- Switching to a renewable energy supplier is cheaper than you might think, and easy too.
- Find alternatives to flying: one person taking a round trip from London to New York generates 1.2 tonnes CO2. This is the equivalent to the total electricity consumption of an average family for six months!
- Insulate your walls with either cavity, external or internal wall insulation.
- Drying clothes on the washing line means you don’t use your tumble dryer as much.
- Collect rain water in a water butt: great for the garden and vegetable patch.
- Generate electricity from the sun, and get paid to do it.
- Heat your water using the sun, and get paid to do it.
- Permeable paving prevents water run off, is good for the environment and is exempt from planning permission, unlike conventional paving.
- Use solar energy stored in the Earth to heat your home.
- A chimney balloon can eliminate unwanted draughts if you have an open chimney.
- Changing single glazing for double glazing can save you up to £160 per year.
- If you get too hot, reach for the thermostat before you reach to open the window.
- Moving furniture away from radiators and installing radiator reflectors will stop heat being lost into the wall and allow it to circulate more quickly in the room.
- Turning your thermostat down by one degree saves an average of £85-£90 per year.
- Get a thicker tog duvet for winter, and a thinner one for summer.
- Draughts account for 10-15% of heat lost in a house.
- You can use an energy monitor or install a smart meter so you can have a better understanding of when and where you use the most energy at home.
- Use LED bulbs wherever possible. LED bulbs are 90% cheaper to run than old fashioned bulbs, and 50% cheaper than CFLs on average.
- Only fill the kettle with the amount of water that you need and save around £7 a year.
- Cut back your washing machine use by just one cycle per week and save £5 a year on energy, and a further £7 a year on metered water bills.
- When buying appliances, look for products with a high energy efficiency rating.
- A build up of frost or ice in your freezer can stop it working efficiently, so defrost it regularly.
- Pay attention to the amount of packaging that your food comes in: buying fresh is often healthier, cheaper and better for the environment.
- Spending one minute less in the shower each day saves £10 off your energy bills annually, per person. With a water meter this will save a further £10 per person.
- Use a hippo save-a-flush device.
- If your boiler is older than 10 years, then it is likely you will save a substantial amount on your fuel costs by upgrading it to a more efficient model.
- Taking showers instead of baths can reduce your water use.
- Flow restrictors can reduce water use by almost half.
- Insulating your pipes costs around £20 DIY, and will pay for itself within two years.
- Set your hot water tank thermostat to 60°C: hot enough to kill bacterial in the tank, but cool enough to save you money.
- Check tyre pressure regularly to save up to £15 per year.
- Cycle instead of drive: it means 100% carbon savings, cost savings and health benefits!
- Loft insulation saves £140 per year on average and grants are often available to help with the cost
- Switch off standby: you can save around £30 a year just by remembering to turn your appliances off standby mode
- Set your thermal radiator valves (TRVs) to 5 in the room you use most, 3 in other rooms, and to “frost” setting in rooms that you don’t use at all.
- If you want to turn your loft into a habitable space, roof insulation can be fixed between the rafters using rigid insulation boards.