Energy Saving Tips

Each of our homes is different but whether in a mansion or in a studio flat, the factors that increase our electricity bills and in turn increase our emissions output are often the same.

Monitor your Electrical Energy Usage

Read your Electricity Meter

Reading your meter regularly will help you deduce what areas of the house are the most costly for electricity use. Kettles, toasters, tumble dryers, older televisions and computer equipment are high wattage and use a lot of power. So where possible, minimise their use or as in the case of toasters choose a two slice over four slice model and for kettles, boil only the water you need.

Buy an Electrisave

This new device shows you exactly how much electricity each device in the home uses. If you act on the information it provides, you will recoup the cost of the electrisave in a matter of months and it will continue to help you save money. www.electrisave.co.uk has more information.

Heating

Turning the thermostat down by 1ºC can cut more than 10% from the average central heating bill. Similarly, reaching for a jumper rather than turning the thermostat up when it gets cold can be effective. Households with boilers over 15 years old are advised to think about having them replaced with a newer energy efficient model - high efficiency condensing boilers can save a third on heating bills.

A major source of heat loss is through walls and windows so double glazing, cavity and loft insulation can prove to be cost-effective ways to save energy.

Think!

You pay for a lot of power that you do not benefit from. Appliances on standby, lights left on in empty rooms and computers that are never switched off are putting ££££££££s on your bill. Switching off and maintaining your household items will soon make a big difference to your bills; leaving unnecessary items on standby can cost each household an average of £37 a year.

	TVs: On average a traditional cathode ray tube (CRT) television set uses 100 watts of power when in use and about two watts on standby. Newer LCD and plasma screens are higher users of energy, with the largest models consuming up to 400 watts when in use and about four watts on standby.
	DVD players: You can safely switch off most DVD players/recorders, hard disk recorders or video recorders purchased in recent years, according to the Energy Saving Trust. (http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk ) Devices should not need to be retuned when they are switched back on or have to contend with the dreaded flashing clock as the machines usually retain their settings.
	Some manufacturers recommend that some satellite TV receivers be left in standby when not in use so they can receive updates.
	Computers: It may not be practical to turn a computer on-and-off if it is to be used throughout the day. However, the Energy Saving Trust suggests turning the monitor off when not in use. Peripherals like printers and scanners should also be turned off when not in use.
	Chargers If all chargers for devices such as mobile phones and MP3 players were unplugged when not in use, the UK could save enough electricity each year to power 115,000 homes! Chargers are not huge energy consumers in their own right, but across the UK those left plugged in unnecessarily waste over £60m and are responsible for a quarter of a million tonnes of carbon dioxide every year. If a charger feels warm when it is plugged in without being attached to a device it is still converting energy.
	Turning mobile phones off overnight will save battery power and reduce the need for re-charging.

Lighting

Lighting accounts for 15% of the electricity bill. UK households spend £1.9bn on electricity every year for lighting.

Don’t light rooms that aren’t in use. According to the Energy Saving Trust there is no truth in the belief that turning lights on causes a surge that uses up more electricity. "If you are going out of a room for half and hour, (or even 10 minutes) turn the lights off," said Dr Paula Owen, of the Energy Saving Trust. "It does not harm the electricity supply or the bulbs. There is no point in burning electricity for no reason."

Install low energy bulbs. Their initial cost is high but they use a quarter of the power of conventional light bulbs. You can now find all shapes and sizes of energy efficient light bulbs so you don’t have to compromise on the kind of light you want.

Over their life time, low energy bulbs can save you up to £65 per bulb! If all UK households replaced one light bulb with an energy efficient one, the money saved could pay about 75,000 family fuel bills a year.

Good Housekeeping

Elements in kettles and washing machines that become coated with limescale are inefficient and use more energy to raise the temperature of the water they are heating. Pour a cup full of vinegar into the kettle, and leave overnight to remove limescale. Vinegar can be used to maintain your washing machine - every two months run a 60 degree cycle (without clothes) and add 200ml of white vinegar; this will remove limescale. Maintaining the health of these appliances will reduce electricity consumption.

Freezers that are filled with frost work harder to stay cold

They should be defrosted every year or sooner if they frost up frequently. Good seals on fridges and freezers are needed to keep them working efficiently to. Well stocked fridges and freezers need less energy than empty ones do.

Hot water

Dishwashers and washing machines that heat their own water should be kept to low temperature settings. Washing clothes at 30ºC saves 40% of the energy used at 40ºC. All modern detergents are designed to clean successfully at lower temperatures and there is no need for a pre-wash. Washing at 65ºC will require twice as much energy as at 40ºC. Wash full loads only; single shirts and half full dishwashers are costing you money! To help the planet check out Ecover who have a product range of environmentally friendly detergents that clean successfully when following the above suggestions. www.ecover.com

If you heat your water electrically, you can expect your hot water cost to be double if you bathe instead of shower.

Invest

Old or poorly maintained appliances are costing you money. Although it may seem a huge investment to buy new appliances it will end up saving you sooner than you think. Although it takes a lot of energy to produce new appliances, if you buy sensibly, you will have an item that has a long life and minimal energy use. It is essential that your old appliances are disposed of correctly; a reputable retailer will remove your old appliance and dispose of it appropriately.

	An old fridge freezer may cost you two and a half times as much to power than a modern ‘A’ rated one.
	When upgrading your PC, buy a Laptop - they run on a lower wattage so they are far more energy efficient and use less electricity

Tumble driers are appliances that contribute in a big way to your electricity bills. An ‘A’ rated model will use an average of £23 of electricity a year whereas a ‘G’ rated appliance will use almost double that. You can dry your clothes for free outside in the summer and inside in winter on a clothes line/drier.

When you are looking at replacing appliances or need to know how efficient or environmentally friendly the products you use are, check them at: www.gooshing.co.uk