1. Insulate your loft and cavity walls
You lose up to 25% of the heat produced by your boiler through your roof, and as much as 35% through the walls. That’s like throwing money out the window! A really easy and cost-effective way to solve this problem is to install insulation in your loft space and cavity walls. The most common and environmentally friendly type of insulation is glass mineral wool, which is made from recycled glass. The process of insulating your home depends on the size of the property, but can cost as little as £150 and take just a couple of hours. As this method is so effective, you can make your money back in just two years.
2. Upgrade your boiler
Having an inefficient boiler is a sure-fire way to drive up your bills and cause frustration in the colder months when you want your home to get as warm as possible as quickly as possible! This is easily fixed though, as most modern boilers are designed to be energy-efficient, and we stock a wide range of the very best on the market.
This handy table is based on one provided by the Energy Saving Trust. It shows how much you could save by upgrading to an A-rated condensing boiler and a full set of heating controls if you live in a gas-heated, semi-detached home with three bedrooms. We think they’re some pretty good savings!
| Current boiler rating | Annual saving |
| G (less than 70%) | £300 |
| F (70-74%) | £200 |
| E (74-78%) | £150 |
| D (78-82%) | £105 |
3. Use draught excluders and door seals
If you’ve got gaps under your doors, chances are your precious heat will be pouring out through them, making your radiators work harder to keep you warm. Draught excluders are a really cheap solution to this problem; buy a few for use around the house, especially on doors that lead to empty rooms or exterior doors. You could also benefit from some rubber or foam seals to stop draughts coming through around your door and window frames. Buy the sticky-backed strips for quick and easy installation, and you’ll notice a difference straight away.
4. Swap to a water-saving showerhead
Although we all love a power shower, especially on dark winter mornings when the warmth is a real treat, they can quickly use as much water as a bath if you’re not careful. Switching to a water-saving showerhead is a simple way to make great savings on your energy bills, and the new models mean that you don’t have to sacrifice quality for energy efficiency.
5. Buy an energy monitor
Technology has become such a massive part of our lives, and now you can even get a gadget to measure your energy consumption at home, which is really handy for keeping an eye on your bills! You can pick one up online for about £20-60 and once it’s plugged in it will tell you how much electricity you’re using per day, and how much you’re paying for it. Some monitors will also tell you if any appliances have been left on around your house, giving you total peace of mind as well as helping you cut costs and protect the environment.
6. Use LED light bulbs
LED light bulbs are more expensive to buy than traditional bulbs, but they last much longer and are a lot more efficient. So if you make the investment and swap all of your lights to LEDs, you can expect to make your money back in savings on your bills in as little as six months. LED light bulbs don’t take any time at all to warm up, unlike some other energy-saving bulbs, and they never flicker. What are you waiting for?
Special Offer!
We’ve teamed up with Utilitiy Warehouse to offer our customers up to £500 worth of LED light bulbs absolutely free, including fitting! Find out more here.
If you know someone who could use these tips to save energy and cut their bills, please share it with them! And if you’d like to find out more about staying warm and saving money this winter, get in touch today and our friendly team will be happy to help you.