roof is super efficient and can last for around 40 years, making it a cost-effective way to save energy.

Insulate your exposed pipes

Leaving pipes exposed throughout your house can end up costing you money, as the heat escaping is simply lost. By installing pipe insulation you can reduce the amount of heat loss and keep your water hotter for longer. Pipe insulation also prevents pipes from freezing during cold weather, which can lead to cracked pipes, blockages and flooding – all of which are costly to repair.

Deal with draughts

Heating a draughty house is like burning money, and you’ll probably crank up the thermostat and keep the central heating on for longer to try and stay warm. While ventilation is crucial for a healthy home, draughty windows and doors are easy to seal with stick-on insulation tape you can buy online or from a DIY store. You can also seal floorboards and cracks to help the process, but avoid boarding up airbricks or ventilation panels or you could find condensation and damp becomes a problem.

Switch your lightbulbs

A lot of electricity is used in lighting a home, but you can use less by simply switching out your old lightbulbs. Readily available, LED lights can use up to 75% less energy and also last up to 25 times longer than a regular bulb. Even if you just change the bulbs in the main rooms of your home, you should notice a difference.

Install dimmer switches

Paired with some new LED lightbulbs, dimmer switches are also a great way to reduce your energy usage. By reducing the flow of electricity they are known to extend the lifespan of bulbs, too, as they are running at a lower power.

Stick to a schedule

Installing timers for different appliances and devices in your home is a simple way to reduce the amount of energy you use. Useful for safety and security, they are also perfect for that one family member who always leaves the lights on.

Replace old appliances

As appliances age, their overall energy efficiency can drop. Whether it be ageing parts, broken seals or faulty controls, most aren't meant to last longer than around 10 years. With technology improving all the time, most new appliances are more environmentally friendly and will ensure you don't spend money where you don't need to. If you're on the lookout for a new appliance, look out for models rated A+++.

Keep your freezer full

You probably already know not to keep your freezer door open for too long. But keeping a full freezer can also help cut electricity usage. The food acts as insulation, keeping your freezer from working so hard to keep things cool. If you are short of food to bulk up your fridge, fill it up with bags of ice or supplies of your favourite fruit and veg.

Maintain your fridge

Maintaining your fridge is more than just keeping everything organised. Keeping an eye on the internal temperature is the first step in saving on your energy usage. Invest in a fridge thermometer and keep the temperature between a cool 2.2°C and 3.3°C. If you are at the lower end of the range nudge the temperature dial up for energy savings, according to Beko.

Invest in a slow cooker

To save energy, try using a slow cooker to prepare a meal throughout the day. According to Uswitch, the average-sized slow cooker uses just 1.3 kWh of electricity per meal, which equates to around 9p per hour on the average energy tariff. Also, what's better than coming home to a nourishing hot meal that's cost next to nothing?

Use lids when you cook

It's no surprise that food will cook faster when covered as it keeps in the heat. Cover anything you cook on the hob with a lid, so that the food cooks quicker and you can turn your energy-guzzling hob off sooner.

Run appliances at night

One of the simplest ways to save money on your electricity bill is to run your appliances at night. Utility companies tend to charge higher rates in the daytime when everyone is using their devices and slash prices at night during low-peak hours. Check with your utility company to find out your local peak and off-peak rates.

Shut off your fireplace

Fireplaces can warm up a room, but they can also rob a house of heating by letting it escape up the chimney. If you have a working fireplace, you can equip it with a door that has operable vents, so that you can seal in the heat when it is not in use. Another option is to use a chimney balloon to block the chimney. When you want to light a fire, simply deflate and store it away and it can be used again.

Go low-flow in the shower

According to EDF Energy, swapping just one bath a week for a four-minute shower will save around £14 of energy per year. However, the average shower in the UK lasts eight minutes, and in that time around 60 litres of water is used, according to The Green Age. Heating water for these showers can sky-rocket your energy bills, so installing a water-saving showerhead will work wonders and you won't even be able to tell the difference. And of course, you could always get out a little earlier.

Use less hot water

If you're washing your clothes in hot water, think again. By heating up the water you're wasting a chunk of money. Most washing machines have an eco-cycle that operates at 30°C, which is fine for most materials and if anything is particularly dirty, soak the items before you put them in or use a laundry sanitiser to kill bacteria.

Adjust your water heater temperature

If the temperature of your water is set too high on your boiler, you could be wasting energy heating up water when it isn't needed. Too high and you can also scald yourself, while too low and you are at risk of pathogens such as Legionella bacteria. Ideally, your hot water should be stored at 60°C. You can check this by holding a thermometer under the tap for one minute where it should measure a minimum of 50°C.

Put exterior or security lights on timers

Your wallet won't thank you for keeping your exterior lights on all night, and neither will your neighbours. Make sure they are on a timer, or even better, a motion sensor so that they only come on when needed.

Insulate the inside of your garage door

A garage can be one of the most versatile spaces in a house, but can often become unusable in the winter months because it gets so cold. Insulating the interior wall that separates your garage from your living space will stop you from losing heat in the colder months. For extra efficiency, you can invest in an insulated door or get handy with the DIY.

Get a smart meter

If you don't have one already, it's time to get a smart meter. Free to install as part of the UK's Government's smart meter rollout they have a number of benefits. They provide more accurate bills, which means the end of overpaying for your energy and since they record your usage, it's easy to see where you are using a lot of electricity.

Reduce your boiler flow

As well as turning your heating down, the Government's Help for Households campaign suggests checking your boiler flow. It says: "If you have a Combi boiler, its efficiency can be improved by adjusting the ‘flow temperature’ dial/setting to 60 degrees." This doesn't make your home colder but slows the time it takes to heat it up, though it suggests that those over 65 or with pre-existing health conditions should set the flow temperature to a slightly higher 65°C.

Use an air fryer instead of the oven

According to the ecoexperts, air fryers don't use a lot of electricity, in fact, they use between 800 and 1800 watts compared to ovens, which typically use between 2,200 and 5,000 watts. It says: As a rule of thumb, the larger your appliance is, the more electricity it will use. However, some models are more energy efficient than others, so make sure you check the size and wattage of your appliance.

Heat the people, not the room

This is a mantra worth remembering as there are other things you could try before putting the heating on: electric blankets, for instance, cost a fraction of the price. Warmer Blankets says its fully-fitted bed blankets start at just 2p per hour, costing around 6p per day or 42p per week, assuming you use it for around three hours per day. The company's heated throws and luxury blankets cost around 12p per day – still cheaper than putting the heating on.

Don't overfill the kettle

With colder days and nights, comes a rise in our consumption of hot drinks. But think before you put your kettle on to make another cup of tea or coffee – only boil the amount of water you need, otherwise, you're wasting energy. According to Energy Saving Trust, you could save £37 a year when combined with fitting a tap aerator.

Hang thermal blinds

One of the areas of your home where heat escapes the most is your windows, so safeguard your snugness by hanging thermal blinds or curtains. According to EDF Energy, thermal curtains cut heat loss in your home by 27% and can save an average of £291 a year on your energy bills, as long as you keep them closed in the evenings, that is.

Turn off radiators in empty rooms

Have a guest room that's only used occasionally or perhaps your children are off at university during term term? Whatever the reason, if you have rooms in your home that are empty more often than they're occupied, then it makes sense to turn the radiators down low or even off completely. EDF Energy says that by doing this, you can reduce your home's gas bill by 4.5%, saving up to £55 per year.

Bleed radiators

Trapped air in radiators can make them less efficient, taking them longer to warm up your home. If you feel a room is taking longer to heat than it should, carefully touch the radiator. If it's hot at the bottom but cooler at the top, it means there's air that needs to be released. Get your bleed key – all hardware stores sell them – and open the bleed valve by turning it anticlockwise to release the air. You might wish to get a bowl to catch any water that accidentally comes out. If in doubt, follow our easy guide on how to bleed a radiator.

Put on a jumper

As grandma loved to say: put on a jumper before you turn the heating up. The World Health Organisation recommends that your home should be a minimum of 18°C for a comfortable temperature. By reducing your heating by just 1°C you can cut your bill by about 10% while helping the environment, says the WWF.

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