The Team Share Their Energy Saving Tips

There’s never been more of a reason to consider energy saving. It is no secret that the energy costs have shot up considerably in the UK over the past decade or so with gas prices going up as much as 115% and electricity prices jumping 63%, even after adjusting for inflation. This astronomical increase in energy costs is the result of mixture of factors:

• Increasing worldwide wholesale energy costs
• Dwindling local energy resources
• Larger share of import from the Middle East as compared to Europe
• Increased transmission costs
• Social levies and environmental programs
• Taxes and reduced energy demand

Now that you are aware of some of the factors contributing to the increased energy costs, what can you do to manage your energy resources better, save energy and thus, control some of those increasing energy bills?

Whether you are a homeowner, a business owner, or a student living with their parents, there are numerous things that you can do to reduce your energy usage. Here are a few suggestions to get you started:

Control Your Heating

Heating accounts for as much as 53% of all gas and electricity spent in the UK. Managing the heat at your home of office can thus, go a long way in reducing energy bill.

• Consider investing in a smart room thermostat, programmer, and thermostatic radiator valves to manage and control your room heat better.
• Adjust your activities such that only some specific areas of the home need heating and avoid heating your home altogether when you don’t need it.
• Setting the heating and hot water to come and off when you need it can save you up to £200 each year.

Understand your energy bill

The first and foremost thing that can help you with your energy saving is to understand exactly how much of electricity and gas you are using each month. What is the yearly trend? Are there any anomalies? All of this can be checked from your monthly bill. So take a close look at your bill each month to get a better idea of your energy usage.

Get better insulation

An insulation system that fits your premises perfectly can pay itself back in energy saving in just a few years. There are lots of insulation technologies to choose from such as:

• Loft insulation
• Draft pooling
• Cavity wall insulation
• Hot water cylinder

So invest in a professionally installed insulation system to maximize your energy saving.

Monitor your electricity usage

Just being careful about how you use your electrical devices can help you save up big time on energy bills. Simple stuff like buying a kill-a-watt or standby saver to turn off unused appliances when you are in bed or outside can be very effective. The programming for most devices, when turned off won’t be affected when turned off at the plug which makes this a no-brainer to reduce your electricity bills.

Switch to energy efficient appliances

Tube lights and bulbs are getting more and more efficient every year. A new 10W LED light bulb will give you the same amount of light that an old 100W incandescent bulb would. So switching all your light bulbs to energy efficient ones makes a lot of sense.

Similarly, replacing your old plasma television with a LED one and switching to energy-efficient refrigerators, washing machines, boilers and so on can also help reduce energy usage by a great deal.

Photo credit to (Garden Fairy Lights) https://festoonhouse.com.au/fairy-lights/

Consider alternate energy saving options

Solar and wind are great alternate energy options and depending upon your location, can be a great investment that can pay itself back in just a few years in terms of reduced gas and electricity bills.

Solar panels, solar hot water heater or heat pump, windmill etc. are all great alternate energy options to consider.