This winter cut down on those high energy bills by following a few simple tips on how to reduce your energy usage in the home!

This winter we will all be spending more time in our homes and that means more electricity and gas consumption. Keeping our homes warm and comfortable can be costly to both your pocket and the environment.

The energy you use to heat or cool your property, generate hot water and power all your appliances and devices makes up around 22% of the UK’s carbon emissions.

Here are some useful tips to help you save money on your bills at the same time as reducing your carbon footprint.

Understand your energy bill

The information on a typical energy bill can be confusing, but understanding it can go a long way to helping you get to grips with your energy usage at home.

Things to look out for include - what tariff you are on, are the meter readings used actual or estimated readings, is the name and account number correct as well as if I switch supplier will I save money?

If you would like your fuel bill explained or information on how to get a better deal and save money then talk to Kirsty to find out how.

Switch off standby

You can save around £35 a year just by remembering to turn your appliances off standby mode.

Almost all electrical and electronic appliances can be turned off at the plug without upsetting their programming. You may want to think about getting a standby saver which allows you to turn all your appliances off standby in one go.

Check the instructions for any appliances you are not sure about. Some satellite and digital TV recorders may need to be left plugged in so they can keep track of any programmes you want to record.

Careful in your kitchen

You can save around £39 a year from your energy bill just by using your kitchen appliances more carefully:

• use a bowl to wash up rather than a running tap and save £25 a year in energy bills
• cutback your washing machine use by just one cycle per week and save £8 a year on energy
• only fill the kettle with the amount of water that you need and save around £6 a year

Get a head

If you have a shower that takes hot water straight from your boiler or hot water tank (rather than an electric shower), fit a water efficient shower head. This will reduce your hot water usage while retaining the sensation of a powerful shower.

A water efficient shower head could save a four person household as much as £38 a year on gas for water heating.

NB/ Calculation is based on the assumption that a family of 4 takes 20 showers a week and replaces a 10 litre/minute power-shower head with a 7.7 litre/min water efficient shower head, and the family are charged £2.65 per cubic meter of water used).

Spend less time in the shower

Spending one minute less in the shower each day will save up to £8 a year off your energy bills, per person.

If everyone in a four-person household did this it would lead to a total saving of £75 a year.

Draught-proofing

Unless your home is very new, you will lose some heat through draughts around doors and windows, gaps around the floor, or through the chimney.

Professional draught proofing of windows, doors and blocking cracks in floors and skirting boards can cost around £200, but can save around £25 a year on energy bills. DIY draught proofing can be much cheaper.

Installing a chimney draught excluder could save around £19 a year as well.

Take control of your heating

More than half the money spent on fuel bills goes towards providing heating and hot water.

Installing a room thermostat, programmer and thermostatic radiator valves and using these controls efficiently could save you around £75 a year.

If you already have a full set of controls, turning down your room thermostat by just one degree can save around £60 a year.

Whatever the age of your boiler the right controls will allow you to:

• set your heating and hot water to come on and off when you need them
• heat only the areas of your home that need heating
• set the temperature for each area of your home

Get savvy with smart controls

Smart Heating Controls are the latest innovation to help you control your heating and understand your energy use.

They allow you to control your heating remotely via a mobile app, meaning that you can manage the temperature of your home from wherever you are, at whatever time of day.

A Smart Meter with in-home display or energy monitor can help householders save energy by increasing awareness of energy use, helping to cut waste. Government estimates that a display or monitor could typically help reduce a household’s electricity use by 2.8% and gas use by 2%.

Switch to LEDs

You can now get LED spotlights that are bright enough to replace halogens, as well as regular energy saving bulbs (‘compact fluorescent lamps’ or CFLs). They come in a variety of shapes, sizes and fittings.

If the average household replaced all of their bulbs with LEDs they will save about £40 a year on bills.

Turn off lights

Turn your lights off when you are not using them. If you switch a light off for just a few seconds, you will save more energy than it takes for the light to start up again, regardless of the type of light.

This will save you around £15 a year on your annual energy bills.

For more information on how to save energy in your home have a look at our Energy Saving in the Home videos or speak to Sara and see how much you could save!