Domestic Support

A great place to start is your heating and lighting – as these are the two largest sources of energy consumption. There are lots of small changes you can implement around your home to decrease your consumption.

Install energy efficient bulbs: LED lights are 6-7 times more energy efficient than traditional bulbs as they use 90% less energy (Source: Which). Although the bulbs are slightly more expensive, you’ll quickly see the return on investment on your energy bills.

Service your boiler annually: A poorly operated or maintained boiler can increase your heating costs by 30% or more (Carbon Trust).

Install the right size boiler for your home: Bigger isn’t always better – boilers that are oversized will never reach their full potential as they’re always running a part load so aren’t as efficient.

Don’t heat rooms you don’t need: Where you have an extra room that you don’t use, turn the thermostat right down.

Insulate your home: Install double glazing on windows, free-swing doors and draft excluders around windows and doors. These can all reduce drafts, therefore reducing heating bills.

Throughout the year, the seasons change, and daylight hours and temperatures change with it.

Use daylight when you can: During summer months the days are much longer, so keep blinds open and windows free of obstruction to use as much natural light as possible.

Put timers on lights: If rooms aren’t being used, then timers on lights can save electricity from being wasted.

Program thermostats to only using heating when needed: Review this each time the clocks change to ensure you’re being energy efficient and not wasting heating. For every 1 degree of overheating, these costs rise by 8% (Carbon Trust).

Turn everything OFF: Devices left on standby are still using energy. Turn all your appliances off at the socket so you don’t consume more energy than required.

Let your PC snooze: Enable the auto-sleep mode if it’s unused for more than 10 minutes.

Turn screensavers off: Screensavers actually waste more energy than you think. Use a black screen or no screensaver at all to become more energy efficient.

Check multi-sockets: Remove any plugs that are plugged into multi-sockets but not in use.

Energy efficient appliances: When buying new equipment, always look out for the energy star rating. These can reduce your energy consumption considerably, especially if they are used a lot.

Tumble dryers and washing machines: Only use the tumble dryer when you really need to use it and only use washing machines on a full load.

Don’t leave fridge/freezer doors open: By leaving the door open, heat can enter the appliance, making the appliance work much harder to maintain its temperature.

Position chilled cabinets away from external doors: In the summer months this can decrease your energy efficiency.

Don’t over boil your kettle: Only boil the amount of water required.

Keep doors closed: Closing doors stops heat escaping or cold air entering a room. Use easy to fit door closers and install gap fillers around doors.

Keep heat sources clear: Placing items in front of heaters, radiators and air vents can obstruct heat output and stop the room being adequately heated.

Switch lights off: When leaving a room make sure you switch lights off. There is no point lighting a room when nobody is in it.