Tips for reducing household energy bills

With many of us worried by the soaring costs of energy this winter, we’re going to have to find ways to reduce consumption or save on costs. We’ve put together a list of the highest consuming appliances, and where you can cut corners to help reduce bills.

In October, the cost of a kilowatt hour (a measure of electrical energy equivalent to running 1,000 watts for one hour) rose from 28p to 52p, so it’s well worth thinking about how to reduce usage.

Cleaning and laundry

Washing machines, tumble dryers and dishwashers are all essential in a busy household – but they’re high on the list when it comes to energy consumption. Washing machines and dishwashers use a lot of energy to heat the water they use for cleaning, and tumble dryers generate high temperatures for long periods.

For washing machines, try reducing the temperature that you wash at – 40 or even 30 degrees Celsius should get most things clean – and only running a full load.

For dishwashers, again only run a full load and use the Eco setting if you have one. If your machine has a ‘half load’ function and you’re not trying to wash anything very dirty such as pans, then you can usually get away with turning that on as a matter of course. For tumble dryers, the best option there is to reduce usage as much as possible. Dry clothes on the washing line outside as much as possible, and just finish them off in the dryer for a few minutes if necessary.

Fridges and freezers

These ‘cold appliances’ aren’t massive consumers of electricity, but as they’re running 24 hours a day usage can add up. You can’t really reduce your usage here, but if your appliance is a few years old it might be worth investing in a new one. The newer your appliance is, the more energy efficient it will be. You could also consider if you could get away with replacing your old appliance with a smaller one.

Lighting

The obvious advice when it comes to lighting is: don’t light an empty room! This might be a challenge if you have children, but try and encourage them to flip the switch as they leave. Otherwise, make sure you’ve replaced all your old halogen light bulbs with LEDs which are more energy efficient.

Cooking

Electric ovens, hobs, microwaves, kettles – the kitchen can be an energy sink. An easy way to make your cooking more efficient is to batch cook, i.e. make a large quantity of food at the same time and freeze surplus portions. That way, you’re not turning on the oven and heating it up separately for each meal. Microwaves are more efficient than ovens as they don’t require any heating up time and heat the food only rather than the air around it. Using the batch cooking method also helps when you’re busy during the week.

Kettles are also surprisingly power-hungry for their size. The average kettle has a power rating of around 3 kilowatts and will cost 3p per boil (source: Which) – it may not sound much, but it soon adds up! The best option for reducing energy use there is not to boil water unnecessarily, and to only boil the amount  that you need at the time.

For more tips on how to save on energy costs in your home, check out this post from The Energy Trust.

All images (c) Pixabay

By Sara Walker.