Energy efficiency is something that is increasingly becoming more and more important in everyday life for not only reducing your household’s carbon footprint but also reducing your household bills. Making your home more energy-efficient sounds like something that could be both confusing and time-consuming when in fact it is mainly rather fast and simple.
There is a range of different methods you can use to go about increasing your home’s energy efficiency such as investing in more economic devices, changing your energy tariff to a cheaper rate, upgrading your old boiler, and more.
Invest in economic devices
When buying electronic devices now, most devices tend to have a higher energy efficiency rating than their older counterparts. This is often indicated in the form of a letter from the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) and will range from G – A. However some devices, such as washers and dryers, have ratings between G – A+++.
One of the largest consumers of energy in your home will be your washer and dryer, with these devices being shown to use around 13% of your home’s energy. If your washer and dryer is an older device you may find that it’s chewing through your energy and causing a drop in the energy efficiency of your home and it may be time for a newer model. When shopping for a new washer and dryer it’s always best to check the energy efficiency label that will be located either on the device instore or on the device page online. You will want to aim for a device that is between A+ and A+++ ideally, this will give you the best energy efficiency available for your price range.
Lower your thermostat
Lowering your thermostat is also a great start to making your home more energy-efficient and saving on your bills. It’s shown that for every 1 degree you turn down your thermostat you save 3% on your heating bill, meaning there is a great chance for savings by turning your thermostat down a couple of degrees.
Change your energy tariff
Changing your energy tariff is often one of the first and best things that you can do when trying to increase your home’s energy efficiency. Changing your tariff will allow you to save money each month which can then be put back into the rest of your efforts to increase your home’s energy efficiency.
Switching your energy tariff is quite a simple process and only requires you to have a few pieces of key information such as your postcode and a recent energy bill from your current provider however this can vary depending on how you change your tariff. Often the best places to change your energy tariff and view all the best deals for your current circumstances are on one of the many price comparison sites that can be found online.
Upgrading your old boiler
With your heating using the most energy in your home, it’s important to make sure that your boiler is as efficient as it can be. Most older boilers tend to have an efficiency rating of around 60-70%, this means that at most up to 40% of energy is being lost which is a huge waste of energy and money. When you compare this to modern boilers that are often between 89-94% you’re only losing 11% of your energy at most this could mean a saving of up to £250 a year on your heating bills. When looking to upgrade your boiler to a more modern alternative it’s best to start researching boilers so you can see which best fits your home. Some popular brands that you can start to look at are Ideal Boilers, Vaillant Boilers, Worcester Bosch Boilers, and Heatline Boilers.
Replace Incandescent Bulbs
Replacing your old incandescent bulbs is a great way to increase your home’s energy efficiency but can come with an upfront cost to begin with. With older incandescent bulbs not only lasting for around 1,000 hours of light on average they also use up considerably more energy. Compare this to a CFL (Compact fluorescent lamp) that lasts on average for 6,000 hours and uses 5x less energy than an incandescent bulb. As mentioned above these bulbs do cost more but over time you will see a greater return by saving on your energy bills than your initial cost to buy these bulbs.
Draft excluders
Draft excluders are both a simple and great solution for making sure that heat is staying in the most important rooms in your homes. They’re great to place in living rooms and bedrooms, ensuring that the heat being generated by your boiler for these rooms stays in there keeping you and the room warm. Draft excluders are widely available both online and in stores and can cost as little as a couple of pounds.
Insulate your loft
Finally, insulating your loft. Other than replacing your old boiler this is probably one of the most expensive options when it comes to increasing efficiency. With £300 being the average cost of insulating your loft it can seem like a huge upfront investment however within a couple of years you will see a return on investment and then some on your initial £300 cost.
Following these steps is a great way to being your journey to a more energy-efficient home and a great saving on your energy bills all year round.
