Energy bills are predicted to cost some people 40% of their household income by October - part of a growing cost of living crisis.
But there are ways to make small savings. Actions you can take right now will help save £100s on gas and electricity usage - easing the squeeze.
Here's our guide to how to do it room-by-room...
Living room
The biggest use of energy in our homes is from heating. Lower your thermostat by 1C - and then keep going to see how low you can go. The average thermostat is set at 22C and reducing it by just one degree helps to cut bills by around 10%.
Set timers on your heating for when you most need it (such as in the morning when the household gets up) and turn radiators off in rooms you don’t regularly use. Also, make sure you bleed your radiators a couple of times a year to remove trapped air to improve the efficiency of your heating system.
Turn your appliances off standby mode and don’t leave devices on charge unnecessarily, saving on average £30 a year.
Kitchen
If you have a dishwasher, use it instead of washing by hand. Modern dishwashers use 11-13 litres of water per cycle, whereas an average sink holds around 20 litres. Don’t rinse plates as pre–rinsing wastes up to 24 litres of water a year. Always use the eco-setting. Although this takes longer than a standard wash, it uses around 20% less water and energy.
If you don’t have a dishwasher, fill a bowl instead of letting the tap just run, saving yourself around £25 a year.
Reduce the thermostat on your washing machine. Washing at 30 degrees rather than 40 degrees can help reduce your energy usage and save around £10 per year.
Don’t hang wet clothes on radiators to dry as it will reduce their efficiency. Use a clothes horse instead - or hang them outside if you can.
If you need to use a tumble dryer, wring out or spin dry your clothes before putting them in. Tumble drying uses a lot of energy, especially if your dryer is inefficient.
Only fill and boil the kettle with as much water as you need. The most energy-saving kettles have a low minimum-fill line, and switch off swiftly after boiling. Descale your kettle regularly. If it’s full of limescale, you use more energy to boil the same amount of water. Similarly use the smallest saucepan required for your cooking and put it on the burner that matches the size of its base.
Defrost frozen food in your fridge as it will act like an ice pack to help cool it down, reducing the amount of electricity needed. Use a fridge thermometer to ensure it is between 0 and 5°C. Lower temperatures decrease energy use, but if it’s too warm your food will spoil. Defrost regularly and use a vacuum cleaner to clean the condenser coils at the back or underneath your fridge or freezer. Thick dust can reduce their efficiency by up to 25%.
Invest in a slow cooker, which can cost as little as £12, which uses very little electricity.
Bathroom
Your electric toothbrush, beard trimmer and shavers should hold their charge for several uses, so charge them only when needed.
Every household in the UK uses an average of around 350 litres of water each day. Nearly half of an average annual combined energy bill is from heating the water for showers, baths and hot water from the tap. This, according to the Energy Saving Trust, costs on average about £228 a year.
A typical bath uses around 80-100 litres, whereas the average shower uses 50 litres so using less hot water will reduce your energy bills.
Buying a more efficient shower head can save you as much as £18 per person a year on energy bills, plus more if you have a water meter. Cut a minute off your shower time by installing a timer in the bathroom. Many water suppliers give these out for free.
If you’re on a meter, saving water will also reduce your bill too.
Bedroom
Closing your curtains or shutters at dusk will stop heat escaping through your window.
To ensure your windows are draft-proof add self-adhesive strips between any gaps. This should help to keep the cold air out.
It is also a good idea to invest in seasonal bedding. While the last thing you want is to be sweltering in summer, by winter a thick eiderdown will make all the difference to keeping you cosy without a costly bill.
If you don’t have carpeted floors, you should be on the lookout for a rug as they are a simple and cost effective means of insulation. They also keep your feet warm and block dreaded drafts.
Loft
Insulate your home. British houses lose approximately 35% of heat through walls and 25% through the roofs without proper insulation.
Close your curtains at dusk to help reduce heat loss by 15%. 16 million homes in Britain don’t have the recommended 30cm of loft insulation - one of the easiest and most effective ways to keep heat in, responsible for about 25% of escaping warmth.
Rolling out mineral wool or another product in your loft, standard depth of 30cm, which is the length of a school ruler, will last for around 40 years and have a pay back of about one year. Boards on stilts can be added so you can still keep storage space in the roof if needed.
