ENERGY SAVING

Energy saving is a vital part of caring for the environment, lowering your carbon emissions and saving you money by cutting the cost of your monthly outgoings. There are many ways we can improve the energy efficiency of our homes, small changes can make a huge difference.

Fitting a thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves can help you to control the temperature of each room reducing fuel consumption by 17%. Optimum temperature of a living room should be around 21 degrees, a bedroom 18 degrees and hallways 16 degrees.

Don't leave your appliances on standby, switch them off at the wall. This small change in your daily habits can save you around £30 per year.

Showering is more efficient than taking a bath, a five minute shower uses an average of 30 litres of water, compared to a half filled bath which uses around 80 litres.

Turning down the heating by 1 degree can achieve a saving of around £60 per year. That is around 10% of your fuel bill.

Replacing or fitting a jacket to your hot water tank.

Switch to energy efficient light bulbs; 30% of your annual electricity usage is lighting. Energy efficient light bulbs use 80% less electricity and can last up to 10 times longer.

Upgrade your boiler, this can improve on the efficiency of heating your home resulting in big savings.

Insulate your loft, the right insulation can save you around £150 per year.

Keep heat in, if you can feel cold air coming in that means warm air is escaping. Stop draughts by installing letter box brushes and draught excluders to windows and doors.

Don't over fill the kettle, use lids on pans and wash clothes at 30 degrees, this uses 40% less energy than a 40 degree wash.

Speak to your energy supplier about having your free smart meter installed.