Top Energy Saving Tips for This Winter
Winter is coming, and along with it comes longer nights, freezing temperatures, and increased energy bills. Are you looking for ways to save money, make your home more energy efficient, and reduce your carbon footprint this Winter? Well look no further! Here are our top tips on how you can stay warm while being energy efficient during the colder months.
Get A Home Energy Check
Our first tip would be to contact EPC London, EPC Glasgow, or any of our other offices to get professional recommendations on how to permanently improve your home’s energy efficiency. This is a great way to find out how to reduce energy use and save money in the long run.
Install Proper Insulation
A third of the cost of heating your home is lost through the walls, so insulating them is the best way to save energy in your home. Installing proper insulation allows better temperature control and will save you money on your energy bills. Remember that it’s also important to install insulation in the loft, to help prevent heat from escaping up through the top of your home. Loft insulation is effective for at least 40 years and according to experts at Which it could slash your energy bills by up to £225 a year!
Switch To A Green Energy Provider
One simple way to reduce your energy bills and lower your carbon footprint, is by switching to a green energy provider. Switching is simple, can be done online and, according to uSwitch, means average savings of £482 a year! Make sure that you look around and go on price comparison websites to find the best deal.
Draught-Proof Your Home
Most homes lose a lot of warmth through gaps in windows, doors, letterboxes, and chimneys. It is therefore important to draught-proof your home by making sure that these gaps are properly sealed – you can buy draught excluders or seals very cheaply in most DIY stores. This prevents cold air from coming into your home during colder months and reduces the need to increase thermostat temperatures.
Be Smarter With Appliances
Using appliances such as dishwashers, washing machines, and dryers efficiently will make a big difference to your energy bills. For instance, you should try and wash all dirty dishes at the same time, ideally once per day, to reduce water and energy wastage. You could also consider upgrading to ENERGY Star labeled appliances. This ensures that your appliances meet energy efficiency requirements, which will save you energy and money in the long run.
Install double glazing
Installing double glazing is not cheap, but it will improve the energy efficiency of your home and should save you a bit on your energy bills every year. Double glazing will also improve your home security and comfort, by preventing cold air and drafts, and reducing outside noise.
Reduce Your Electricity Usage
Reducing the amount of electricity you use will lower your carbon emissions, whilst also saving you money on energy costs. Try to limit the amount of electricity you use with simple changes such as – turning your computer and electrics off at the wall when you’re not using them, choosing activities that require no electricity such as playing a boardgame, and dimming the brightness on your mobile phone and turning off 3G/Bluetooth to save battery.
Turn Down Your Thermostat
According to experts at Energy UK turning your thermostat down by just 1 degree could cut your heating bills by up to 10% and save you around £85 a year. Try wearing extra layers of clothing during colder months instead of automatically turning the thermostat up.
Turn Lights Off
It might sound simple, but lots of people forget to turn lights off and lighting accounts for about 12% of a typical residential utility bill. You should try to make use of natural lighting as much as possible to reduce the need to turn lights on – although this might not always be possible during Winter months! You should also consider replacing any incandescent light bulbs with energy efficient ones, such as LEDs. These use far less energy and can also last around 10-20 times longer, meaning they don’t need to be replaced as often.
Final Thought
There are a number of things you can do to stay warm while being energy efficient this Winter. Improving your homes energy efficiency has a number of great benefits which includes – reduced energy costs, making your home warmer and more comfortable, and reducing your carbon footprint. Try out a few of the tips above and see the difference for yourself!
