Top Ten Energy Saving Tips
Here are our top ten energy saving tips – that won’t cost you a penny! But remember, the quickest and most cost effective way of reducing the amount of energy you use is by installing sufficient insulation in your loft and your walls.
- 1 Turn down your central heating by 1°C: It could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. If you feel it's too cold, just pop on an extra layer of clothing like a T shirt under a shirt or a jumper or cardigan.
- 2 Don't leave appliances on standby: How often do you leave the TV on standby when you go to bed? That TV, DVD player, HiFi, video recorder are all munching electricity - so turn them off.
- 3 Unplug mobile phone chargers: It's handy to leave your mobile phone charger plugged into the wall, but if its switched on even without the phone attached it will be using electricity.
- 4Set your hot water to 60°C: For most people, setting the cylinder thermostat at 60°C/140°F is fine for bathing and washing.
- 5 Don't overfill your kettle: It's easy to over fill a kettle, but try and only boil the amount of water you need (always remember to ensure you boil the minimum amount for the safe use of the kettle - see your kettle's user guide if in doubt).
- 6 Turn off lights when you leave the room: Always turn lights off when you leave a room and adjust your curtains or blinds to let in as much light as possible during the day.
- 7 Use economy mode on the dishwasher and 30°C to wash your clothes: Try and use low temperature programmes, and ensure you wash full loads.
- 8 Draw the curtains: Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows - even in rooms you're not using.
- 9 Take a shower not a bath: Water requires a lot of energy to heat it up, and a typical shower uses just 20% of the hot water a bath uses.
- 10 Put a plug in it! Always put the plug in your basin or sink. Leaving hot water taps running with it removed is akin to washing money down the plughole.
