Tips for saving on energy bills

Question any direct debit increases that seem too high. Your energy company should be able to explain the changes and your usage and payments should balance out over a year.

Choose energy efficient appliances

If you’re replacing an appliance, you can cut your electricity bills by choosing the most energy-efficient model. For example, depending on size, washing machine running costs can vary from £15 to £70 a year.

Research shows that swapping all the most power-guzzling kitchen appliances for energy-saving models would save you up to £425 a year on energy costs.

Add insulation

Insulating both your loft and cavity walls can save you as much as £290 a year, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

Laying loft insulation to a thickness of 270mm in a typical non-insulated three-bedroom semi could trim £135 a year from energy bills, as less heat will be lost through the roof. If you’ve got loft insulation that’s been there a while, you could still save an extra £100 a year by topping it up from 120mm to the recommended 270mm.

Insulating cavity walls can save up to £155 a year in a semi-detached house. Solid-wall insulation, although more expensive to fit, could save you £210 in the same type of house.

Get your boiler serviced or replaced

For most households, central heating is responsible for more than half of your energy bill each year. So replacing an old, inefficient gas boiler with a modern energy-efficient one could make a big difference to your payments.

If your boiler is still working, there are still savings to be made. Booking a boiler service and asking your engineer to make sure it’s running as efficiently as possible can be a really quick way to make savings.

Replace light bulbs

Energy-saving light bulbs can help you to cut your energy bills easily. An LED light bulb costs around £1.71 a year to run, compared to £8.42 for an old-style halogen bulb. Energy-saving light bulbs also last a lot longer than traditional ones, too, so their lifetime costs are even lower.

Install and use central heating controls

If you don’t already have a room thermostat, programmer and thermostatic radiator valves, installing them – and using them well – could save a typical home £75 a year according to the Energy Saving Trust. It will also cut your home’s carbon emissions by 320kg a year.

Electric heaters

If you only need to heat one room in your home, it may be cheaper to use a portable electric heater and keep the thermostat turned down.

Smart thermostats

With a smart thermostat you can operate your heating remotely via the internet using your mobile phone, tablet or computer. Coupled with smart thermostatic radiator valves, you can control exactly which rooms are heated, and which aren’t.

Draught proofing

Stopping heat from escaping through unwanted gaps around doors and windows could help you save around £25 a year in a typical home, according to the Energy Saving Trust.

Although it might not seem much, it can also really help you to feel comfortable in your home and make a big difference to your quality of life.

Windows: use draught-proofing strips around the frame. Brush strips work better for sash windows

Doors: use draught-proofing strips around the edges and brush or hinged-flap draught excluders at the bottom

Chimney and fireplace: if you don’t use your fireplace, use an inflatable pillow to block the chimney, or fit a cap over the chimney pot.

Floorboards and skirting: floorboards need to move, so use a flexible silicone-based filler to fill the gaps

Loft hatches: use draught-proofing foam strips to keep heat in.

Also consider smaller holes that let in cold air, such as keyholes and letterboxes.

Use less hot water

Though you might only use your heating in winter, you use energy year-round to heat your water, so heating and using it wisely will impact your bills.

• Use a shower timer so you know how long you’re spending in there. Keeping your shower time to 4 minutes or swapping 1 bath a week with a 4-min shower can save you £35 per person, the Energy Saving Trust estimates.
• Don’t let the hot tap run for too long and wash up in a sink/bowl.
• Insulate your hot water tank and pipes so water stays warmer for longer.

If you’re pushed for time or money, have done everything else on this list or simply want to get started cutting your energy bill straight away, try these steps:

• Know where your energy costs are coming from. A smart meter shows how much energy you use in real time and how much it costs. Use this information to work out where you can cut back.
• Get your boiler serviced or ask your landlord to do so. An engineer can make energy saving adjustments, such as reducing your boiler’s flow temperature, that can cut your bills.
• Don’t leave your gadgets on standby. There are limits on standby power consumption of more recent electronics, but take more care with older gadgets. Turning appliances off properly could save you £55 a year, according to figures published in March 2022 by the Energy Savings Trust.
• Dry your washing outside or on a clothes horse, rather than using your tumble dryer. Don’t forget to ventilate well and run a dehumidifier if possible if you’re drying clothes indoors.
• Only run your washing machine and dishwasher when they’re full, reduce your use by one run per week and wash clothes at 30°C where possible (unless you’re washing really soiled clothes). These steps can cut bills by £28 a year, the Energy Savings Trust estimates (figures published in March 2022).
• Defrost food in your fridge to help cool the fridge temperature down, and cool hot food before you put it into the fridge or freezer.
• Only boil as much water in the kettle as you need.
• Clean your tumble dryer and fridge’s filters to keep them running efficiently.

With thanks to the Which? website for the information in this article. Please visit www.which.co.uk for similar articles.