40% of UK emissions come from households, meaning the energy we use in our homes has an important part to play in tackling the climate crisis. Becoming more energy-efficient will not only help save the planet but will also save you money on energy bills. Follow our energy saving tips to save money on electricity and gas bills, become more energy-efficient, and reduce your environmental impact.
Potential cost savings presented by Energy Savings Trust are typical of a 3-bedroom gas-powered home using UK October 2022 gas prices of 10.3p/kWh and electricity of 34p/kWh, unless otherwise stated.
Find out exactly how much money you could save on energy bills for your housing type on the government website.
DIY Draught-Proofing
Draught-proofing is a cheap and easy way of reducing energy usage in your home and helps to reduce dampness and condensation.
Draught-proofing involves blocking gaps in your home that let in cold air or make it easy for warm air to escape. These areas usually include windows, doors, floorboards, and even letterboxes. You can identify areas that need draught-proofing by simply walking around your home. You can visually spot unwanted cracks and openings, as well as feel for draughts in different rooms.
Homes lose 10-20% of their heat through windows and external doors.
Cheap and simple DIY draught-proofing could look like this:
- Proofing strips for window frames, door edges, and loft hatches
- Keyhole covers, letterbox brushes, and a draught excluder for doors
- Silicone filler for skirting, floorboards, and wall pipework gaps
- Cling film coating on glass surfaces (secondary glazing)
When DIY draught-proofing, you should avoid:
- Over-proofing in rooms where moist air needs to escape e.g., kitchens and bathrooms
- Blocking any ventilation such as extractor fans, wall vents, and airbricks to ensure your home stays fresh and dry
If you rent your home, be sure to check with the homeowner before making any permanent changes to fixtures. Many draught-proofing accessories are not permanent and easy to remove!
Changing Cooking Habits
Ovens are one of the most energy-intensive and expensive appliances to have in your home.
Research carried out by energy company Utilita detailed the striking price contrast of using an oven in comparison to appliances such as air fryers and microwaves (see graphic below). Image may be NSFW.
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Figures from Utilita’s Review of the Energy Cost of Cooking, September 2022.
Utilita finds that using an air fryer instead of an oven can save you £264 annually, with microwaves and slow cookers being much cheaper to operate too.
The impact on the environment is just as striking: Utilita reports that primarily using an electric oven is the equivalent of driving 609 miles per year, in comparison to the equivalent of 58 miles per year for using a microwave.
If you need to use an oven or stovetop for part or all of a meal, you could:
- Use ceramic or glass dishes to retain more heat in the oven.
- Cover pots and pans where possible to prevent heat loss.
- Cook in bulk and freeze leftovers.
- Avoid using ovens for small items – appliances such as air fryers and microwaves generally reduce cooking times.
Turn Down your Thermostat
According to the World Health Organisation Housing and Health Guidelines, an average temperature range of between 18 and 21°C is the optimal temperature for adults, with slightly higher temperatures potentially needed for young children and elderly people.
Making small changes in reducing the temperature on your thermostat may be the best approach so that you are unlikely to feel a difference. Try reducing by one degree at a time and, if you don’t notice a difference, continue to reduce it further.
Turning your thermostat down by just one degree can cut bills immediately by 10%.
Maximize your heating’s programming to activate only when necessary, like when you wake up, go to bed, or come back from work. Set it to turn off when no one is home.
Although central heating is the most efficient way to heat an entire house, it can be more energy-efficient and cost-effective to focus on heating certain rooms, such as the room you are working in. Low-energy electric heaters are a great alternative to central heating, as well as smart thermostats that allow you to adjust the temperature in specific rooms.
Turn Down your Boiler and Cylinder
Most homes in the UK have combi boilers (gas boilers that provide heating and hot water on demand and don’t have a separate water tank). Most combi boilers are set at a flow temperature (the temperature to which the boiler heats water that gets sent to the radiators) of between 70-80°C.
According to a recent report, Innovation Agency Nesta has reported that reducing your combi boiler’s flow temperature to 60°C can save a typical household approx £97 per year or 8% off your gas bill.
Combi boilers also allow users to control the temperature of hot water supplied to taps and showers. Reducing the hot water temperature reduces the amount of fuel needed to heat the water. Nesta has reported an approximate £26 annual saving or 2% reduction in gas bills by simply lowering the hot water pressure to 42°C.
The average UK gas boiler produces about the same carbon emissions in a year as taking 7 trans-Atlantic flights.
For homes that have heating systems with a separate hot water cylinder, reduce the temperature of the hot water cylinder so that the water is not heated unnecessarily; this setting is different from the flow temperature. Lowering the temperature of your cylinder thermostat means that the water heating will come on less often and you will use less fuel.
The recommended water temperature is 60°C; any hotter and you’ll likely be wasting energy, any cooler and there is a risk of bacteria growth. Cylinder thermostats can cost around £20 if you don’t have one but will require a further cost of installation if you’re not prepared or able to do it yourself.
Check out Nesta’s Money Saving Boiler Challenge, an online tool that guides you through the process of reducing your combi boiler temperature to cut costs and reduce energy waste from your home.
Switch Off Appliances
One of the easiest energy saving tips is to remember to turn off your electronic devices. We often neglect to fully turn off our appliances when not in use, but leaving items like laptops, TVs, gaming systems, and dishwashers on standby continues to drain energy and increase electricity bills.
According to Energy Savings Trust, you could save approximately £65 per year by turning appliances off when not in use, and an additional £25 by remembering to turn off lighting in unoccupied rooms.
Energy Solutions organisation Greenmatch has compared the active and standby energy use of many common household appliances in the graph below, showing just how much energy continues to be used in standby mode.
Source: 16 Common Household Appliances Using the Most Energy in 2022 | GreenMatch
Almost all appliances can be switched off completely without affecting their programming, but make sure to double-check the manual of each appliance before doing so. Consider a standby saver or smart plug that allows you to switch off all appliances in one go.
Energy Efficient Lighting
Need to replace a bulb? Why not make the switch to LED lighting.
Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) might cost you more than traditional filament bulbs but will last longer and save you money in the long term. They last 10 times longer than filament and fluorescent bulbs, and 25 times more than Halogen bulbs, lasting up to 10 years before needing to be replaced.
LEDs use 50% less energy for the same amount of light than alternatives.
LED bulbs can be put into existing lighting features in most cases, but make sure to check the fitting, size, and layout of your appliance before purchasing.
Reduce Reliance on Wet Appliances
Wet appliances such as washing machines, dishwashers, and tumble dryers can account for 10% of your electricity bill.
You can reduce the energy used by your washing machine by:
- Using a fast spin to help get more water out before drying the clothes.
- Only consider washing clothes when the washing machine is full.
- Lowering the temperature of your cycles to 30°C can still achieve great washing results whilst reducing energy usage.
- Do not overfill your machine to ensure clothes are cleaned efficiently the first time around, and the lifetime of the machine is prolonged.
- Clean your machine regularly to avoid damage.
For dishwashers, try:
- Only running a cycle when your machine is full.
- Not rinsing the dishes before loading them into the dishwasher – scraping any excess food should suffice.
- Make the most of the eco-settings on your appliance – dishes are usually washed at a lower temperature (typically 50°C) and use approximately 3 litres less water than a standard wash cycle.
Tumble dryers are the most energy-intensive appliances; avoid using them and dry clothes inside and outside instead.
Install a Smart Meter
Smart meters put a stop to estimated bills and manual meter readings by sending half-hourly usage data directly to your supplier, meaning you only pay for what you use.
Benefits of using a smart meter include:
- Smart meters can display live information about your energy usage and its cost down to the penny. Suppliers also often allow you to visualise this information online or on a mobile app.
- Your energy usage data captured by a smart meter can help you choose the most suitable tariff for you.
- The data captured by smart meters can tell you which appliances use the most energy to inform your usage habits.
- Smart meters allow suppliers to integrate more energy from renewable sources into your fuel mix.
- Energy suppliers may offer tariffs that change the price of energy at different times of the day, meaning you could cut costs by using energy during off-peak times (at night).
Ask your energy supplier to arrange a free installation of a smart meter, most homes have one for gas and one for electricity.
Do you know what tariff you are on?
Although following our energy saving tips will help you to significantly reduce your energy bills, it’s also important to regularly speak with your energy supplier to ensure you’re on the most efficient tariff.
If you have not been in contact with your energy supplier for over a year, it may be possible that you’re on the standard and often most expensive tariff available. Contact your supplier if you are not sure about the tariff you are on; they are obliged to tell you if there is an alternative that could save you money.
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Green energy supplier Big Clean Switch can arrange for a qualified energy assessor to visit your home to evaluate its current energy performance. They then audit the data before crunching the numbers to work out which energy solutions are likely to deliver the biggest wins for you at the lowest cost.
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