Save money on your electric bill

How the Average Home Electricity Bill Can Be Reduced by 15%

Several ways the average home electricity bill can be reduced by 15%

Save about £240 a year with LED lightbulbs

The savviest buy you make this year could be a box of new light bulbs. An investment in the latest LED super-efficient bulbs could save you £240 a year and pay for itself within five months.

These bulbs, which are made up of LEDs (light-emitting diodes), are about 10 times more efficient at converting electricity into light than the old-fashioned filament variety. This explains the difference in the wattage needed.

So, to replace a traditional 60W bulb you need just a 6W LED bulb.

Although they are more expensive to buy than traditional light bulbs and other “low energy” types of bulb, such as those that work more like fluorescent lights, they consume so much less electricity that you will quickly recoup your outlay in lower bills.

People might not know just how easy being more efficient can be – by simply changing your light bulbs. Such small changes to the home can have a positive impact on people’s finances

Turn off lights

Turn your lights off when you’re not using them. If you switch a light off for just a few seconds, you will save more energy than it takes for the light to start up again, regardless of the type of light. This will save you around £13 on your annual energy bills.

Spend less time in the shower

Spending one minute less in the shower each day will save around £8 off your energy bills each year, per person. With a water meter this could save a further £12 off annual water and sewerage bills. If everyone in a four person family did this it would lead to a total saving of £80 a year.

Careful in your kitchen

You can save nearly £50 a year just by using your kitchen appliances more carefully:

Use a bowl to wash up rather than a running tap and save £30 a year in energy bills.

Only fill the kettle with the amount of water that you need and save around £7 a year.

Cutback your washing machine use by just one cycle per week and save £5 a year on energy, and a further £7 a year on metered water bills.

Wash laundry with cold water.  Washing clothing in cold water instead of hot can save about £120 per year.

Air-dry clothing.  Line-drying  laundry or using an indoor clothes airer can reduce your average daily electricity cost from about £1.90 to £1.48.

There’s nothing that heats up a house faster than a preheating oven and a few pans on the stove top. Slow cookers, on the other hand, use less energy and won’t turn your kitchen into, well, an oven. Go retro with a crock pot!

Draught-proof your home

You’ll be amazed at the difference in room temperature that wooden blinds can make.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, just draught-proofing your doors can save about £25 a year on heating bills. Draught-excluder strips retail for just £7.99 for the bottom of each external door and a roll of soft foam draught-proofing tape to stick around the door frame for £4.99. Or insulate your home cheaply and effectively with a cold-protection curtain from the Ethical Superstore. This ultra-thin heat-reflecting curtain, which costs £3.33, is easy to hang on a curtain rail or tensioned cord, and can be cut to size.

Take a few minutes completing the online questionnaire at www.energysavingtrust.org.uk and receive a personalised report showing you how much energy and money you can save in your home.

The devices quietly running up your energy bills

The Energy Saving Trust estimates that an average household will spend up to £80 a year powering appliances left on standby and not in use.

Annual energy usage while on standby:

Wireless Router (e.g. BT Hub) – £21.92

Printer (Laser) – £18.26

Set-top (Satellite) – £18.26

Amplifier – £12.18

Compact Hi-Fi – £12.18

iPad charger – £12.18

Nintendo Wii – £12.18

Set-top box (Freeview) – £7.31

Alarm Clock – £6.09

Microsoft Xbox 360 – £6.09

Modem – £6.09

Sony PlayStation 3 – £6.09

Air freshener plug-in – £4.87

CD player / Tuner – £4.87

Television (Plasma) – £4.87

Video Player – £4.87

Inkjet printer – £4.26

Desktop PC – £3.65

Nintendo DS – £3.65

Oven (Electric) – £3.65

Microwave – £3.04

Television (CRT & LCD) – £3.04

Mobile phone charger – £2.44

PC monitor (CRT) – £2.44

Electric toothbrush – £1.22

Childs night light – £0.73

 

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