What’s best for your bills? Saving energy room by room
Wondering about the best ways to save energy, for your bills and the environment? We've answered some of the common this or that questions for saving energy at home, room by room.
These tips are part of something bigger. At Hubbub, we want to see a world where everyone makes choices that are good for the environment. Check out what we do and how your actions add up.
Kitchen:
Cooking a few meals at a time is more energy efficient (and will win you housemate points).
Steaming uses less water and has been found to keep more nutrients in your veg. Lids on pots save energy too.
To our delight, the dishwasher is more energy efficient if you have a full load.
Boiling water in the kettle is faster and uses less energy than boiling on the hob. Remember to only boil as much as you need!
Slow cookers are one of the most energy efficient kitchen appliances! Despite being on for hours, they use very low power, can help with meal planning, and save prep time in evenings.
Microwave is generally the most energy efficient way to heat your food.
P.S defrosting things in the fridge overnight or on the counter during the day can save the need to defrost using heat or energy at all!
Pick your meals, write a shopping list, check what you have in stock and leave one night free for any leftovers or spontaneous nights out. Live with a family? Find out who's eating in and on what nights for that week so you don't overbuy or overcook. This could be simply added to a calendar in your kitchen.
Food containers help store food better and reduce food waste. By storing food, you can save money by wasting less, cooking from scratch more, and taking packed lunched on the go with you.
Bathroom
This is a tip as old as time – if you can, stick to baths for treats and showers for regular washes.
Either! People often forget that showers use energy as well as water. Aim for 4 minutes – enough time to give your best Adele rendition.
A running tap uses 6 litres/ minute.
Check your boiler settings for how often it is heating up water and to what temperature. The most energy is used to heat up the water, so if you can choose a lower temperature or use the timer settings to only heat up at certain hours, both will add up in savings!
90% of a washing machine's energy expenditure is spent heating the water, so using cooler washes (30-40*) is an easy saving.
Bedroom
Your feet are one of the coldest parts of your body so keep them on to keep your tootsies toasty. They can also help you drift off more easily.
Open! It’s really important to have daily air flow to prevent mould and mildew. Open your windows for 10 minutes in the morning (just remember to close them!)
For PJ’s, silk, flannel and bamboo keep you the warmest. (But don’t rush out to buy a new pair, the most sustainable wardrobe is the one you already have).
Having the right duvet for time of year can help you sleep better as well as reduceneed for heating. Have a low tog duvet for summer and higher tog (or just add some throws) to keep you warmer in winter.
Use duvets, throws and extra clothes for warmth at night rather than having the heating on, this is much healthier for you as well as your bills.
Living room
Regardless of your lighting mood, switch to LED bulbs and make sure you switch them off when you leave a room.
Avoid wet clothes directly on the radiator as this will reduce air flow. Follow the light and move your clothes horse to where the sun is shining throughout the day.
Thick curtains will keep the heat in but on sunnier days the heat from the sun will warm up a room.
If you don’t need to heat your whole house, you might think having a portable heater in 1 room is better - but it’s not clear cut! Trust your home heating on this one. It is estimated that plug-in heaters are 3 ½ times more expensive to run than using radiators. Portable heaters aren’t as energy efficient as central systems, and it depends on lots of things like the size of the room, windows, insulation, etc. It’s most likely central heating will be better, especially if the room is more than 1/3 of the house or your home is on the smaller side - try both for a week each and check the difference on your meter!
Bleed your radiators to let out air in the system, so the hot water can flow and they can work properly. Here's a great guide. If you can, turn radiators off in rooms you're not using.
Use thermal blinds or curtains, rugs and draft excluders so you can turn your thermostat down – even turning it down by 1 degree will save you £85-£90 per year on bills.
Gadgets
If you’re buying a new washing machine, tumble drier, fridge, freezer, oven, hob, TV look for the energy rating. A+++ will have much lower running costs. Energy Saving Trust have an excellent guide for more info.
LED lights are the biggest thing to hit lighting since electric light was invented! IKEA switched their entire lighting range to LED lights last year because they use 85% less energy than old fashioned standard bulbs, last much much longer and come in a huge range of styles. This saves so much money on household energy bills and time changing bulbs!
The average UK households spends £30 per year powering items left on standby (Energy Saving Trust). Use a multiple socket with a switch to make it easy to switch everything off at once. Timers are also a great way to reduce unnecessary energy use, for example using a timer if you charge your phone overnight.
Energised for more?
From Community Fridges that cut food waste to Ballot Bins that halve cigarette litter, our campaigns show what taking action that's good for the environment looks like in practice.
We do more than energy saving tips.
Ever wondered what to do with your old clothes, or how to make your smartphone last longer? Find out.