In a recent blog, I gave tips on how to reduce the electricity costs in your home mainly by having solar panels and a solar battery installed. I also wrote a blog on how to reduce your car running expenses by driving an electric car. To complete the series I have decided to write this blog on how to save money on your home gas and electricity bills.

The energy-saving tips below give you some tools and tactics that will help you save gas and electricity at home. I have included estimated figures from the Energy Saving Trust to illustrate the potential energy savings that you could make.

Turn off standby appliances

• Turn appliances off at the plug to save an average of £30 a year.
• Use plug sockets that can be turned on and off via your phone, to make sure you switch unused appliances off. You could use cheaper timer plugs to schedule turning appliances off.

Install a smart thermostat

• Smart thermostats can make your heating more efficient by only warming the rooms you are using.
• They learn how long it takes to heat your home, so they can have it at the right temperature at exactly the right time.
• They can also be controlled by your phone, which means you won’t have to come back to a cold home.
• If you installed room thermostats, programmers and thermostatic radiator valves, you could save around £75 a year.

Personally, I use a Nest thermostat in my home.

Turn down your thermostat

• Almost half the money spent on energy bills is absorbed by heating and hot water costs.
• Turning your heating down by just one degree could save up to £80 a year.

Buy efficient appliances

• Throwing out a perfectly good appliance won’t save you much money but when it is time to swap, going for one with a high energy-efficiency rating can be worth the investment.
• An A+++ washing will typically use £65 less energy than an A+ one over an 11-year product lifespan.
• A modern, efficient dishwasher will typically cost around £7 less a year to run compared to an older model.
• An A+++ fridge freezer will save around £320 in energy bills over its lifetime compared to an A+ model.

Install a new boiler

• You can save energy by upgrading your old boiler to a new A-rated condensing boiler with a programmer, room thermostat and thermostatic radiator controls.
• Based on fuel prices in March 2019, a detached house upgrading from a G-rated boiler could save around £300 a year.

Wash clothes at a lower temperature

• Washing at 30 degrees rather than 40 degrees can help reduce your energy usage, and if you can cut out one wash cycle per week you’ll clip £5 off your annual energy bill.

Be smarter about water

• You can save around £25 a year by washing up in a bowl rather than using a running tap.
• Buying a more efficient shower head can save you as much as £18 per person a year on energy bills, plus an additional amount if you have a water meter.
• If you fit a shower timer in your bathroom, you could save up to £7 per person each year by cutting just one minute off every shower.

Invest in double glazing

• Double glazing insulates your home from the cold and helps reduce your heating bill, as well as keeping the noise out.
• If your semi-detached home is entirely single-glazed, you could save as much as £110 a year by installing A-rated double glazing.

Draught-proof your property

A cold draught can cause your home to lose heat, which makes it more tempting to turn the heating up. Draught excluders or draught-proofing kits are a good way to prevent this.

1. Seal cracks in floors and skirting boards, line your letterbox and block an unused chimney to reduce your heating bills by up to £35 a year.
2. If you don’t have double glazing, you can buy plastic lining for your windows to save energy and keep more heat in.

Insulate the roof

• Insulating your roof can stop heat escaping from your home however the process can be complicated so it may be best to employ an expert to do this.
• While insulating your loft can cost several hundreds of pounds, it can also shave around £135 off your energy bills each year if you live in a typical semi-detached house.

Monitor your usage

1. Keeping a watchful eye on your consumption levels can help you decide if and when you have to change the way you use energy.
2. Installing a Smart Meter lets you track your consumption with accurate and real-time information.

Follow the guidance in this blog and look forward to lower home gas and electricity bills. You know it makes sense.*

* The contents of this blog are for information purposes only and do not constitute individual advice. You should always seek professional advice from a specialist. All information is based on our current understanding of taxation, legislation, regulations and case law in the current tax year. Any levels and bases of relief from taxation are subject to change. Tax treatment is based on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future. This blog is based on my own observations and opinions.