Energy Advice - Hints & Tips

For further energy saving tips that will help reduce your fuel consumption, check out our hints and tips checklist:

Heating

This probably costs you the most, so make sure you’re not wasting heat:

· Put on another layer before you turn the heating on, lots of thinner layers keep you warmer than one big one.

· Make sure your furniture isn’t right up against your radiators. It will block the heat.

· Close the curtains when it’s getting dark and tuck them in behind the radiator.

· Turn the thermostat down by one degree to save 10% on your bills.

· If you have health concerns, are elderly or children in the house, don’t go below 18C.

· Turn the heating completely off overnight and when no-one is in the house. Use your central heating timer to do this for you automatically.

· Use you programmer to suit your routine. Set times for heating to come on when you’re home and switch off when you’re out.

Kitchen

· Only boil as much water as you need in your kettle. If you have an electric hob, boil water for cooking in the kettle first.

· Keep lids on your saucepans when cooking, You’ll be able to turn the hob down

· Cook more than one meal at a time and freeze it for another day.

· Defrost your freezer regularly to remove the build-up of ice. It’ll help it work better. When you’re defrosting food, leave it in the fridge. This helps cool your fridge for free.

· Use a microwave for small items of food and reheating things, rather than the oven – it’s cheaper.

· Only put the washing machine (or dishwasher) on when it’s full. Two half loads use more water, detergent and electricity than one full load.

· Wash clothes at 30 degrees to save electricity. Most modern fabric detergents work just as well at 30 as they do at higher temperatures.

Further Hints & Tips

Use Energy efficient LED light bulbs. LED bulbs can use up to 85% less energy than a normal bulb and emit the same amount of light.

· Don’t leave your hot water heating on all the time. It’s much cheaper to set the timer to heat it up for a couple of hours each morning (or in the night).

· Keep your showers to four minutes (especially if you have an electric shower – they use a lot of electricity).

· If you need to dry clothes inside, don’t dry them on radiators. Hang them on a clothes airer in a room near an open window, and close the door. (This helps stop condensation and mould).