Energy saving tips

Energy saving advice for winter 

With winter now upon us, here are some changes that you can make straight away to save money in the long run.

• Turn the room thermostat down a degree. You probably won’t even notice the difference and this could save you around ten per cent in your energy costs.
• Place foil around the back of your radiators to reflect heat back into rooms.
• Make sure curtains or furniture are not blocking the radiator to allow heat to circulate.
• Instead of switching on the central heating as soon as you feel a bit chilly, warm up the old fashioned way by putting on an extra layer of clothing or using another blanket in bed.
• Open the curtains during the daytime to allow natural light into the room rather than switching a light on.
• Draw the curtains at dusk to keep heat in rooms.
• Fit a nylon brush seal or a spring flap on to letter boxes and put covers over key holes to keep draughts out.
• Install draught excluders underneath doors and around windows, especially single glazed ones.
• If you are drying your clothes indoors, don’t put them over a radiator. Try putting up a clothes rail in an unheated room, opening the window slightly to allow damp to escape and shutting the door to stop heat being drawn into that room.
• Switch to energy-saving light bulbs - they last up to six times longer than a normal bulb. Changing just one light bulb will save money on your energy bill and when you think how many bulbs you have in your house, it’s easy to see how the savings will quickly add up.