10 ways to reduce your home energy bills

The energy costs for heating and lighting our homes, and using all our modern-day appliances, are rising dramatically this year. If you’re a homeowner, you’re likely to be increasingly aware of the cost of energy, but there are ways you can save, and start reducing your home energy bill straightaway, and the benefits are doing so are two-fold.

Save money from day one

Firstly, saving money on bills puts more money in your pocket in the short-term. And, especially if you’re looking to move, it means you can put more money aside for spending on the new property or to help deal with the expenses of moving.

You’ll increase the value of your property

Secondly, making your home more energy efficient, dramatically increases its value and appeal to buyers. If you’re thinking of selling, you should know that buyers increasingly looking for homes with energy saving features. Research by Money Supermarket shows that there is a correlation between an improved EPC rating and a higher property value, based on average property prices in England.

Homeowners are becoming more energy aware than they’ve ever been and will often look for homes that have eco features. By making some simple changes, should you come to sell, you’ll get a head-start with potential buyers.

10 effective ways you can reduce your home energy bill

There will be many more ways than 10, but these are our main, highly effective measures. Some harder to implement than others, but there’s something here for every homeowner, and maybe food for thought for the future too.

1. Install smart thermostats

Make your heating more efficient by installing smart thermostats. Smart thermostats can make your heating more efficient by only warming the rooms you use at the time you want to use them. The smart thermostats work by learning how long it takes to heat your home and then heating it to the temperature you specify. You can even control the thermostats with your phone so you’ll never have to come home to a cold house. You could be looking at an approximate saving of £75 per year.

2. Improve your home’s insulation

Installing and improving insulation around your home will reduce heat loss, meaning you’ll need less energy to heat it to a comfortable temperature. From little fixes, like placing an insulation jacket around a hot water cylinder and fitting carpets, to professionally installed wall, floor and loft insulation.

The investment in professionally installed insulation is a consideration, but the benefits will be immediate, as will the increase in the value of your home.

3. Get the boiler serviced

Heating your home and hot water account for around half of a home’s energy bill. So, getting your boiler serviced regularly will keep it running in tip top condition maintain maximum efficiency. A service cleans up any deposits that have built up in the boiler, and ensures the internal combustion area is clean, allowing the boiler to light and burn efficiently.

4. Put up thermal curtains/blinds

Thermal or thick, good quality curtains and blinds, keep out the sun in the daytime, and by the same token, keep out the cold draughty air. Drawing the curtains or blinds at night will reduce the heat loss from your home, and typically from your windows, meaning you keep warmer for longer, without having to turn the heat up and spend more on energy.

5. Install solar panels

It’s an investment to install solar electricity panels, or photovoltaics (PV) as they’re also known. The panels capture energy from sunlight and convert the energy into electricity you can use in your home or sell to the grid. By installing solar panels, you are able to generate your own electricity. You can find out if it’s going to be worth the investment by checking out a solar panel calculator.

6. Draft-proof your home

Draught-proofing your home is one of the easiest, cheapest ways to save energy and reduce fuel bills, and it’s something you can do yourself. All those small drafts around your home add up, so find out where they are and plug them up. For example, drafts under windowsills can be plugged with flexible sealant, brush strips can be used in the letterbox, keyhole covers used around doors, underlay under carpets and you can make your loft hatch a tighter fit with adhesive tape.

7. Install double or triple glazing

One of the most effective ways to make your home more energy efficient is to install double, or triple, glazing. Not only will your home be warmer, saving on fuel bills, it will be quieter and you’ll most likely benefit from less condensation too. Quality, double-glazed windows are one of the qualities homebuyers particularly look for, so if you don’t already have them, they will be an investment for immediate fuel savings and if you choose to sell later down the line.

8. Use radiator thermostats

Some experts say that using radiator thermostats can, in theory, save up to 40% on your heating bills. Having thermostats on every radiator in your house enables you to turn the heating down, or off, in each room, which even by small amounts will make a difference. Thermostats, provided you use them, give you greater control over each radiator so they’re not all heated up to the max unnecessarily.

9. LED lighting

It’s a fact, LED lighting saves money over other types of lighting – in two ways. LEDs need much less electricity to power them than traditional light bulbs and energy efficient light bulbs, but they also last longer than other bulbs, including halogen. By changing to LEDs, you can’t help but make savings.

10. Smart plugs

The Energy Saving Trust says we waste £35 a year on appliances left on standby. Smart plugs help you save money because you can use them to see how much electricity your wasting on the appliances plugged in, and, if they’re fiddly to turn off, you can use your smartphone to turn them off. Even if you’re not at home, smart plugs enable you to turn appliances off, which is also safer.

There are so many ways to make your home more energy efficient, benefitting you in the short and long term. And even if you put just a few of these measures in place, you will reduce your energy bills as well as become more conscious of the energy you’re using in your home.

Until next time.