Category: Energy Efficiency

Many of us are very conscious about the rising prices in energy bills and are always on the look out for ways to cut down on our usage. Although there may be times when we have stop using appliances to reduce our electricity bills, it is hard to make this choice when you know it is going to mean more work for you. For example, to stop using your tumble drier can make a big difference to your electric bills but will make getting the laundry done much harder.

An instant hot water tap is a great investment, and not only will it help reduce your energy usage if you often boil a kettle several times a day but it will also actually make your day to day life easier. No longer will you have to wait for the kettle to boil or have to waste energy re-boiling a kettle as you got distracted and forgot to make that hot drink you wanted. With an instant hot water tap, the water comes out the tap at just the right temperature. Not only useful for making hot drinks but also for when cooking and you need to add boiling water to your pan to boil the vegetables or make gravy.

The majority of homeowners and renters are interested in trying to save money on their household bills and usually the largest bill is for the energy we use. Over time the various energy sources such as electricity, gas and oil vary in their prices so that one may be far cheaper than the other, but electricity is used by us all for lighting and appliances even if not for heating. Saving money on our electricity bills is therefore important for us to achieve.

Savings can be made quite easily on our lighting usage by changing old incandescent light bulbs for more energy efficient LED lighting. Although more expensive initially, the saving over time is invaluable.

Turning off appliances that are not being used is another way to save energy and therefore money. Devices left on standby may not seem to be using much energy but over weeks and months it can add up to a considerable sum.

If it is possible in the property to install solar panels to provide some of the electricity you need it is a great investment as you will be able to generate electricity that can be used to power appliances in your home whilst the sun is shining.

If you opted to have a smart meter fitted you may be enjoying not having to give meter readings over the phone or wait for the knock at the door from the electricity or gas company wanting to come in and take the reading from the meters.
This is only one of the advantages that a smart mete can offer and it is important to make sure that you understand how it works and the functionality to allow you to start accurately budgeting and start cutting down on your bills.
The smart meters are designed to show you what you are instantly using in the home and what your running costs are. The smart meter will show you the amount of gas and electric you are using at that time (often kw/h or £/hr) and you can then see the impact using your kettle or having your heating clicked up is having on your overall usage. Often the smart meters do not show you the daily rate you may be being charged and it is easy to forget that. You may be surprised when your bill comes through higher than you had anticipated because you did not factor in the standing charge.
If you notice your meter is showing a higher price per hour than you would like, start to look around your home to see what you could turn off that may reduce the cost. Some smaller items may not seem to make much of a difference on their own but could cut down the costs when accumulated.

This time of year we see hundreds of houses donned with festive lights, but some people simply don’t realise the cost of lighting their house up of the Christmas period. In the UK Christmas lights are getting more extravagate and people are opting not only to add lights to their Christmas tree but also to the front of their homes and gardens. If you are not careful you may find yourself with an even bigger winter electricity bill than usual.
Before you pull out the same old lights that you have been using for years, just check if they are LED. LED lights are much more efficient than standard light bulbs and they also do not get hot giving that added peace of mind that small children will not get burnt and reducing the risk of fires. The majority of Christmas lights are now LED but if the lights are very cheap you may find that they are not so it is always worth double checking.
Fitting timer switched to your lights will allow them to come on and off at certain times so you don’t have to worry about remembering to do it. You can also use battery lights that may cost slightly more to run (in terms of the cost of the batteries) but at least you know how much they are costing you each time you have to replace the batteries.

Log burners can be a perfect addition to any home. They can give a real homely feeling to any room and often people fall in love with the natural wood burning smell that they give off along with the therapeutic abilities of the appearance of the flames. When using a log burner you need to try and make sure you get the most out of the heat that is being produced to keep your house warmer for longer.

One way in which you may want to make use of a log burner is to have it linked to your central heating system, meaning that when the fire is alight, the heat is also being used to heat up the water in your home and radiators. This means long after the fire has gone out, the heat is still being dispersed throughout the home.

Make sure you invest in some good quality wood for burning. If the wood takes longer to burn then it will last longer and therefore produce heat for longer. You will often need different types of wood for burning as opposed to starting the fire in the first place.

A log burner fan can also help as it pushes the rising heat from the back of the fire into the room so it is not lost.