7 winter energy saving tips
As the holiday season is upon us, energy use is on the rise, which means your bill will be as well. Here are 7 winter energy saving tips from The Energy Saving Trust.
- LED Christmas lights
LED Christmas lights use 90% less energy than incandescent. If we all swapped a string of lights for LEDs we would save £13 million during the 12 days of Christmas alone. Replacing all standard bulbs and halogen spotlights in your home with energy saving light bulbs could save you £35 a year.
- Keep the heat in
Draught-proof your windows and doors this Christmas and save between £25 to 35 a year. About one in two households still need to draught-proof their windows and doors, but collectively it could save the UK around £365m a year.
- Insulate exposed pipes
Beware a sudden cold snap this Christmas. Insulate your exposed pipework and save around £10 a year on heating bills. Water freezing can cause them to burst!
- New gadgets
Tablets use 70% less power than laptops. The number of devices in people’s homes has grown rapidly and leaving these devices on standby has an impact on your energy bills.
- Standby power
Turn your TVs, games consoles and computers off standby and save £30 a year. Did you know? More than three quarters (78%) of us admit to regularly leaving at least two devices on standby. An advanced set-top box left on standby for 20 hours a day could cost around £20 a year alone just in standby mode.
- Wash at 30 degrees
Wash your winter woollens at 30 degrees and your washing machine will use around 40% less energy than washing at higher temperatures.
- Watching TV
Don’t forget to switch off your TV when you’re not watching it. Earlier this year the Energy Savings Trust found that more than half of people (53%) leave the TV on as background noise when they are in a room, and 43% regularly leave it on when there is no one in the room.
Collectively the UK spends £1 million on Christmas day to watch TV, which is equivalent of what would power 21,000-33,000 televisions for a whole year.
1 9 Christmas energy tips Energy Savings Trust accessed on-line 7 December 2015 http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/blog/2015/12/9-christmas-energy-tips