ECA’s top energy saving tips for a stress free winter

As Britain cosies up for the colder months, many householders think about the cost of energy bills – a recent survey by the Electrical Contractors’ Association (ECA) revealed that fuel is the regular expense that most people worry about.

One in five householders admit they’re too scared to open their gas or electricity bills. One in 25 admits they shove the bills in a drawer and never even open them!

With further gas and electricity prices rises, this year householders are looking for ways to ease the strain on their wallet and take charge of their bills.

The ECA’s Steve Bratt says:  “Taking charge of all your household bills, including those that relate to fuel and reviewing them regularly is a good way to keep on top of costs and identify ways to economise.

“As well as checking bills carefully, we’d also advise householders to take other energy saving measures. It’s the small things that count, such as turning thermostats down and switching appliances off when they’re not in use.”

ECA’s top energy saving tips:

1. An average household could save 19% – equivalent to nearly £108 – on their total annual electricity bills by using both internal and external lighting controls and fitting energy-saving light bulbs.ggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
2. The average householder could save 59% – equivalent to £300 – on their annual gas bill by using heating and hot water boiler controls, upgrading to a condensing boiler and ensuring room controls such as thermostats are set correctly.ggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
3. Don’t leave items on standby – they are still using energy. Make the effort to reach down and turn them off at the socket.ggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
4. It’s not just cutting out an appliance that may help your carbon footprint – cutting down on the use of a bigger appliance will be more effective then cutting out a smaller appliance altogether.ggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
5. Check how old are some of your appliances? You may not need to give them up, just simply upgrade them.gggggggggggggg  ggggggggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
6. Turning the thermostat down to between 18-21 degrees centigrade can reduce your heating bill, around £65 and more savings can be made by timing your heating so it is not on constantly, turning off radiators in unused rooms and turning the thermostat down at night or when you have a full house.ggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
7. Don’t waste water and electricity doing half loads in the washing machine. Also use a cooler temperature on the washing machine, as most of the energy in a washing machine goes on heating the water.gggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggg  ggggggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
8. Approximately 1 in 4 UK homes now has a dishwasher. If it is an inefficient model you could be paying double the amount in electricity charges than you would if you were using an efficient model.gggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggg  ggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
9. Turn light off when you leave a room – and drum it into your children and friends to do the same.gggggggggggggggggg  ggggggggggggg  gggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggg
10. Only boil sufficient water for required use rather than boiling a full kettle each time.

Photos show: an energy-saving light bulb; a central heating control; and switch off lights

More information: www.eca.co.uk