7 ways the average home can reduce their electricity bill
The average home in the United Kingdom now uses 13 electronic appliances, according to Money Supermarket – which is a huge leap from 30 years ago, when the average was 4, according to the Energy Consumption in the UK 2017 report.
Interestingly, energy use is about the same as it was in 1990, as technology continues to advance, our appliances are becoming more and more energy efficient. However, there’s still a lot you can do in your home to reduce that bill over the course of a year.
- Your thermostat: there are two things you can do here. You can turn down your thermostat, even by just 1 degree to save £80 a year, and you can use smart thermostats to make your house more efficient overall.
- Turning off standby appliances can apparently save you £30 a year, and you can even buy plug sockets that can be turned off by your phone now, if you forgot to turn them off when you left the house.
- Draught-proof your property, especially in preparation for the winter months. A cold draught just means you are losing heat, so then spending more money to heat the house. While the average saving might not sound a lot at £35 a year, it all adds up.
- Washing your clothes at a lower temperature, for example 30 degrees instead of 40 can help reduce your bill too, although at around £5 a year.
- Buy energy efficient appliances! We’re definitely not saying to get rid of your current appliance, but when it comes to getting new ones, be a bit energy smart about your options. According to Energy Saving Trust, an A+++ fridge freezer will use £320 less over its lifetime than an A+ model.
- Insulate your roof – and keep that heat in!
- And finally, monitor your usage. There are plenty of smart gadgets available now meaning you can track your consumption with accurate and real time information. With this evidence you’ll easily be able to change your habits and start saving those pennies.
Figures are estimated from Energy Saving Trust. (link: https://energysavingtrust.org.uk/home-energy-efficiency/energy-saving-quick-wins )
