Home Improvement

Saving £££'s On Energy Around The Home

Energy prices being so high make people look to find ways of cutting down their usage – especially considering cutting down your consumption means spending less money. Here we look at a few simple ways of ensuring you can reduce the amount of energy you need to buy…

1. Using the Off button

Many items are easily switched to standby, but consider turning them off instead – meaning there is no power going to them at all. Even though on standby appliances such as; computers, microwaves, stereos and televisions, use very little electricity – switching them all off will make more of an impact on your energy bill than you might expect.

2. Turn down the temperature

Washing clothes at a lower temperature, turning down your thermostat and heating your water to a lower temperature – these things will all help to reduce the energy used to heat up your home, your water and your washing machine, therefore saving you more money than you might think.

3. Insulation Insulation Insulation

Insulation in the home is quicker and cheaper than it seems – and it is an effective way of reducing heat loss in your home, as a home without insulation will lose a lot of heat. Simple things like wrapping up your hot water tank in a jacket, will keep in the heat of your water, without using extra energy to heat it up. Cavity wall insulation, and loft insulation are also effective ways of keeping heat in your house warm without needing the thermostat turned right up. Try draught excluders and thick curtains at windows and doors to keep that precious heat in.

4. Double Glazing

Along with insulation around the windows double glazing can help keep that heat in your home. Where single glazing is just one pane of glass between you and the outdoors, double glazed windows will hold a vacuum of air between the two panes – to help stop drafts and keep that heat from escaping, and with triple glazing also widely available, no heat will be escaping from your home.

5. Solar Panels

Fitting photo voltaic solar panels to your home will mean you are able to produce your own energy, therefore your use of mains energy will be decreased meaning energy bills will go down too. Solar panels attached to your home convert the sun’s rays into electricity. Solar panelling may seem to some quite expensive but there are benefits to this as over the course of 25 years the government will pay you for the electricity you are producing from your home, meaning a saving on energy and a small bonus from the government for helping to save the planet.

Where some people may be unsure about these schemes is cost; however the government do have schemes running where you can get grants to make these changes to your home, from cavity wall insulation to loft insulation, and boiler replacements if they are not as energy efficient as they could be, and fitted by professional installers it is a worthwhile investment.

  Electrical

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