Young female calculating heating costs sitting on the floor beside the heating system
Many people in the UK are worried about rising heating costs. According to the British Psychological Society (BPS), one in five people in the country is feeling depressed because of financial issues. The data further reveals that 51% of people without mental health issues feel more anxious about bills.
Rising energy prices can be really troublesome. Families who are already struggling to make ends meet, find it more difficult to pay fuel costs. Keeping this in view companies like Berks Insulation can support you get govt funded grants. These grants can help you get the latest heating equipment, lower heating costs all at the government expense.
In this post, our focus is to let you know about 8 most effective ways to save money on fuel prices. Saving means putting aside money now to use later. It is a decision to delay consumption. If you change some of your old habits regarding energy use, you can enjoy more benefits.
Below are the strategies that you can use to cut costs and overcome stress.
Insulate Your Home Thoroughly
Have you ever felt a chill in your house, even when the heating is on? That's because some of the heat is leaking out through the walls, roof, and floors. So, instead of staying inside your home, the heat is escaping outside. As a result, you are using more energy than you need to stay warm, which can be the cause of your mounting energy fees.
So, there are things you can do to stop the heat from escaping. One of the best things to do is to add insulation to your home. Insulation is like a special blanket that traps heat inside your house.
Moreover, adding insulation will have the biggest impact on your upward expenditure. Even if you wait until later in autumn to turn on your heating, it's important to make sure your home is properly insulated for the colder weather.
Adding insulation can be as cheap as £15. Instead, for example, you could fit foam insulation around your hot water pipes yourself. The more insulation you add, the more money you'll save.
The most cost-effective and easiest way to insulate your home is to add insulation to your loft. If you add the recommended amount of insulation (270mm), you could save up to £285 per year on your energy bills in a semi-detached house.
After you've insulated your loft, you could also consider having cavity wall insulation installed if your home is suitable. This is a bit more expensive (around £2,700 for a semi-detached house according to the Energy Saving Trust), but it can stop up to a third of the heat that escapes through your walls. For older homes, solid wall insulation is the alternative.
Go Beyond the Basics
In an average household, simply preventing heat from escaping through gaps around doors and windows can save around £50 per year. Moreover, it helps keep your home cozy at lower temperatures.
Professional draught-proofing for an entire house costs around £270, but there are several DIY draught-proofing tasks that you can do yourself.
Start with these areas:
Doors: Use draught-proofing strips around the edges and put brush or hinged-flap draught excluders at the bottom.
Chimney and fireplace:
If you don't use your chimney, block it with an inflatable pillow or fit a cap over the chimney pot. This could save you £70 each year if you have an open chimney.
Windows:
Use draught-proofing strips around the frame. Brush strips are more effective for sash windows.
Loft hatches:
Use draught-proofing foam strips to keep the heat in.
Floorboards and skirting boards:
As floorboards need to move, use a flexible silicone-based filler in gaps.
Remember that some ventilation is necessary, so don't cover holes that are meant to be there, such as trickle vents in window frames.
Save Water
Did you know that even when the heating isn't on in the summer, your home still uses energy to heat water? That's because hot water is used all year round, for things like washing dishes, taking baths, and washing clothes. So, by being careful about how you use hot water, you can save money on the cost of energy.
Tips for saving hot water
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Explore water-saving devices. There are many other water-saving devices available, such as low-flow toilets and faucet aerators.
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Don't wash dishes under a running tap. Fill up a sink or bowl with water to wash your dishes instead. This will save a lot of hot water.
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Install an aerator on your kitchen tap. An aerator is a small device that fits onto the end of your tap and mixes air with the water, which reduces the amount of hot water that comes out.
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Take shorter showers. According to the Energy Saving Trust, a four-minute shower uses less hot water than a five-minute bath. Try using a shower timer to help you keep your shower short.
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Use a hot water tank with heating controls. If you have a hot water tank (as opposed to a combi boiler), use the heating controls to regulate the temperature of the water. Only heat the water to the temperature you need, and don't leave it on all the time.
Keep Your Boiler Healthy and Happy
Just like us, boilers need regular care to stay in good working condition. When your boiler is happy, it heats your home efficiently, saving you money on your surging energy prices.
Therefore, service your boiler regularly because a well-serviced boiler will use less energy to heat water.
Why Should We Take Care of Our Boilers?
Taking care of your boiler is important for several reasons:
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It prevents breakdowns: Just like any other appliance, boilers can break down if they're not properly cared for. Regular maintenance can help to prevent these breakdowns, saving you the hassle and expense of repairs.
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It keeps your home warm and cozy: A boiler that's not working properly won't heat your home as well, so you'll start to feel the chill!
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It saves you money: A well-maintained boiler works more efficiently, using less energy to heat your home. This can save you a lot of money on your utility expenses over time.
What Can We Do to Keep Our Boilers Happy?
There are a few things you can do to keep your boiler happy and healthy:
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Use a programmer and room thermostat: A programmer and room thermostat can help you to control your heating more efficiently. This can save you money on your fuel charges by only heating your home when you need it.
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Adjust the flow temperature: The flow temperature is the temperature of the water that goes through your radiators. Lowering the flow temperature can save you money on your gas consumption costs without making your home feel any colder.
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Get it serviced regularly: Just like your car needs a regular MOT, your boiler needs a service to make sure it's working properly. A qualified engineer will check all the important parts of your boiler and make sure it's running efficiently.
How Much Can We Save by Taking Care of Our Boilers?
Taking care of your boiler can save you a significant amount of money on your power bills. For example, if you live in a semi-detached house, you could save up to £415 per year by upgrading to a new A-rated condensing boiler.
Turn Heat On and Off Strategically
Using heating controls wisely can save you money on your monthly energy consumption expenses energy bills. For an average house, using heating controls can save around £180 every year. That's like having a pocket full of money just for using your heating controls wisely!
Here are some tips for using heating controls wisely:
Use a programmer to turn your heating on and off at specific times. This way, you'll only be using heat when you actually need it.
Only heat the rooms you're using. Don't waste heat by heating empty rooms.
Turn down your thermostat by 1°C. You may not even notice the difference in temperature, but it can save you around £145 per year on your home’s monthly utility charges.
Keep Tabs on Electric Heater
Electricity is a great way to power our homes and keep us warm, but electric heaters are a bit like greedy friends—they can be costly to keep around. They do not always provide the desired room temperature.
If you do need to use an electric heater, it is a good idea to use a smart meter monitor to keep track of how much it is costing to run. This will help you to compare the cost of using the electric heater to the cost of using your central heating.
If you only need to stay warm for a short period of time, there are more economical ways to do so. For example, you could put on an extra layer of clothing, use a hot water bottle, or cuddle up with an electric blanket.
Smartly Use Your Thermostat
A smart thermostat is like a magic box that lets you control your heating using your phone, tablet, or computer. You can turn it on or off, adjust the temperature, and even set schedules so that your home is always warm and cozy when you need it to be.
The potential savings from a smart thermostat depend on your lifestyle and the efficiency of your existing heating controls. If you use your heating a lot and your current controls are not very efficient, then you could save a lot of money by switching to a smart thermostat.
Smart thermostats can also be used with smart thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs). TRVs are like little smart thermostats for each radiator in your house. They let you control the temperature in each room individually.
To get the most out of your smart thermostat, make sure that all of the components are compatible with each other. This means checking that your thermostat, TRVs, and heating system are all made by the same company or are certified to work together.
Make the Most of Your Appliances
Some appliances, like tumble dryers and big fridge-freezers, use a lot of electricity, which can double your energy tariffs. But there are things you can do to use these appliances more wisely and save money.
In the world of energy consumption, it's not just the grand total that matters, but also the individual units, the kilowatt-hours (kWh), which sneak up on us like mischievous pixies. Fortunately, these pesky sprites are bound by caps, which mean that by cleverly reducing our energy consumption, we can outwit them and keep our wallets from succumbing to their charms.
Even the tiniest changes in our habits can accumulate over time, like a stack of carefully placed pebbles, to form a formidable barrier against energy waste. And the best part? Many of these energy-saving spells are as simple as a flick of the wand, requiring just a few minutes of your precious time.
Tips For Dealing With Appliances
Use the eco setting on your appliances: Many appliances have an eco setting that can help you save energy. Use this setting whenever possible.
Wash bigger loads less often: Washing your clothes too often can make them fade, shrink, and get out of shape. It can also use more electricity. Try to wash bigger loads less often instead.
Wash your clothes at a lower temperature: Instead of washing your clothes at 40 degrees Celsius, try washing them at 30 degrees Celsius. This can help you save up to 38% on electricity!
Clean your appliances regularly: Keep your kettle free of limescale, your freezer free of frost, your tumble dryer's lint filter clean, and the coils at the back of your fridge clean. This will help your appliances work more efficiently and save you energy.
Turn off your wireless speaker or sound bar when you're not using it: These devices use a lot of electricity even when they are in standby mode. Turn them off completely when you're not using them to save money.
Dry different types of clothes separately: Different fabrics take different amounts of time to dry. Don't dry a single sock with a whole load of towels. It will take too long and waste electricity.
Fill your dishwasher before you run it: Only run your dishwasher when it is full. This will help you save water and electricity. You should also make sure that all of the dishes are stacked properly so that they can be cleaned thoroughly.
Air-dry your clothes when it's sunny outside: Instead of using a tumble dryer, hang your clothes outside to dry when the weather is nice. This will save you a lot of electricity.
Conclusion
By following these strategies, we can save money for the future. A determined mindset can overcome any challenge. Simple changes in our habits will not only keep our finances secure but also protect us from mental health issues like stress, anxiety, and depression.
