Ways for You to Save Energy in the Home

The recent energy crisis is no laughing matter, causing a double whammy of fear. Gas and electric prices are soaring, just as the winter months begin, putting an extra strain on wallets around Christmastime, and the little Gretna on our shoulder is saying we are killing the planet with too much energy anyway. 

But the little things like unplugging the TV at night can feel tedious and like you’re not getting a lot done (you are!), so here are a few bigger things you can do in your home to make sure that you don’t need to wear your cardigan to bed. Read on to find out the best tips to making your home as efficient as possible. 

Install a smart thermostat

More than anything, saving energy is about monitoring what you’re using, as well as controlling what you’re doing. Only ever turning on the heating when you feel cold is alright until you’re busy with something, a gaming session or doing the housework and you don’t even notice it feels like the Sahara in your living room until you’re finished. 

A smart thermostat will save you energy by only heating the rooms you are using, on top of keeping your rooms at a pre-set temperature, rather than keep heating until you’re living in a sauna. Modern boilers will also do this, but the main perk of smart thermostats is that you can control them from your phone, so if you are getting stifled by your heating, you don’t even need to get up to turn it back down and if you’re out, say at work, you can turn the heating on when you’re leaving the office, ready to walk in from the snow to a cosy home. 

They can also learn how long it will take to heat your home, so that they can intuit when you will need it. Gaining a smart thermostat can save you around £75 in energy a year. 

Replace your boiler

Boilers are very old pieces of tech that often have a long lifespan, meaning that homeowners and landlords install them and forget about them. Between various tenants saying to themselves that they’ll handle it eventually, it’s likely your boiler is wasting away without you noticing, not heating to the best of its ability or outright breaking. 

Suppliers like Duffy Heating offer services to help you replace your boiler, with the newest boilers being offered giving a far more efficient performance – up to 30%. With a new A-rated condensing boiler you could save around £300 a year on your energy bills. 

Look for features like a programmer, room thermostats and radiator controls to help you use less heat when you don’t need it.

Insulate your roof

This can be a pricey option, as it’s definitely best left to the professionals, but a typical semi-detached house could do with roof insulation. Heat will often escape through the roof, since heat rises, allowing over £135 of heating to get away. 

With costs in the few hundreds, it is definitely an option that is an investment for the long term.