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, in particular appliances that you would usually leave on standby.

Water Heating

• Adjust the thermostat so that hot water is 55°C at the tap
• Fix dripping taps
• Have a shower instead of a bath and 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 cylinder when you go on holiday
• 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 you are heating
• Close curtains just before it gets dark to keep in the heat
• Use heaters away from windows so they heat the room more effectively
• Turn off heaters in rooms you're not using
• Use the thermostat controls and timers on your heaters
• Block off your fireplace when you're not using it
• Block draughts around your doors. Use a door 'snake' to keep draught out of rooms that you're heating
• Fit a towel rail timer to each heated towel rail
• 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
• 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

• 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 about one-fifth the energy of 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 - standby mode wastes power
• Turn off your computer when you're not using it
• Turn off battery chargers at the wall when batteries are fully charged
• 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 it's better to wash full loads than half-loads) and don't forget to adjust your wash cycle to match the load
• Dry washing on your clothesline as often as possible
• If using a clothes drier, make sure your clothes are well spun before putting them in the dryer
• 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