Hands up all those who don’t like to save money. Nobody? Well, in that case, you’re going to want to stick around!

We’ve got you savvy savers covered, with some simple changes around the home (40 to be exact) that’ll boost your finances by decreasing your energy usage.

Save Energy

1. Switch to LED bulbs. They use up to 80% less energy and last longer than regular bulbs, saving you money in the long run.
2. Install an energy monitor. These handy gadgets let you keep an eye on your energy usage and don’t cost too much to buy.
3. Switch your energy supplier. Only 15% of homes change their tariff each year, but you can get a better deal and even cashback with some comparison sites by doing so.
4. Save money with letterbox/keyhole covers and draft excluders to keep heat in and chilly drafts out.
5. If your energy bills are high, loft insulation and cavity wall insulation are worth considering. Check with your energy provider first. Your home could even be eligible for free insulation.
6. If you don’t currently have an A-rated high-efficiency condensing boiler installed, this may be worth considering, as it could help you save as much as £300 a year.

Switch Off & Save Money

7. Appliances still use electricity on standby so don’t stand for it! Saving £30 a year on average is as simple as clicking the off switch.
8. Are you guilty of overcharging? Roughly 49% of us waste electricity and damage rechargeable batteries by doing so. Put a stop to all this by only giving your phones, laptops and other electrical devices as much juice as they need.
9. Leaving appliances switched on unnecessarily will also raise the temperature of your home, meaning that on hot days fridges and freezers need to use more energy to keep cool.

Save While You Cook

10. Switch off your oven five minutes earlier than usual to cook the food in the residual heat.
11. Or instead, in cold weather leave the oven door open as the cooker cools to help heat the kitchen.
12. Use a saucepan the same size as the hob ring to prevent heat from escaping and cover pots with lids where possible.
13. Dirty dishes? Let your dishwasher do the hard work for you – believe it or not, it’s actually more energy-efficient than doing them by hand.
14. Boiling water in your kettle is more efficient than boiling it in a pan. However, you should only boil as much as you need.
15. Avoid positioning your fridge and freezer too close to the cooker or else their motors will struggle to keep them cool and use more energy doing so.
16. Defrost food overnight in the fridge, rather than using the microwave. This saves the microwave from being used and does a better job.
17. Last but not least, keep your freezer full to avoid cooling empty space and making the appliance work harder. Bottles of water and scrunched up newspaper can be used to fill spaces.

Keep Laundry Economical

18. If it’s dry outside, hang your washing out and save between £30 and £100 a year on your tumble dryer running costs.
19. Ironing clothes while they’re still slightly damp makes the job quicker and easier. Emphasis on quicker as using appliances less lets you save money.
20. Be wary when drying clothes on the radiator. It’ll make your boiler work harder and can even cause damp.

Keep Appliances Efficient

21. Tackle limescale regularly. Even a 1.6mm coating of the pesky scaly stuff on your appliance’s heating element can reduce its performance by 12% and even cause it to fail. Not today, limescale.
22. Clean your filters. Vacuum cleaners, cooker hoods, tumble dryers, washing machines, and dishwashers all have filters that’ll perform much more efficiently if they’re clean.
23. Choose eco programs wherever possible. They’re designed to help you save money so make the most of them!
24. Wait until you have a full load before running your washing machine or dishwasher. You’ll use less energy that way than running two half loads.
25. Save money whenever you buy a new appliance. Choose models with the most energy-efficient rating as they’ll be the cheapest to run.
26. Dust the coils at the back of your fridge and freezer. Dusty coils mean your appliance will have to work harder to reach its optimum temperature.
27. You know that appliance manual “filed” in the bottom of a drawer somewhere? It’s worth giving it a read, to check you’re maintaining your appliance as you should. You may even find some handy energy-saving functions you didn’t know about before.
28. Cut your tumble dryer costs by up to 25% using tumble dryer balls, which separate clothes, letting air circulate and soften your fabrics at the same time.
29. Fix appliance faults yourself and save on expensive call out charges. Our handy Advice Centre provides free advice and step-by-step how to videos on fixing hundreds of appliance faults.

Stop Wasting Water

30. Drip, drip, drip… Nope! Fix that leaking tap and you could save over £18 a year.
31. Get shower savvy. Save as much as £70 per year by replacing your shower head with an energy-efficient one and a faucet which includes aerators. Now that’s something to sing about.
32. Turn off the tap whilst brushing your pearly whites. A simple twist of the wrist during your teeth cleaning routine could save a whopping 6 litres of water per minute.
33. Get your butts out! (Water butts we hasten to add.) There’s certainly no shortage of rainfall here in the UK, so collect it to rely less on your taps when watering your garden.
34. Showers use less water than baths. And for the truly committed there’s the “navy shower”. Jump in, get wet, turn the water off while you lather up, and then rinse, all in the space of 3 minutes. Not recommended in cold bathrooms…

Heat Your Home Smarter

35. Insulate your hot water tank; trust us it’s worth it. Stopping heat escaping can cost as little as £15, but save you around £45 a year.
36. Reduce your water temperature (under 60⁰C is ideal). Added bonus: you’ll never burn your hands under the hot tap again.
37. Turn your heating down by 1⁰C and you could see a whopping £75 decrease per year in your heating bills. Worth it.
38. If your radiator is fitted to an external wall, a radiator panel placed onto the wall behind it will reflect heat back into your home. You can even make a DIY version with kitchen foil.
39. For a warmer, quieter, more energy-efficient house with less condensation, double glazed windows are the answer. Double glazed homes save roughly £175 per year on heating.
40. Make sure radiators are turned off in rooms you don’t use often like guest bedrooms, and make sure the doors to these rooms are closed’.

Want more tips to help you save money? Here are three simple saving methods to live by.

Tags: LED Bulbs, Reduce Energy Consumption, Save Money