Little Known Energy Saving Tips

Getting into an energy efficient routine is something we are all being encouraged to do, from turning off lights in rooms, to turning down the boiler thermostat by a degree or two. All of these are well known and can make a substantial impact upon the energy used in a building. Most of us are getting used to adapting our life styles and with utilities prices as they currently are we all have a reason to cut down our usage!

So you’ve turned off all your appliances rather than leaving them on standby, draught proofed and made sure your radiators are working efficiently, what’s next? Well, this article aims to give you some of the lesser known tips that will help you to cut that usage just a little more. Why stop when you are ahead?

Shower, not Bath

Incredible as it sounds swapping from baths to showers can save you approximately 40 litres of water a time and that’s a lot of hot water that your system has to heat and provide. If you use a power shower think about using a timer on either the shower or in the bathroom to stop the water after 5 minutes. Power showers can use a ridiculous amount of electricity, so make sure you don’t spend hours in there!

Turning down the thermostat

Heard it before? Wait!! You might well have turned down your boiler thermostat, but did you know that if you have a hot water cylinder you might be able to turn the thermostat down on that too? If you have a hot water cylinder look for a thermostat box on the tank. This is normally surface mounted and allows you to set the temperature of the hot water stored inside. Try turning the temperature down a few degrees. 60 degrees is normally more than enough to keep the water hot enough for washing and save you some money a year.

Shut the Fridge Door

Okay, sounds ridiculous, but don’t dither when the fridge door is open. For every minute that the fridge door is left open, it takes three minutes for the fridge to cool back down. Not to mention that the fridge is drawing more power to try to keep the fridge cool.

Matching the Cooking Ring Size

If you try to match the ring size to the pan you are heating it will help to stop wasting energy. Similarly if you need to simmer something for a long time use the smallest ring on the hob. That’s what it is there for!

The Washing

Always try to do a full load where possible as this will save energy and make the machine work more efficiently. Modern detergents work as well at 30 degrees as at 50 degrees, so think about reducing the temperature for a wash. This will help make a considerable saving as the machine won’t have to heat the water as much. Equally, washing extremely dirty clothes as soon as possible rather than letting the dirt congeal and dry in will help to clean the clothes better and avoid leaving a residue in the machine.

There we go. Five lesser known energy efficiency tips that can help squeeze your energy usage still further. Have fun saving!

Written by Symon Silvester