Many users are looking for ways to cut back on their energy use with energy prices at their current high levels.
Here are some tips, ones that work to help save energy and stay warm this winter:
Central heating is all about time and space
The best way to save money is to only heat the spaces user need, only while users are using them. Here’s how to figure it out:
- Close all the doors in the home and think about all the individual spaces – rooms, hallways, stairwells that create.
- If the user has got thermostatic valves on the radiators, set each one to the temperature they need for each space. The living room will probably be the room user want to be warmest, while bedrooms and the kitchen can be cooler. If they don’t have thermostatic valves, users can turn off the radiators in any rooms they use infrequently, or areas that will warm up enough with air coming from the rest of their home.
- Once users got this organized, get into the habit of keeping user internal doors closed, so each room maintains its temperature.
- Plan out what times of the day user need the heating on. Rooms will stay warm after the heating goes off, so set it to switch off an hour before users leave for work and go to bed. This will save the user two hours of heating straight away.
Optimize heating basics
If the user got central heating, here’s how to get it running as efficiently as possible:
- Make sure the user boiler is serviced regularly, so it’s as efficient at heating the water as it can be. The first thing to look at is the user thermostat.
- Check user radiators for cool areas at the top. If they’re not uniformly warm, there’s trapped air that is stopping them from working at their best – follow this guide to bleed out the air.
- Place foil behind radiators on external walls to reflect heat into the room. A shelf above a radiator can help guide the warm air into the middle of the room.
Stop the heat from escaping
Once user got their heating sorted, the user wants to keep the warm air in their home as much as possible. It’s important to insulate as much as a user can:
- Loft insulation will stop heat from escaping through the user's roof.
- Make sure the user's hot water tank has an insulating jacket - the water will stay hot for much longer.
- Think about if cavity wall insulation is suitable for user property.
- Old-fashioned draught excluders are perfect for doors.
Windows can be problematic if users don’t have double-glazing:
- If user windows are single pane, temporary double glazing with plastic sheets is a lot less expensive than fitting new windows.
- Cheap, self-adhesive draught-proofing can work well, particularly on sash windows.
- Don’t forget to close user curtains just before it gets dark to keep the warmth in but open them during the day to let in the sunshine.
Cooking and cleaning
In the kitchen and elsewhere, users can save energy with some small changes that add up over a year:
- Don’t heat water on the stove. Boil it in a kettle, then add it to the pan and use a lid to keep the heat in.
- Don’t preheat the oven for longer than the user need or open the door too soon - they’ll let out hot air and waste energy.
- Batch cooking is a great way to save money on energy and ingredients because users only need to use the stove or oven once.
- Use a microwave to heat food instead of the cooker where the user can.
- Use the Eco mode on the user washing machine and wait until they’ve got enough dirty clothes to do a full load.
Help with bills
In these trying times, Ecotricity is here to help if users ever have trouble paying their energy bills. Just get in touch, and they will talk through the options to make everything as easy as possible.
Recently, the UK Government announced its Energy Bills Support Scheme (EBSS) to help households with rising energy costs. It’s a £400 energy bill discount which will be paid in six installments from October to March 2023.