We all love saving money on our bills. Here are some handy hints to help you save money on your heating and hot water.
You can also visit Energy Saving Trust and Citizens Advice for some independent advice on how to reduce your energy spend.
If you’re out for the day, turn the heating off so that you’re not keeping an empty home warm. Likewise, during the night when you’re wrapped up in bed, you probably don’t need to have the heating on so you can either turn it down or off completely.
The thermostat detects the temperature in your home and turns the heating on when it becomes too cold. Therefore, it’s important to make sure that the thermostat isn’t blocked by anything such as furniture or curtains so that it can do its job properly.
Try and set your thermostat to the lowest comfortable temperature. Some studies show that turning the thermostat down by just 1°C can reduce your heating bills by 10%. However, don’t reduce it too much and make sure that you are still warm!
Once you’re happy with the temperature setting on your thermostat, you shouldn’t have to change it. Remember, when it’s cold outside, you don’t need to change the thermostat as the heating system should heat your home to the same temperature.
If you’ve got an MVHR system (Mechanical Ventilation with Heat Recovery) installed in your home, then it is much more energy efficient to keep your windows closed.
If you don’t have a dishwasher (or don’t use it) then you can save a lot of money by using a bowl when you wash up instead of having running hot water.
As well as wasting a lot of water, a dripping hot tap will also increase your heating bills. Make sure that the tap is turned off or change to washer if required.
As you have a modern home, it is likely that your water appliances are already quite water efficient. However, make sure that if you replace the shower head, it is a water efficient model which will greatly reduce the amount of hot water that you use.
Having a shower will typically use much less hot water than taking a bath.
