Energy saving tips

Use the microwave to heat things up

Microwaves are an energy-efficient way to heat up food. This is because they concentrate power on a small space for a short period of time.

Open your oven door after using it

A little known tip: after you’ve cooked, switch off your oven, open its door and let the heat fill the rest of the house. It helps if you open the door to your kitchen too, while you’re doing this.

Don’t overfill the kettle

It will save money and energy if you only boil the water you need.

Use the correct sized hob when cooking

This is something we don’t often think about. If you’re using a hob that’s bigger than your pan when you cook, it will waste lots of energy. Make sure the ring you use is of a similar size to your pan. A pan that’s too small, for instance, will lose all that energy out the sides. Too big and it’ll take more energy (and time!) to cook your food.

Turn down the water temperature on your boiler

It’s a trick that not everyone is aware of. Check your hot water temperature when you’re taking a shower or washing up. If it’s too hot, try turning it down directly on the boiler. This means the boiler doesn’t have to work so hard to heat up the water in the first place – using less energy and saving money.

Move furniture away from radiators

If your furniture is in front of radiators, they won’t be able to heat rooms anywhere near as well. Try moving things out of the way and see if your home feels warmer. The same goes for laundry and towels: once something’s dry, take it off your radiators to make them more efficient.

Bleed your radiators

When your radiators are switched on, give the top of them a feel. If they’re cold, this means they probably need to be bled with a radiator key. Once all the air’s gone and water starts to drip, you’ve done it. After that, your home should feel warmer, quicker.

Check your boiler pressure

Boiler pressure should ideally be between bars 1 and 3 (though you can also check your boiler manual for more info).

Rugs help to trap heat

Did you know: if you’ve got laminate, tiled, lino or wooden floors, you can use rugs to trap warmth more effectively. Otherwise, those types of flooring are losing heat fast!

Get rid of those drafts

Close all the doors inside your home, to keep the heat in more easily. You can also use draft excluders (if you don’t have any, you can use a DIY method with whatever you have to hand: blankets work just as well!).

Try a hot water bottle instead of electric blankets

If you have one, they’re a much cheaper way of staying warm.

Turn off appliances at the wall

Don’t leave appliances like TVs on standby, this wastes energy. Switch everything off at the wall instead.

Open curtains and blinds when the sun’s out

Make use of the daylight as much as possible, instead of turning on electric lights – which is easier now the days are getting longer. The sunshine could also help warm your home.

When you’re doing laundry...

Wash clothes at 30 and make sure it’s a full load.

If you’ve got a tumble dryer, reduce how long you have to use this inefficient appliance by washing clothes on a high spin cycle first – this will help dry clothes partially beforehand.

Equally, if you don’t own a tumble dryer and you hang things out to dry, use a low spin cycle to save even more energy.

When you’re washing dishes…

Fill a washing up bowl, instead of letting the hot tap run. And if you do have a dishwasher, make sure you’re washing full loads.