British Gas® know that lots of people waste energy throughout their homes and they have no idea. I certainly didn’t until I became aware of the great ways to save energy. It’s all about habits! Changing the ritual for leaving the house. Creating a new routine that includes good energy habits.
Install the new smart meters
The Government led national upgrade scheme to improve energy efficiency across Great Britain, includes offering smart meters to all customers by 2020. This is a great initiative and it makes monitoring energy levels very easy! We were one of the first customers to get our smart meters and it’s amazing to see the differences in costs throughout the year. It’s nice to see how much you are spending on the meter, you can react immediately. Instead of waiting for the quarterly bills to come in. Typically in Winter we have: the heating was on, oven on, washing machine, dishwasher and not to mention all the appliances that we use. It can build up each day, which then becomes a large bill. The idea behind the smart meter is that it makes you aware of what you are spending each day. Therefore, you can see how you are reducing costs daily.
Buy energy efficient products
Washing machines that wash clothes at a cooler temperature, for example, will save you money. Using cold water to wash the clothes inevitably uses less energy. You can get some fabulous electrical products out there that use less energy. Look for the energy efficiency label when buying new products, the better the rating the more energy you save. It could save you quite a bit each year, if you had an energy efficient refrigerator, for example. This fact was taken from the energy saving trust.
Turn it off at the wall
Yes. Turning off the TV at the socket, on the wall will reduce energy bills. I always used to just turn the TV onto standby or leave the power connected to an extension lead that I wasn’t using. When I realised how much I was spending a day on energy, I soon started to change my habits. Although it doesn’t cost too much per year to leave your TV on standby (according to Digital Spy), it soon adds up. We have 5 TV’s in the house for example. Then you have products like coffee machines, kettles, SKY Q boxes, wireless routers and I assume they all consume energy on standby too.
Only boil what you need
The kettle is the most popular electrical product in our kitchen! When I first met my husband, I would fill the kettle right to the top whenever I used it. It was a bad habit. Luckily, my husband had good habits and he explained the benefits of boiling only what I needed. Now I do not get specific about this, I am not saying pour in the exact amount for your mug. Just put the amount in you need, roughly!
The myth behind the boiler
Turning your boiler down is not always the most efficient way to control your heating. If you have a room thermostat, turning this down by 1 degree could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. If you have no room thermostat, you should use the control on your boiler and have this set to a temperature that you find comfortable. But remember, the lower that this is set, the less energy you will use.
This post is in conjunction with British Gas® but all thoughts are my own.
