As much as you might not want to admit it, winter is right around the corner, which can only mean one thing; cold weather. Granted, the Christmas period is a magical time, but if you’re like me, and struggle with cold weather, it can be a nightmare. In an attempt to battle the big freeze, people often use way more gas and electric than is necessary, which can cost a lot of money, especially if you have a big family, and have everyone using their own appliances at once. If you need to save a little money on energy, or simply want some tips as to how to use less energy and be a little better for the environment, then keep reading.
Shop Around
This is the most obvious way to save money on your gas and electricity is to shop around for the best deals. The easiest way to do this is to search through some price comparison websites online and make a note of the cheapest or best value for money deals on your energy. You may even find it cheaper to get your gas and electric from different providers. Granted, it will take some time and patience for you to scour through a lot of deals, but if you save even a small amount of money, it’s sure to be worth it.
Install Roof Insulation
Heat rises, which means that your roof is the place where your home is going to be losing most of its heat. This means that you have to use more energy to heat your home, which will ultimately cost you a lot of money in the long run. To avoid this, you may want to consider having some roof insulation installed, to trap in the heat. Trust me, the cost of having the insulation installed will be a lot less than how much you’re going to spend over the years on extra gas.
Get Double Glazing
Your windows are another place that lets out a lot of heat in your home, especially if they’re only single pane. Glass is a very good heat conductor, so a single pane of glass transfers heat to the outside incredibly easily. Air, on the other hand, is a relatively poor heat conductor, which is why double glazing is such a good idea. With double glazing, you have a layer of air trapped between the two panes of glass, which reduces heat loss through the glass.
Use Your Curtains
If it’s a particularly cold day, it makes a lot of sense to draw your curtains, especially if they’re thick thermal ones, as this will add an extra layer of insulation, and keep heat in your home. On the other hand, if it’s a particularly warm day, it makes sense to keep your windows open and use the sun as a free source of heat for your home.
Unplug Everything
It’s a well-known fact that your television continues to use electricity even when it’s in standby mode, but did you know that all of your other appliances do too? Even if you turn your hair dryer or lamp off whenever you’re not using it, if you haven’t switched it off at the wall, and unplugged it, it will continue to use energy. This means that you are paying to power appliances that you’re not using, so make sure you unplug everything when you’re not using it.
Stay Fridge & Freezer Smart
Your refrigerator and freezer are appliances that you can’t unplug, as you are always using them to keep your food cool and frozen. Because of this, you need to make sure that you’re using it as smart as you can. Make sure that you always close your fridge and freezer doors after you’ve been in them. If you don’t, not only will you waste money by cooling down the entire house, when you want to keep it warm, but you also risk making your food go bad.
Keep Doors Closed
Speaking of ensuring your doors stay closed, you should make sure that the same goes for the ones in your home. If you leave all of the doors open in your house, it makes it much harder to warm up individual rooms, which will mean you have to use more energy to do so. To avoid this, ensure all of the internal doors are closed. If you want a particular room to stay warm, put a thick rug or mat underneath the door, to block any heat from escaping.
Only Heat Essential Rooms
It makes absolutely no sense to have the heating on for every single room in your house if you don’t go in every single room of your house every day. Guest rooms or rooms used just for storage are two of the biggest examples. If you want to save money on energy, turn the radiators off in these rooms, and ensure that their doors stay closed, so less heat escapes into them.
Use Your Oven
Most people tend to close the oven door after cooking a meal. There’s no real reason to do this, apart from habit. Instead of closing your oven door, you might want to consider leaving it open and allowing it to heat up the room as it cools down. Allowing the extractor fan to take the warm air outside is not only a waste of heat but also a waste of money.
Layer Up
There’s no point in having the heating cranked up in your house so that you can walk around your home in shorts and a t-shirt. After all, there’s plenty of time to do that in the summer. Instead, embrace winter-wear and layer up for the festive period. Invest in some cute winter jumpers, some fluffy socks or slippers, and a hoody or two. Turning your thermostat down just a few degrees will save you a lot of money, so it makes sense to do this.
Get Some Throws
The same idea can easily be applied to your bed. If there is a way to make you feel all warm and cosy at night, without using large amounts of energy, then it’s certainly worth considering. Luckily for you, there is a very easy way; Throws. Adding some throws and blankets to your bed will not only make the room look cozy, but it will feel cozy, and not to mention warm, too. Adding some extra insulation to your bed will mean that you can have the heating on a much lower temperature at night, which will save both your wallet and the environment.
Stay Consistent
It makes sense to turn your heating off when you don’t need it, as it will save you money, right? Wrong. It uses a lot more energy to keep warming up your heater every time it gets a bit chilly than it does to keep your heating consistently low. Instead of wasting energy on heating up your home, leave your heating on a low temperature at all times, and turn it up a little on particularly cold days.
Don’t Block Radiators
A lot of people tend to position their couches in front of their radiators in their living room, probably as it is seen as a bit of an eyesore. While this may be more aesthetically pleasing, it is the complete opposite of energy efficient. The heat from your radiator will be absorbed by your couch before it can get to the room, which means that more energy will be required to heat your room up, which (you guessed it!) will cost you a lot of money in the long run.
Block Heat Rising
While you shouldn’t block heat from filling your room, it makes a lot of sense to block heat from rising and escaping through the ceiling, as you’re not on the ceiling, and won’t feel the heat from lower down in the room. To do this, you might want to put a shelf above your radiator, as this will help to keep the heat more in the middle of the room.
Avoid Tumble Drying
As convenient as it is, and as much as you may love it, your tumble dryer uses a lot of electricity to dry your clothes. Instead, it’s a much more energy efficient idea to air dry your clothes in a warm room. Trust me; They will dry a lot quicker than you’re expecting. Just don’t dry them on the radiators themselves, as this will block heat, much like your couch would, and will use more energy.
Replace Your Heater
Finally, one of the best ways to save money on your energy is to have your heater replaced, especially if it’s more than ten years old. There are much more energy efficient heaters out there nowadays, which are guaranteed to use less gas than your current model.
There you have it; Some of the best ways to save money on energy this winter. There’s nothing better than snuggling down to watch a film on a cold winter night, but just remember that you don’t need your radiators working themselves to death to achieve this cozy feeling.
Comments