In this 2017 guide for the best energy saving devices, we are going to look at which introductions you could make now, in the short term, to use less energy and reduce your bills.
We’re not suggesting you spend tens of thousands on building the smart home of the future, but we do feel that with these suggestions, you can make a visible impact that reduces your bills by as much as half!
Smart meter
You may have seen in quite a few of our articles that we are massive advocates of the smart meter, but really they’re a godsend for energy saving. By having a visual representation of your energy consumption right there stuck to the wall, you can be more proactive in your approach to reduction. By understanding where your gas, water and electricity get distributed around the house and in what percentages, you can begin to understand and change your ways. And the great news is that smart meters are usually free from your energy supplier, but if not, prices vary from £20-40.
Home battery / Solar Panels
The Tesla Powerwall made waves when it was first released in 2015 and quickly sold out. The US based company then improved the design and released a second generation product in late 2016. The product is revolutionary, hooking up to your solar panels to store all of your surplus energy for you to use, instead of paying for energy from the grid. It has become really popular with businesses to cut their energy usage, for use as a backup in power cuts, and also with ‘off the grid’ properties who rely on solar energy. Without solar panels however, the battery will do nothing, and purchasing panels as well as a home battery could cost a combined total of nearly £10,000.
Competitors to the Powerwall include the LG Chem, Powervault, Orison, Sonnen, Sunverge, Mercedes, ElectrIQ and the Nissan XStorage.
Water Pebble
On our list of the best energy saving devices for 2017 has to be this wicked little gadget, one of coolest purchases you can make for reducing water consumption. The Water Pebble looks a bit like a bar of soap, and it sits on the floor of your shower, timing how long you take, on average, to shower. It then uses this data to tell you when you are under or over your average time (with a cool traffic light system), in an attempt to help you shower quickly and thus, use less water. Less hot water = less energy.
Chimney pillow / balloon
Since it requires no energy to function, we weren’t sure whether to include the chimney pillow or not, but in the end it made sense to. This is essentially a balloon that goes in your chimney, if you have one. If you don’t have a chimney, you can skip this suggestion! Costing around £25, you inflate the pillow into the chimney to fit the space, stopping cold air draughts from coming down, and warm air from escaping. Retailers say that the saved energy thanks to these devices will pay back the cost of the pillow or balloon in just three months, after that, it saves more, especially in the winter!
Radiator booster
For £30-90, you can get this awesome little energy saving device that sits on top of your radiator, captures all the previously wasted heat from behind the radiator, and uses fans to disperse it around the room. It’s pretty genius that someone invented a way to utilise the energy that was previously just warming up one of your walls, right?
New boiler
If you have £3,000 laying around for an investment, a new boiler is one of the best energy saving devices you can find. With a pay-back time of five years, after that you will be making around £600 a year as a profit on your investment. Old G rated boilers are very energy inefficient, and one day the current best boiler will become an antique too. In 2017, it’s expected that ‘smart boilers’ will hit the market, increasing potential saving even further.
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There you have it, our best energy saving devices for 2017. Think we’ve missed an epic purchase? Get in touch via Twitter and Facebook to let us know!
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