How to Reduce your Gas and Electricity Bills

For a whole variety of reasons, getting a grip of your spending on gas and electricity matters. It’s necessary to reduce your impact on the natural world, and your reliance on hostile foreign powers like Russia. It’s also important for financial reasons – since the price of fuel is higher than it ever has been.

So, what steps might we take to reduce our spending on these things?

Loft Insulation

The heat in your home will naturally rise to the top, and escape through the roof. If you can put a barrier there to reduce the speed of this transfer, you’ll go a long way toward improving the heat performance of the entire property. It’s recommended that you use loft insulation in your property to reduce spend on heating. Make sure that the roof is adequately ventilated before you make this decision, however, as excess insulation has a tendency to trap moisture.

Double Glazing

The windows are a weak point in your home as far as energy is concerned. Swapping them out for a double-glazed alternative will vastly improve your energy performance. If you already have double-glazing, it’s worth periodically checking to see that the seals are intact – when the cavity between the panes starts to fill with condensation, it’s time for an upgrade.

Closing Windows and Doors

The windows and doors of your home will only keep the heat and cold in if they’re kept closed when you aren’t using them. You might look into devices which close your doors by themselves – or you might simply get into the habit of closing them when you aren’t actually using them.

Turning off Appliances

The same applies to your electrical appliances. Leaving them on standby mode for too long will drain electricity. If you want to be sure that your appliance isn’t using any energy, then simply turn it off at the wall.

Dry Naturally

If you have the ability to avoid the tumble-dryer, then drying your clothes out the natural way, on racks, is much cheaper. If you’re worried about damp, then you can spend a little on an electric dehumidifier.

Only Heating the Rooms you Need

If you’re heating every room in the house evenly, then the chances are good that you’re spending more energy than you really need. Certain rarely-used rooms, like bedrooms and hallways, don’t need to be heated in the same way as living areas. Invest in thermostatic radiator valves, or WiFi-enabled ones.

Bear in mind that the ideal temperature in your bedroom is actually quite a bit lower than you might expect. So, turning the heat down won’t just save your wallet – it’ll also allow you to get a much better quality of sleep.

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