Cutting your energy bills at home without spending much

Start by knowing where the energy goes

• Heating and hot water are usually the biggest share of a household's energy use in a cold climate, so that is where small changes add up most.
• Read your meter or smart meter display for a week. Note the reading each morning and evening to see your baseline and what a normal day looks like.
• Check your tariff. Compare what you pay per unit and the standing charge with what is available. Switching or moving to a fixed deal is free, though prices change, so compare at the time.

Heating

• Turn the thermostat down by one degree. Most people do not notice the difference, and it is one of the most commonly recommended savings. Around 18 to 21 degrees is comfortable for most healthy adults. Older people, babies and anyone unwell may need it warmer.
• Use the timer. Heat the home for when you are in it and awake, not all day. Set the heating to come on a little before you get up or get home.
• Use radiator valves. Thermostatic radiator valves let you keep spare rooms and hallways cooler. Close the doors of rooms you are not heating.
• Bleed radiators that are cold at the top. Trapped air stops them heating fully.
• Do not block radiators with sofas or long curtains. Tuck curtains behind or on the sill.
• Close curtains at dusk to keep heat in, and open them on sunny days to let free warmth through the windows.

Draughts

• Find draughts with the back of your hand or a lit incense stick on a still day, around windows, doors, letterboxes, loft hatches and skirting boards.
• Self-adhesive foam strips for windows and doors, brush strips for the bottom of doors, and a letterbox brush are inexpensive.
• A draught excluder or rolled towel along the bottom of a door works too.
• Keep deliberate ventilation clear. Air bricks, trickle vents and extractor fans are there to prevent damp and condensation. Do not seal them.

Hot water

• Shorter showers save both water and the energy that heats it. A timer or a four-minute song helps.
• Do not leave the hot tap running while washing up or shaving.
• Insulate the hot water cylinder if you have one and it is bare. A jacket is cheap.
• Fix dripping hot taps. Often it is just a washer.

Kitchen

• Only boil the water you need in the kettle.
• Keep lids on pans and match the pan to the hob ring.
• Use the microwave, slow cooker or air fryer for small portions rather than heating a whole oven.
• Batch cook when the oven is on anyway.
• Keep the fridge and freezer at the right temperature and defrost the freezer if ice has built up.

Laundry and dishes

• Wash clothes at 30 degrees for everyday loads. Modern detergents work well at lower temperatures. Use hotter washes for towels, bedding and heavily soiled items when needed.
• Run full loads in the washing machine and dishwasher, and use the eco programme.
• Dry outside or on a rack when you can rather than in a tumble dryer, but open a window or use an extractor when drying indoors to avoid damp.

Lighting and electronics

• Switch to LED bulbs as old ones fail. They use far less electricity.
• Turn appliances off at the wall rather than leaving them on standby, especially older televisions, games consoles and chargers. Check that anything which needs to stay on, such as a router or a recording box, is left alone.
• Turn lights off when you leave a room.

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