1. TURN APPLIANCES OFF STANDBY
When you leave electrical appliances on but unused, many enter ‘standby mode’. While the device looks like it isn’t using up any energy, it is using electricity in the background — called phantom power — while it prepares to instantly switch back on.
Leaving appliances on standby can increase your energy consumption by 75 percent. This convenient setting can end up costing you $108 more a year. To prevent increased bills, make sure to check that your appliances and plugs are completely powered off when not in use.
2. WASH CLOTHES EFFICIENTLY
The process of washing and drying your clothes contributes significantly to your energy bills, but there are ways to lower these costs just by changing the settings on your washing machine. The Energy Saving Trust estimates that you can save $38 annually just by lowering the temperature of your washing machine’s cycle to around 86 degrees Fahrenheit and using it once a week.
Tumble dryers should be avoided altogether and replaced with drying racks or washing lines. This can save $75 a year.
3. CHOOSE ENERGY-SAVING BULBS
Swapping incandescent light bulbs for LED bulbs can help you to save money. 15 percent of a home’s electricity usage goes towards lighting, but your choice of light bulb can determine how much money you spend and carbon dioxide you produce. Incandescent light bulbs, which are the traditional bulbs that have been in use for over 100 years, only convert five percent of their electricity into visible light. The first energy efficient bulbs made available to purchase were compact fluorescent lamps (CFLs). These last ten times longer and use up to 80 percent less electricity than traditional bulbs. More efficient again are light emitting diodes (LEDs), which display full brightness as soon as they are turned on. It is important to turn lights off when leaving a room to reduce unnecessary energy usage.
4. INSULATE YOUR HOME
You can keep your home warmer for longer, and save money on your heating bill, by using a few techniques to prevent heat from escaping. About one third of escaped heat from an uninsulated home is lost through its walls, while a quarter can be lost through the roof according to the Energy Saving Trust.
5. HARNESS THE SUN’S POWER
Solar panels can be installed onto roofs and used to convert direct or indirect sunlight into usable energy. When the sun shines on the panels’ semiconducting material, a flow of electricity is produced. In direct sunlight, a single panel can generate 200-350 watts of energy, according to the Energy Saving Trust. Solar panels will cost you around $6,500 to install, depending on the size of the solar panel array. However, this investment saves money over time. Sunlight is free and sustainable, meaning that you won’t have to pay as much in energy bills after the initial purchase.
6. TAKE MORE SHOWERS
The popular phrase of “throwing money down the drain” becomes more literal when considering the price of showering. While some people enjoy a long shower, reducing the time of your wash can result in substantial savings. If you regularly have baths, replacing them with showers has the potential to greatly reduce energy usage. According to the Department of Energy and Climate Change, replacing two baths with two seven minute showers every week could save up to 6,200 gigawatt hours per year (GWh/y).
7. REVERSE YOUR CEILING FAN
Ceiling fans are installed in some homes to move the air during warm weather, making people feel cooler. However, it is less commonly known that these systems can be used to warm homes in the winter. Most fans rotate both clockwise and anticlockwise. When the setting is switched to anticlockwise, the air is moved downwards from the ceiling to the floor. Warm air that has risen can be pushed downwards to make a room feel less cold. As long as the fan is set to a slow setting, no uncomfortable breeze will be generated. According to the University of Arkansas, heating costs can be reduced by 20 to 30 percent using this tip.
8. WATCH YOUR WATER
Water is used for many purposes in the kitchen, from brewing a hot beverage to washing dishes. It may seem convenient to keep your kettle full to limit trips to the tap, but to save energy it is best to only fill the kettle with the volume of water you are going to use immediately. Boiling excess water not only takes longer, but uses more energy in the process– only to cool in the kettle and be reboiled later.
9. PACK A FULL FREEZER
The more you store in your freezer, the less energy you use. By filling the space, there is less surrounding air that needs to be cooled. In addition, a cool temperature can be maintained for longer in the event of a power cut.
Regularly defrosting your freezer is also worthwhile. The more ice there is built up in a domestic freezer, the more energy it uses, according to the journal Measurement.
10. TWEAK YOUR THERMOSTAT
Reducing your home's temperature by 1.8 degrees Fahrenheit can make a big difference to your energy bills. Setting your room thermostat one degree higher, could increase your heating bill by ten percent, according to the Energy Saving Trust.
To save money on your heating, set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature. Generally, thermostats save energy because they automatically turn the heating off when the desired temperature is reached.