Sometimes Savings Means Sacrifice – But Not Always

 

Is there something you’d like to save for? Perhaps a refreshing holiday break, or the latest in tech gadgetry? Or perhaps you want to just make sure your bank account has a little more left at the end of the month?

To save for what you want, you may think you have to make big changes in your lifestyle, and feel the discomfort that comes with cutting back. But that need not be true!

There are a few places where you can cut back, and only “feel” very little difference in your life – other than the potential extra cash in your wallet. One of those is energy savings.

 

For many homes, energy can be one their biggest essential spends outside of rent/mortgage. But, this means with a few clever tricks, it can be where you could potentially also obtain great savings – perhaps hundreds more in your bank account over the course of the year.

Two Ways to Keep Your Energy Bills as Low as Possible

 

1. Choose a cheaper tariff – which could potentially bring your bill down by 25%
2. Reduce your usage

Switch to a Cheaper Tariff

Two Steps = Speedy Savings

 

1. All you need is a recent energy bill/statement.  Just look at the corner of your latest bill/statement – and find out the kWh hours. Have your paper bill to hand, or click on your supplier below to quickly grab your bill (and savings)

EDF | SSE | British Gas | E.On | Scottish Power | nPower

Don’t have a bill on hand? It’s still easy – just use our estimation tool, so you can still save big time.

2. Just click here, and enter a couple of quick details – and from there, we’ll do everything (including showing you how much more £££ you could have over the next year). Or you can call us at 0800 074 0741, and our friendly staff will set up everything for you over the phone.

All done! From here, you just wait for your next bill – there’s no supply interruptions, no new fittings, no home visits – nothing (except savings, that is).

Easy Ways to Reduce Your Usage & Lower Your Bill

 

Eating In

• Make sure your fridge/freezer is packed full.
•  When cooking, cover your pots with lids to reduce cooking time.
• Choose microwaves when reheating, rather than ovens – they work faster & consume less energy.
• If you use a dishwasher, only run it when full, and let dishes air dry after the cycle.
• When using frozen foods in dishes, pre thaw in advance to reduce cooking times.
• Try to cook during cooler times of the day (such as after sunset) – the heat from the oven can help warm your home.

Laundry

• Use cold water washes when possible, and run shorter “speed clean” cycles.
• Wait until you have a full load before running a cycle.
• Air dry when possible, but if you opt to use a dryer, clear the lint after each load for top efficiency (and for fire safety as well).

General Tips

• – Is there an energy sucking appliance hiding in your home? Find out, by rotating wall plug in meters around your home – you may be surprised, and be able to cut back usage of an unknown energy vampire.
• Standby mode still eats away electricity! Instead unplug unused devices for maximum savings.
• Tweak your thermostat to be just a bit lower during the winter, and throw on an extra jumper or blanket to stay warm.
• Shut your curtains to contain heat in the winter, and keep cool in the summer.
• Shut the door tightly on any unused rooms; and make sure these rooms don’t have and drafts coming in at the base of the doors.
• Check for air leaks around windows and doors; even the base of interior doors can leak temperature controlled air to unused rooms.
• Seek out energy efficient bulbs and appliances – they have become quite affordable in recent years, and use far less energy than traditional models.
• Stay cool in the summer with a fan rather than AirCon, and you could save £82* a month.
• Plant trees in your garden to keep your home cool in the shade.

Quick Tips to Make Sure Your Savings Keep Going

 

• Remember you can switch up to 49 days before your tariff ends – so do it ASAP once the time window opens.
• Set an annual reminder on your smartphone – here’s how for Android or iPhone.
• Use Google Calendar to email you a reminder a week in advance.

*based on energyhelpline research, which reveals average monthly cost of running a fan to be £1.83 a month, vs £84.55 for running an air conditioner on an average Big 6 Standard Variable Tariff, with 5 hours of usage a day.