How to Save Money on Energy Bills

1. Switch Off Your Appliances and Unplug Them

Leaving your TV, games console, or set top box on standby when you’re not using it is costing you money. The same applies to laptop or mobile phone chargers; even if they’re not charging, the appliance will be using energy and adding to your bill.

Remove plugs when you’re not using the appliance and you could save up to £90 each year.

2. Turn Off Lights When You’re Not Using Them

Lights use very little energy, especially if they’re low energy bulbs, but over the course of a year it all adds up. The Energy Saving Trust suggests that turning lights off when you leave a room, and using lamps instead of lighting the whole room, can save on your bills.

Turning off lights that you don’t need could save you around £14 per year.

3. Wash Clothes at a Lower Temperature

What’s the temperature you normally wash your clothes on? Most people use the standard 40°. If you lower your setting to 30° you’re saving around 40% energy on each wash. Additionally, you could see if there’s an opportunity to cut out 1 wash a week.

Reducing your wash temperature and cutting out 1 wash per week could save you up to £25 over the year.

4. Get Rid of Draughts

Find out where the draughts are in your home and seal up gaps or cracks. Major draught sources are letterboxes, cracks in floors, skirting boards or gaps under doors. You don’t have to buy kits to stop the cold air getting in, just stop them up with things you have to hand.

A good, thorough job of stopping cold air getting into your home can result in up to £40 savings on you heating bill.

5. Manage Your Central Heating

Most UK households have their thermostat set at 21°. Turn it down to 20° and you’ll save substantially on your heating bills. If you have a smart thermostat, you can manage the temperature in each room. If not, simply use the thermostat on each radiator.

Adjusting your thermostat can save you up to £80 on your annual bill.

How Much Money You Can Save On Bills

By following each of the energy saving tips we’ve suggested, you could save up to £249 on your bills each year, and it won’t cost you a penny to do. Whilst no single action offers a quick fix, using all of them consistently, could give you lower bills throughout the year and, not only that, they’re ongoing savings.