Energy Saving Tips For Your Home

How Green is Your Home?

Want to stop wasting energy but don't know where to start then read on for lots of useful tips to help you save energy and money. You can also read more about the Plug In Project, which is helping tenants save water and £££s through the installation of water saving devices and training.

Why Save Energy?

It’s good for your wallet - Saving energy ultimately means you are saving money. With the ever increasing price of fuel and the cost of electricity nearly doubling since 2002, there has never been a better time to be more energy efficient.

It’s good for the Environment - Cutting unnecessary wastage or use of energy reduces your carbon footprint. Most carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases which are harmful to our planet are released during energy generation.

We are now running free energy advice surgeries to help our tenants save energy and act on C02. Click here to find out more.

Energy Saving Tips

There are lots of ways to use energy more efficiently at home. Most cost nothing, some cost a little – but together they could save you a lot of money on your energy bills.

Tips that cost nothing!

Go easy on your heating

• Run your heating for just one hour less everyday
• Keep the air flow vents on your electric heaters clear of obstructions
• Turn down your thermostat by 1 degree and you could save up to £65 a year. (If you have a Worcester Bosch DT20RF Digital RF Thermostat with Twin Channel Programmer click here for instructions on how to use it).

Turn off the lights – and the TV

• If you’re not in the room for a while – kill the lights
• Turn your appliances off instead of leaving them on standby and you could save up to £37 a year

Wise up about water

• Don’t set the thermostat too high – 60C/140F is fine for a hot bath or wash
• Take a shower – its faster, cheaper and more efficient than your bath
• Put the plug in – running that hot tap costs money and wasteswater
• Fix that drip – leaks waste a lot more water than you think
• Use the Severn Trent interactive usage calculator to find how and where you can save water around the home
• Receive free water saving equipment and advice through the Plug In project. Find out more here.

Cook with care

• Use the right sized pan for the food and the hob 
• Keep saucepan lids on to keep in the heat 
• Only use the water you need 
• Make toast in the toaster not under the grill 
• If we all only boil what we need for a cup of tea rather than filling up the kettle every time, we’d save money and enough electricity in a single year to power the street lights in the UK for more than six months

Don’t forget the fridge

• Defrost fridges and freezers regularly to improve their efficiency 
• Don’t put hot food in the fridge – let it cool down first 
• Position fridges or freezers as far from cookers and heaters
• as you can

Wash wisely

• Run your washing machine on full loads – and use half load
• or economy programmes if you have them 
• Use low energy programmes on dishwashers for all but the
• very dirtiest dishes

Close the curtains 

Shut out the night and keep in the heat, but make sure you don’t drape your curtains over radiators as this sends heat straight out of your windows.

Tips that cost a little!

Use energy efficient light bulbs

An energy efficient light bulb uses up to 80% less electricity than an incandescent bulb and could last up to ten times longer. So switching to an energy efficient bulb could save you up to £55 before it needs to be replaced.

Give your hot water cylinder a new jacket

If you have an old hot water tank, putting a new, 75mm thick jacket on your hot water cylinder could save you around £40 per year. The jackets themselves cost from around £12 so could pay themselves off in under four months. (Based on the average household consumption of 40,400 litres of hot water per year in a 3 bed semi detached home.)

Stop the heat from your radiators escaping

Did you know that putting radiator panels behind the radiators could reduce your heating bill by up to 20% or £60 per year? Try them, and see the difference they can make.

Tips that cost a bit more!

Harness the energy of the sun

With Solar Photovoltaic (PV) technology and Solar Thermal technology, you can harness the power of the sun to use around your home. Not only could it reduce your CO2 emissions, but it could provide up to 40% of the electricity your house needs.

Make your floors draught proof

You could save up to £50 a year by insulating your floors. Even if you don’t want to take up the floorboards, you could still cut out draughts by sealing gaps between skirting boards and floors. Generally, you’ll just need a tube of sealant, which you can get from most DIY stores.

Update your appliances

Next time you need to replace your tumble dryer, washing machine, fridge, freezer or other domestic appliances, make sure you get one that’s ‘A’ rated. When you’re out shopping look for the Energy Saving Trust’s ‘Energy Saving Recommended’ logo.