Energy Efficiency in the Home – Top 10 Energy Saving Measures
As a company, 2EA helps a lot of commercial clients to save energy; we also understand that the home is just as important as the workplace. That is why we have identified 10 energy saving ideas that you can use in your home to save energy, save money and reduce carbon emissions.
Understanding Energy Efficiency
In the simplest terms, energy efficiency means using less energy to perform the same task.
Imagine a living room has six halogen spotlights in the ceiling. If these lights were left on for 5 hours every evening for a year at £0.3282/kWh, the current fixed rate offered by Octopus Energy*, they would cost £251.57 annually to run. If you were to switch these to LEDs, based on the higher rate, these new lights would cost £14.38 annually. This is energy efficiency in its simplest form and you’d instantly reduce your electricity bill by £237.19.
10 Energy Saving Measures for the Home
- Get a draught excluder – all but the newest properties lose heat through draughts around doors and windows. Proper draught-proofing products for doors and windows, sealed skirting boards and chimney draught excluders can all help to deliver savings.
- Turn off lights and appliances – turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use, including gadgets that are on standby will save a typical household between £50 and £90 a year.
- Cook up kitchen savings – research shows you can cut energy bills by more than £55 a year by setting the washing machine to wash at 30°C, not keeping the water running when you are washing up and only boiling the amount of water you need in the kettle.
- Get an efficient shower head – a water-efficient showerhead can save a family of four around £75 a year on gas for water heating, as well as a further £90 on water bills if you have a water meter.
- Make use of heating controls – turning down a room thermostat by just one degree can save you around £65 per year, while every property can reduce bills by ensuring rooms are only heated as required.
- Get the loft insulated – having at least 270mm (around 10 inches) of loft insulation can save on average up to £180 a year in heating costs.
- Switch to LED’s – LED lighting is much more efficient than the traditional bulbs, typically you will get a return on your investment in less than two years.
- Make use of cavity wall insulation – most properties built after 1920 have a cavity wall, offering the opportunity to save up to £140 on energy builds by installing cavity wall insulation. The initial cost can be about £500, but the measure typically pays for itself in less than four years and also adds to the value of the property.
- Consider renewable technologies – one of the most effective ways to cut energy bills is to generate your own energy.
- Insulate the pipes around your boiler – do you open up the boiler cupboard and find it’s like stepping off a plane on holiday? If that’s the case, it means your hot water pipes are not insulated. You can buy piping insulation from your local DIY store; this will ensure
energy is not wasted and money is saved.
Our Energy Saving Sheets are free to use and can be used monthly or quarterly inconjuction with your organisations maintenance checks. They cover various checks and saving measures for different areas of business including the home. These can be found in our library
*as of February 2022, subject to change
