The news is full of damning predictions of a looming winter crisis. Fuel shortages and energy price hikes in the UK are looming, and in some cases already in effect.

Whilst some of these reports may be greatly exaggerated, it never hurts to be prepared, and who doesn’t like to save on energy costs where they can?

What can we do to mitigate these increases? We’ve collated a comprehensive list of things that you can do to either conserve energy, or use it more efficiently.

Broken down into categories, this checklist of energy saving tips will set you up for a cosy winter with the added bonus of a few extra pounds to put in the bank.

Insulation & Draught Excluding

• Roof and cavity insulation – This is one of the best energy saving home improvements you can make. Make sure you have sufficient insulation in the loft (recommended 270mm thickness) and in wall cavities to stop warm air escaping and pushing your heating bills up. 
  
  Older buildings may not have double walls with cavities, but if you do, it may be a sound investment to save money in the long run.
• Seal floorboards and use carpets or rugs – Most people are aware that heat can escape upwards, but what about draughts coming up from between your floorboards? Laying carpet or using large rugs can stop this, but if you want to admire your beautiful floorboards, use floorboard seals that fit between the boards and stop cold air coming in. 
  
• Keep doors and windows closed – There’s no better or easier way to keep heat in the house than to keep windows and doors closed – but also keep internal doors closed if possible.
  
• Reseal doors, windows and loft access – Make sure any leaky external doors and windows are sealed properly (i.e make sure the sealant around the door frames is intact) and also that doors fit their frames properly, creating a good seal when shut. This also applies to loft doors – a big culprit when it comes to heat loss in the home.
  
• Use thermal curtains – Make sure that heat loss through windows is minimised even further by using thermal curtains to trap heat in the room.
  
• Block unused chimneys – Key word: Unused. Only block unused chimneys to keep warm air from escaping.
  
• Move furniture that blocks radiators – Your radiators are working hard to warm your home, so it is counter-productive to stick a sofa or other furniture in front of them – the heat will just rise vertically without circulating the room.
  
• Bubble wrap or cling film on single glazed windows – If replacing single glazed windows is not in your budget just yet, a good temporary measure is to apply bubble wrap or cling film to the panes, this will increase the insulation and stop as much warm air escaping.
  
• Let the sun in! – On sunny days, your room can benefit from the sun coming in from the window – even in winter! Let the room warm naturally in the day, before resorting to turning the heating on.
  
• Wrap up! – You can delay the need to turn on/up the heating by wrapping up first – you might find a nice big jumper will make you comfortable enough.
  
• Use radiator foil – Radiators kick out a good amount of heat, but half of it comes out of the back of the radiator, rising straight up the wall. Use Radiator foil (or tin foil) behind the radiator to reflect heat back in the circulating air of the room.

Equipment & Technology

• Install solar panels – If you’re looking to make an investment for long term savings with the added benefit of being more eco-friendly, why not look into solar panels to power your home? Use this handy solar energy calculator to see how much money solar panels could save you.
  
• Heat pumps – Heat pumps are very popular around Europe. Heat pump systems harness heat from the air outside (or ground if you are using ground heat pumps) to heat your home. 
  
• Smart thermostat and zone heating – Using a smart thermostat will enable you to make better decisions on how to heat your home based on how much energy you are using/have already used.
  
  In combination with this, you can use zone heating to make sure the rooms most used in the home are heated efficiently whilst lesser used rooms are kept at a lower temperature (but not cold as this is counter productive).
  
• Change all lightbulbs to LED or energy saving bulbs -During the lifetime of LED lights you could save around £55. Multiply that by the number of lights in your house and you could make BIG savings on your electricity bills!
  
• Install motion sensor or solar powered lights outside – Solar powered outdoor lighting is very economical in that they are free to power! Even in winter, good solar lights will still get enough light during the day to function at night. 
  
• If you still want to use mains powered lights, make sure they’re motion sensored so that they only come on when needed, and never get left on by accident.
  
• Reverse ceiling fans – As hot air rises and is ultimately lost through ceilings, try reversing the spin on your ceiling fan to blow warm air back down into the circulating air of the room. Clever eh?
  
• Energy tariffs – Have a good look at the energy tariffs you are on – if electricity is cheaper at night then pop your clothes in the wash just before you go to bed (always check your appliances are safe and fit for purpose). You might want to change supplier or tariff if you’re able to get a better deal elsewhere that suits your requirements.

Habits and Processes

• Keep your freezer full – Keeping your freezer well stocked is efficient as there is less air between the items to cool, therefore the freezer doesn’t have to work as hard or use as much energy. Pro tip: try to minimise the time the freezer door is open, as cool air escapes using more energy to cool down again.
  
• Keep lids on pans when boiling water – Keeping the lid on a pan when boiling water will speed up the time it takes to reach boiling point (using less energy).
  
• Defrost the freezer – If your freezer needs manually defrosting, then make sure this is done regularly. If ice builds up, the freezer has to work harder.
  
• Don’t overfill your kettle (and descale it) – If you’re only making yourself a cuppa, there’s no need to fill the kettle – you’re wasting energy on water that is only going to go cold again.
  
• Have a games night ( turn TV and electronic devices are off) – We’re always hearing the physical and mental health benefits of spending time away from your screen, but there is also the added bonus of saving energy whilst we’re not staring at the TV for hours in the evening. Some games are great for adding a bit of physical activity to your evening too!
  
• Turn off standby appliances – You may think that leaving an appliance on standby is saving energy, but even on standby you could be wasting up to £30 a year. Every little helps!
  
• Wash clothes at 30 degrees and on shorter cycles – Did you know that 90 percent of the energy a washer uses comes from heating up the water? Washing in cold could avoid pretty much all of the energy cost. 
  
  Interestingly, there are minimal benefits of using hot water in general day-to-day washing (unless you’ve offered to wash the team football kit). It’s estimated that a load of laundry on a cold setting would only cost around 3p in energy. Cold washes also reduce shrinkage and colour bleeding.
  
• Only use a washer or dishwasher on a full load – It makes sense to wait until you have a full load of washing before switching on the washer or dishwasher, even with ‘half load’ settings, you’re still using a lot of energy (mainly to heat the water) on each wash.
  
• Take showers instead of baths – Taking a quick shower instead of a bath could save water and energy, especially if paired with an eco shower head.
  
• Leave oven door open after cooking – If you have gone to the effort to do some lovely baking, you may as well benefit from the heat generated by the oven! Leave the oven door open whilst it cools down (making sure it is safe and out of reach from pets and children) to add a little extra heat to the kitchen. Lovely and toasty. However, do NOT use the oven to heat a room directly as this can be dangerous.
  
• Government schemes – If you have tried all of our handy tips and tricks, but still struggle to pay your energy bills, get in touch with your local citizens advice centre to find out which grants and schemes may be available to help you.

We hope you’ve found our energy saving tips useful! If you’re struggling with draughty external doors and no amount of fixing up will cut it, get in touch to find out how we can help.

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