Tips and Tricks to Save Money on Your Energy Bill

Energy bills are on the rise and the cost of living is along with it. And it has left many of us thinking, what are the best ways to save money on your energy bill. Especially in the colder months.

We are here to help! We have assembled a list of 14 tips and tricks to save money on gas bills and save money on electricity bills.

How to save money:

1- Turn off your Lights:

Does turning off lights save money?

It’s a common tip when considering your energy bill, but its effectiveness is not to be doubted. There are many benefits of turning off lights when not in use, by following this tip, you can save roughly £25 a year. And this figure can rise even further if you make the smart choice of making the most of natural lighting.

Keep the lights off completely during the day and only use them when you need to, and you will be saving a neat amount.

2- Energy Efficient Light Bulbs:

But what about when you do need to use your lights? How do I make this more efficient? It’s simple! Energy-efficient light bulbs are a quick and easy solution. Or even solar lights that you can put in your garden or near windows. By doing this, you can reduce the amount of energy that your lights are using every day. And those savings do add up!

Why not visit our Shop Lighting selection on our website or Shop Smart Lighting

3- Get LED Christmas Lights:

How do LED lights save money?

It’s Christmas time! And no doubt some of you are putting up lights and decorations. One big tip is to make sure you are using LED Christmas lights over incandescent ones. LED Christmas lights are cheaper to run, and are 80-90% more efficient compared to incandescent, making them the best options.

Or if you want to save as much as possible, maybe consider not putting up lights this year.

4- Switch off devices at the Plug:

We all know it is easier to put a device on standby or to power it down, but in most cases, these devices are still using energy. What you want to be doing is switching off your devices at the plug when you aren’t using them. It’s a quick and easy way to save some cash, around £65 a year by doing.

5- Smart Plugs:

Sometimes we can forget to switch our devices off, or it can be a bit of a struggle going around and doing it as you’re about to go out or go to sleep. But there’s a super easy solution to this. Smart plugs are a great addition to your home, that can save a lot of money in the long run.

With a smart plug, you can turn all your appliances off remotely or even with a timer. It’s as simple as setting it up on your phone.

You can Shop Smart Home with Stock Must Go, update your recent Smart Lighting, Smart Security and more.

6- Don’t charge your devices overnight:

Is it bad to charge devices overnight?

We all do it. It is easy to put your phone on charge before you go to bed and forget about it. But charging your phone overnight wastes electricity and is very wasteful when it comes to your energy consumption. Your phone only takes a couple of hours to charge. And charge times are only becoming shorter with new technologies. Rather than putting it on charge before you sleep, you should charge it during the day (and perhaps with a power bank) and take it off charge once done.

7- Eco-Modes:

Speaking of eco-modes, your washing machine or dishwasher probably has one. You should check if any of your household appliances have one, and if so, use it. Washing machines, dishwashers, tumble dryers and other appliances use a hefty amount of energy, so using eco-mode can save quite a lot.

8- Limit Appliance Usage:

When it comes to devices like washing machines, dishwashers, and tumble dryers, you should be limiting their usage as much as you can. You should avoid using a tumble dryer completely as they have some of the highest energy consumption rates among appliances (roughly 3kW an hour). You should opt for drying racks or other methods and save roughly £70 a year.

The same applies to washing machines. By saving up your washing for a week, using your washing machine once a week or using lower temperatures and cycles, you can save up to £34 a year. Also, for your dishwasher, try using it once a week and only when it is full. This could save you up to £17 a year. Or even hand-wash your dishes and take that number even higher.

9- Energy Monitor:

Are energy monitors worth it?

Or if you aren’t very keen on doing the math, an energy monitor is another top option. With an energy monitor, you can easily see how much you are spending a day on energy costs. An energy monitor usually costs around £15 but is a useful tool for tracking your costs and energy consumption.

10- Turn Down the Thermostat:

One thing you will also want to keep track of is your thermostat. It can be tempting to turn it up in the cold but turning it down even by small amounts can help you save big. 18 degrees is a good amount throughout the year. And by dropping the thermostat by even a small amount can save around £115 a year.

11- Better Control Your Heating:

Not keen on limiting your heating? Then maybe consider better methods of controlling it. One way, and a way we have mentioned, is with a thermostat. A smart thermostat that you can control through your phone is a top option. Letting you easily set time frames for heating or shutting it on or off remotely. Or you can even consider radiator valves.

Letting you easily shut off radiators in rooms you aren’t using. Some of these methods can be a bit pricey but will help you save roughly £180 a year.

12- Choose an Air Fryer or Microwave:

What are the benefits of an air fryer?

You should consider using a microwave or air fryer over an oven, not only because it is easier, but as it is more efficient. Ovens take quite a bit of time to fully heat up and have higher cooking times, along with heating the whole oven. In comparison, air fryers and microwaves are a lot smaller and more powerful. Making cooking times quicker and thus using less energy. It isn’t a massive amount saved but can still make a difference.

If you do prefer the oven, then a few tips are not to cook from frozen. Let your food defrost a bit first before cooking and lower the cooking time. Or even batch-cook meals in advance rather than cooking and using your oven multiple times throughout the week.

Make sure to check out our Shop Kitchen selection, and update your appliances today!

13- Only Boil What You Need:

If you like a hot drink or two throughout the day, make sure you are only boiling the amount you need. It seems like a small difference, but over a year doing this can save you £13. Even more, if you choose to tone down on how many drinks you have.

You can make this even more efficient by putting an aerator on your tap as well. By limiting the amount of water, you use with your tap, you can save around £30 a year.

14- Water-Efficient Shower:

How does a water-efficient shower head work?

Saving the amount of water when you shower can save you quite a lot over a year too. And there are a few effective methods to do so. The first is by getting a water-efficient shower head. Not only are you cutting down the amount of hot water you use, but it’ll still feel like you’ve had a strong shower.

By reducing the amount of time, you spend showering, you can save a lot. Reducing your shower time down to four minutes can save you £95 a year! And if you swap your occasional bath for a shower, you can save an additional £20 as well.