Welcome to My Energy’s ‘Definitive Guide to Energy Saving Tips For Homeowners’.
In this article we are going to look at five things that will help you save energy at home, and also bust five ridiculous myths that have been holding people back for years.
Before we jump into that, it must be explained as to why energy saving is so important, so here are our four favourite reasons:
- Saves money on your energy bills
- Reduces your carbon footprint
- Reduces wastage of natural resources
- Increases value of your home (if investments in energy saving are made)
Now, our five energy saving tips for homeowners…
Insulate Your Home
Your insulation plays two important roles in the ecosystem of your home. Firstly, it keeps your home warmer in the winter, and secondly it keeps your home cooler in the summer. Many people forget that insulation is designed to keep a pleasant year-round average temperature. If your house is properly insulated, you won’t need fans in the summer or electric heaters (more savings!) in the winter. If that’s not the case for you, perhaps you need to improve your insulation. Don’t let your warmth and money escape through the walls!
Double or Triple Glazed Windows
Like any physical asset, there’s an element of wear and tear involved with usage over time, and windows are no exception. Whilst besides from smashing, they seem fairly secure and impenetrable, many people actually have faulty windows that are wasting their precious energy. A damaged lock mechanism will prevent a tight seal, allowing air to escape. Condensation inside the pains means that the double-glazing is almost completely ineffective, and if there are small holes around the edge where the silicone filler has cracked, air can escape there too. These things don’t always happen, but it’s good to check and see if they have. It’s a great idea to replace your windows every fifteen to twenty years.
Get LED Lights
As far as energy saving tips for homeowners go, you can’t really look past LED lights. For the small investment (a couple of hundred pounds) it would take to change every bulb in your home, you can reduce the money spent on lighting by NINETY percent. Yup, LED lights are ten times more efficient, using just 6W of energy as opposed to 60W. Incandescent bulbs will become a thing of the past as the world moves on to LED. Their physical composition, whilst clearly different to a classic lightbulb, contains zero mercury, meaning that they can be recycled, adding another environmental and energy saving advantage.
Solar Panels
You have just read those two words above and though ‘I don’t have that kind of money laying around’, but, they are an investment, and will pay themselves off in less than 20 years. Photovoltaic technology on your rooftop is capable of reducing your electricity bills by 50% or more! Since solar panels will be powering your home during the day, we recommend setting your washing machine, dishwasher and tumble dryer in the morning, rather than doing them at night. When the solar panels aren’t producing enough energy, your home will use the main grid to make up the difference. Conservative energy behaviour at night will make the reductions twofold.
Monitor Your Energy Consumption
This fifth and final suggestion for our energy saving tips for homeowners guide look specifically at monitoring your energy consumption. We highly recommend you get a smart meter as soon as possible, this is going to allow you to get greater insights about where your energy is being used and how you can reduce it. The data provided to your energy supplier will be far more accurate, which could save you money down the line too. By first understanding how you use energy, you will be able to create a process that helps you reduce it.
Those were our energy saving tips for homeowners, now let’s quickly cover five myths that people have been mistakenly following for decades!
Boxes in the loft
- We’ve heard it suggested that stuffing loads of boxes in your loft (attic) will save you money by acting as insulation. This isn’t true, sadly.
Blasting the heating heats your home quicker
- The rate at which your heating system distributes energy doesn’t change, so you’ll just take longer to have a hot house.
Appliances don’t use energy if they’re inactive
- Sorry to disappoint you, but appliances sat plugged in and on standby account for around 10% of your electricity bill!
Painting your radiator black will help it emit heat
- Yes, people believe this, but it’s scientific nonsense we are sad to reveal. Paint them by all means, if not for decoration and protection!
It’s difficult to switch energy supplier
- Actually, it’s super simple! Make sure you use My Energy Online Tool that was brought to live by Home Logic – Innovative Home Improvement Company
Also, check out our Money Saving Tips for Renters.
Don’t delay switching your energy supplier. You can save up to £290 on your utility bills. How? My Energy will help you all the way through the process. Take the first step now, go to My Energy.
