{"id":2849,"date":"2016-07-08T09:33:00","date_gmt":"2016-07-08T08:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/?p=2849"},"modified":"2016-07-08T09:33:00","modified_gmt":"2016-07-08T08:33:00","slug":"15-energy-saving-tips-for-the-home","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/15-energy-saving-tips-for-the-home\/","title":{"rendered":"15 Energy-Saving Tips for the Home"},"content":{"rendered":"

Although it\u2019s the height of summer now, autumn and winter will soon be here and you\u2019ll be thinking about the extra energy costs. To head these concerns off at the pass, here\u2019s 15 tips \u2013 that you can adopt now \u2013 to reduce those bills.
\n
\nTurn off the heating earlier <\/strong>\u2013 it takes around 30 minutes for you to notice that the heating\u2019s gone off, so turn it off half an hour before going to bed.<\/p>\n

Lose a degree \u2013 <\/strong>turning the thermostat down by 1\u00b0C can save you up to \u20ac100 a year and you really won\u2019t notice the difference.<\/p>\n

Choose your new boiler carefully <\/strong>\u2013 if it\u2019s time for a new one, think about an energy-efficient condensing boiler. Condensing boilers use less\u00a0fuel and you can choose from that use mains gas, home heating oil<\/a> or liquid petroleum gas. The cost of each fuel source does fluctuate, so this should be looked at.<\/p>\n

Use a clothes horse \u2013 <\/strong>if you dry your clothes on radiators, it prevents heat from getting into the room, making your boiler work harder for longer.<\/p>\n

Move furniture away from radiators <\/strong>\u2013 furniture foam is a great insulator \u2013 it soaks up the heat rather than letting it into the room!<\/p>\n

Draw your curtains<\/strong> \u2013 this keeps the warmth in; if possible, tuck curtains behind radiators.<\/p>\n

Insulate your loft \u2013 <\/strong>your loft or roof accounts for a quarter of your heat loss. You need at least 12 inches of insulation, ideally.<\/p>\n

Insulate the walls<\/strong> \u2013 walls account for 35% of your lost heat! If you have cavity walls, look into having them filled.<\/p>\n

Double up your windows <\/strong>\u2013 if you\u2019re looking for new windows, think about double or triple glazing. You could also think about putting an extra pane of glass into an existing window; it\u2019s a lot cheaper and almost as effective.<\/p>\n

Get lagging<\/strong> \u2013 insulate your hot water tank, either by fitting a jacket around it or buying one that\u2019s pre-insulated. Lag your pipes as well; this reduces heat loss and helps to prevent freezing.<\/p>\n

Use energy-efficient lightbulbs <\/strong>\u2013 lighting is around 7% of your energy budget. Energy-efficient bulbs use up to 80% less electricity than old-style filament bulbs.<\/p>\n

Cook smart<\/strong> \u2013defrost food in the microwave, use a pressure cooker or a slow cooker, cut food into smaller chunks, use a toaster rather than a grill whenever possible and only boil as much water as you need. If you do use your grill or oven, leave the door open to get some extra heat into the place!<\/p>\n

Keep your cool <\/strong>\u2013 take care of your fridge and freezer. Defrost both regularly<\/a>, keep them full to save energy and make sure the seals are tight.<\/p>\n

Wash full loads <\/strong>\u2013 this reduces the number of loads. If you have to do a smaller load, use the economy or half load setting. Use the 30\u00b0C setting whenever possible as this uses 75% less energy than the hottest option.<\/p>\n

Only tumble dry when it rains<\/strong> \u2013 driers are a notorious energy guzzler so when it\u2019s dry outside, dry outside! If you have to use your tumble drier, use eco-balls as these create spaces between clothes, allowing heat in and water out more efficiently. Also, clean the filter once a week or so.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Although it\u2019s the height of summer now, autumn and winter will soon be here and you\u2019ll be thinking about the extra energy costs. To head these concerns off at the pass, here\u2019s 15 tips \u2013 that you can adopt now \u2013 to reduce those bills.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[263,3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2849","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-energy-saving","category-tips"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2849"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2849"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2850,"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2849\/revisions\/2850"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.housingenergyadvisor.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}