Energy Saving Tips

Here are some simple, effective and relatively inexpensive ways to conserve energy and save money around your home. The simplest and cheapest way to save energy is to turn off anything that doesn't need to be switched on.

Water Heating

• Adjust the thermostat so that hot water is 55°C at the tap.
• Fix dripping taps.
• Have showers instead of baths.
• Keep your showers short.
• Fit a water saving low-flow shower head.
• Install a hot water cylinder wrap.
• Insulate the hot water pipes that are right beside your hot water cylinder.
• Replace broken hot water thermostats.
• Switch off your hot water if you're away for more than two weeks.
• Use cold water when you're filling the jug, rinsing dishes and washing clothes.

Heating

• Capture as much sun as possible - keep windows clean and make sure trees don't obstruct the sun.
• Close the doors and curtains of rooms that you're heating.
• Close curtains just before it gets dark to keep in the heat.
• Put heaters away from windows so they heat the room more effectively.
• Turn off heaters in rooms you're not using.
• Use the thermostat and timer on your heaters so they only come on when you need them and automatically switch off when they reach a certain temperature.
• Replace broken heating thermostats.
• Block off your fireplace when you're not using it.
• Block draughts around doors. Use a door ‘snake’ to keep draught out of rooms that you're heating.
• Turn off your heated towel rail in summer months and when you're not using it.
• Shower with the windows open to avoid moisture forming - dry air is easier to heat and better for your health.
• Put an extra blanket on the bed instead of using your electric blanket.
• Replace worn seals on your oven, fridge or freezer so hot and cold air doesn't escape.
• Weatherproof your house to minimise air leaks around doors and windows – use weather seals from a hardware store.
• Fix any gaps in your ceiling insulation.
• Use a ceiling fan to distribute heat in winter and cool air in summer.

Fridge & Freezer

• Avoid opening the fridge doors more than you need to - take all the food for a meal out at once and shut the doors straight away.
• Fridges and freezers operate most efficiently when they're full but not overloaded.
• Defrost your freezer regularly to reduce the ice build-up.
• Keep food covered to reduce moisture build-up on the inside of the fridge. Wipe moisture from bottles and other containers before you put them back in the fridge.
• Use the most efficient temperature settings i.e. set your freezer at -18°C and your fridge between 2°C and 5°C.
• Leave space around the back of your fridge or freezer for air to circulate.
• Avoid placing your fridge or freezer next to your oven or stove, or in direct sunlight.
• Do you have a second fridge? Turn it off if you don't need it all the time.

Cooking

• Let food cool down before putting it in the fridge or freezer.
• Defrost food naturally instead of using the microwave.
• Use a microwave or toaster instead of the oven or stovetop whenever you can.
• Avoid opening oven doors too often - each time you do the temperature drops by up to 15°C.
• Use your oven to cook several things at once.
• Keep lids on the pots when you are cooking and make sure the lids fit well.
• Put small pots on small elements and large pots on larger elements.
• Make sure oven seals are kept clean and are properly fitted.

Lighting

• Switch off any lights that you're not using and take advantage of natural lighting whenever possible.
• Choose the appropriate strength of bulb for the area i.e. don't use a 100 watt bulb for a bedside lamp when a 40 watt bulb would be sufficient.
• Use energy efficient lighting (compact fluorescent light bulbs) wherever you can – they use 75 percent less energy than normal light bulbs.
• Clean your lights and lampshades regularly to get the maximum light.
• Paint walls a light colour to reflect more light.
• Install motion sensors on your outside lights.

Other Appliances

• When you're not using appliances, unplug them or switch them off at the wall. Even standby mode wastes power.
• Turn off your computer when you're not using it.
• Turn off chargers at the wall when batteries are fully charged e.g. cellphones and laptops.
• Wait until the dishwasher is full before you use it - and use the economy cycle.
• If your dishwasher can generate its own hot water then use this function as it's more efficient than using hot water from your cylinder.
• Don't overload your washing machine (although its better to wash full loads than half loads) and don't forget to adjust your wash cycle to match the load.
• Use shorter wash cycles if possible.
• Make sure your clothes are well spun before putting them in the dryer.
• Dry washing on your clothesline as often as possible. Try to only use your clothes dryer when it's raining.
• If you're using the clothes dryer, fill it - it's more efficient to dry a full load.
• Use the low heat setting on your dryer whenever you can.
• Ventilate the clothes dryer to the outside.
• Clean your dryer's lint filter every time you use it.