We all know that we could be saving on our energy bills, but did you know that you could be saving over £800 per year by just making a few changes? Below is our list of the top 5 reasons you’re paying too much for your energy, and how you can save money and the environment by making some changes:
Overpaying on your heating
You could save: £80
It can be tempting to crank up the heating when temperatures start to drop, but we suggest you cosy up with a nice sweater or warm blanket instead. After all, setting your thermostat at too high of a temperature is one of the easiest ways to release unnecessary carbon emissions into the atmosphere and to overspend on your energy bills. As a matter of fact, you can save up to £80 a year by lowering your temperature by just one degree.
Poor insulation
You could save: £200
If you don't have loft insulation, installing it will cost around £300, and will easily save you over £100 per year. If you don’t have double glazing and don’t have the spare cash to get new windows installed, stick up some secondary glazing – essentially cling film that adds another layer of insulation – and you’ll typically save £75 per year. Traditional double glazing will save you an additional £25-50 per year.
Incandescent lighting
You could save: £125
Old-fashioned lightbulbs have a massive impact on your energy bills. If you’re still using them, go out and buy some LED bulbs as soon as possible. LEDs use one-sixth to one-tenth of the energy for the same brightness and last far longer than incandescent bulbs. They’re a little bit more expensive but will end up paying for themselves within a year, easily.
Paying by anything other than monthly direct debit
You could save: £60
Energy companies like to get you set up on direct debit. It means that they don’t have to wait for you to make a payment every month – they simply take it out themselves. Because of this, they’ll offer cheaper tariffs on monthly direct debit than on other payment methods (such as quarterly billing and payment on receipt).
Leaving things on
You could save: £70-100
It’s easy to ignore the little things when you’re looking for ways to save on your energy costs. But things really can add up. Here’s an example of how several ‘little things’ can make a big difference to your bills:
- Leaving two hall lights on at night: £50 per year.
- Leaving your TV, games console and DVD player on standby at night: £15 per year.
- Leaving your computer and printer on standby at night: £7 per year.
- Total annual cost: £72.
Of course, these are only a few of the things you can do to cut down on costs. If you’ve reduced your carbon footprint through changes to your energy usage in any other way, we’d love for you to drop us an email at team@switchd.co.uk to let us know about it. We look forward to hearing from you!
