4 Top Tips for Making Your Home More Energy Efficient

With the cold weather upon us, here are some top tips to be more energy efficient and reduce your carbon footprint:1. Solar PanelsHave you considered installing solar panels?  This is a great option if you are not looking to move in the short to medium term.  Once installed, the solar panel system will drastically cut your electricity bills.  Your system maybe eligible for the government backed Feed-In Tariffs which means you get paid for the electricity you generate (whether you use it or not) and if you have a surplus of electricity, you can sell it back to the grid. Solar panels come in different types which can generate more or less power.  Find out more about solar panels here: BayWa r.e. Renewable Energy2. Replace your old gas boilerOn average, boilers account for 55% of what you spend on your energy bills.  This will inevitably be more if your boiler is old an inefficient.  Replacing it with a new A-rated condensing boiler could save you £105 to £310 per year assuming the old boiler is rated D to G respectively.3. Thermostats and controlsIt is very easy to neglect the thermostats and controls through the year.  Having the heating programmed to come on only when you need it and only for the areas of your home will represent a substantial saving. Make a point to review your thermostats and controls to ensure they are optimally set up.  For example, whenever we go away for a weekend or longer, we will turn the thermostat down to it's lowest setting and turn the hot water off.4. Draft ProofingAfter living in our home for a few months, we took note of all the draughts in our home and decided to take action.  The worst culprit was the front door.  The hallway was constantly cool which had an impact on our house thermostat as it is in the hallway!  We went to our local DIY store and bought a whole bunch of draft excluding products, for the front door and for other areas that needed draft proofing.  Since then, we don't feel the draft in the hallway any more and I believe this alone has saved us a lot of money in energy bills.Hope these tips have given you some ideas of what you can do to make your home more energy efficient. Or perhaps you have already implemented some of these or other ideas to help reduce your energy.  Either way, please share your stories and ideas below.
Disclosure: This is a collaboration.  Image from BayWa r.e. Renewable Energy.