How to save money on your energy bills

Wash clothes at a lower temperature. 90% of a washing machine's energy usage is spent heating the water, so washing at a cooler temperature (30°C) will save energy and money (USwitch, 2024).

Place lids on pots when you’re cooking. You’ll use less energy and time to cook your food by preventing heat escaping from the pot. Turn off the heat a couple of minutes before your food is fully cooked. Your pot will take some time to cool down and continue to heat your food.

Don’t overfill kettles. If your kettle doesn’t let you see how many cups worth of water you’re boiling, simply fill a cup from the tap, or however much you need, and pour it into the kettle.

Use 'eco' settings on appliances. Appliances, such as dishwashers, often have an ‘eco’ setting which is designed to use less energy. Although the cleaning cycle can take longer, it will be more energy efficient than an intensive quick cycle.

Close the fridge door. Leaving the fridge door open causes it to work harder to keep the temperature cool, so try to limit how long the door stays open. If your fridge has an alarm, make sure it’s turned on, in case you leave it open by mistake. Defrosting your freezer regularly will help it to run efficiently too.

If your hot water is too hot to wash your hands in, then your setting is too high so turn the boiler down.

Four-minute shower. Less time in the shower will help reduce the volume of water that goes down the drain, as well as saving money on the energy used to heat the water. A 4-minute shower could save a typical household (based on 2.39 persons) £55 a year on their bills – and an extra £76 on their water bill, if metered (source: Energy Saving Trust, 2024). The charity WaterAid has created a playlist of four-minute songs to keep you to time.

Fitting a water efficient shower head could also help reduce your hot water usage while keeping the sensation of a powerful shower. 

Good ventilation is important. Taking a bath or shower in a poorly ventilated bathroom will create more moisture in the air, making it harder to heat. That could mean your boiler has to work harder to warm a radiator. If you don’t have an extractor fan, then keep a window open until any moisture clears.

Lower the temperature. Getting your bedroom at the right temperature could help you get a better sleep and reduce how much energy you use. According to the Sleep Foundation (2024), the temperature to aim for is 18.3 degrees Celsius. You don’t need to be that precise but fitting thermostatic radiator valves will help you to set the right temperature for different rooms in your home.

Get more from your radiators. When dust gathers on radiators in makes them less effective. Make sure you keep the top and back clear of dust. It’s the same problem with dust at the back of fridges but moving them can be tricky. Avoid drying clothes on radiators too – this makes your boiler work harder.

Turn off standby. Leaving appliances on standby means they’re still using energy. The same goes for any room but living rooms can be home to a range of household gadgets, from televisions to music systems. Although it may be a small amount, it starts to add up if you do this every day – wasting energy and money.

Let the light in. It’s common for living rooms to have the largest area of glass in the home. On sunnier days, natural light will help nudge the temperature up naturally.

Reduce draughts. It can be difficult to work out where cold draughts are coming from, but gaps in wooden floorboards or open fireplaces can be culprits. Under floor insulation is one solution, but it might be cheaper and less of an upheaval to fill the gaps with a specially designed filler. For fireplaces, whether you use them or not, it’s best to get professional help. Especially if the solution involves inserting a draught stopper or accessing the roof to change the chimney.