Top Tips How To Make Your Home More Energy Efficient

1 – Turn the thermostat down

First thing is first, to save energy in your home try to keep your central heating on low, or turn it down just a little to reduce your energy bills. 

Though it is not ideal when you want to keep warm – particularly in the colder winter months – turning your heating down by a couple of degrees can have a dramatic impact on the cost of your heating. 

2 – Stop leaving stuff on standby

We’re willing to bet that if you walk round every room of your home, there’s a good chance you’ll have something plugged in and switched on when it doesn’t need to be. From the TV in your children’s bedroom, to your hairdryer, laptop, printer, DAB radio and washing machine, there’ll be a lot of appliances and gadgets that are left on standby. According to the Energy Saving Trust the average UK home spends around £35 a year on powering appliances that they have left on standby – that’s around £230m in total lost to standby

This sneaky energy usage is known as “vampire power” (or sometimes phantom power). 

3 – Add loft insulation

Installing roof and loft insulation is one of the easiest and most cost-effective ways of improving your home’s energy efficiency. Bungalows and bigger detached properties lose a significant amount of heat through the roof, but installing around 270mm of loft insulation will help you to see a big benefit.  The government says that if you effectively insulate your loft space you can cut your energy bill by around 20%. 

There are a few different insulation materials available, with different recommended depths for each – below are three of the main types and their recommended depths. 

• Glass wool insulation – 270mm (27cm)
• Rock wool insulation – 250mm (25cm)
• Cellulose insulation – 220mm (22cm)

Some energy companies will offer customers free loft insulation in a bid to lower there carbon footprint.

4 – Change every bulb you can

Swapping older light bulbs for new energy-efficient ones is one of the easiest ways to make a difference to your home’s energy usage. Though lighting is only a minor part of your home’s energy use, it can impact energy performance and forms part of your home’s EPC assessment. The up-front cost of LED bulbs is higher than standard incandescent alternatives, but they use around 90% less energy, so pay for themselves in no time.

5 – Check draught excluders, window & door seals

Draughts can make your home feel cold, its important to check your window and door seals to make sure they make a tight seal against the frame. Some older style windows and doors might need new seals fitting & more modern UPVC doors and windows may need minor adjustments to the hinges that can make a big difference.  

These simple tips might not sound like they would make a big difference, but you'd be surprised how much money you could save as well as making your home feel warmer durning the winter months. 

Find out what the current rating of your property is if your property has an energy performance certificate (EPC) as well as recommendations how you can improve it further. Search for your EPC on the national online register 

https://find-energy-certificate.service.gov.uk/find-a-certificate/type-of-property