Energy saving tips: save over £400 on your energy bills

Use energy efficient light bulbs.

Lighting makes up 11% of the average UK household electricity consumption, so switching to energy efficient lighting will help you save money and reduce your carbon emissions - without compromising the quality of lighting. But how do you know which light bulbs will work best for you? Check out the Energy Saving Trusts lighting advice.

Switch off the lights.

Simply switching off your lights when you leave a room could save you around £20 a year in energy.

Keep your oven door closed.

We all know it’s hard to resist taking a peek at what's cooking in the oven, but opening the oven door uses more energy by letting the heat out - stick to using the window to check your food instead.

Timing is key.

To save energy, it’s worthwhile thinking about when you use electricity, for example, putting a wash on. Between midnight and 4pm, more of the UK's power comes from clean, green renewable sources. AND, if you’re on a day / night tariff, you can use the cheaper nighttime rate for overnight washes or EV charging.

Fill your dishwasher.

Reducing your dishwasher use by just one run per week for a year could save you £14. So try to only run your dishwasher when it is full to reduce the amount of water you use.

Replace your boiler with a heat pump.

Heat pumps use a small amount of electricity to take natural, low-level heat from the air outside and condense it to generate significantly more heat in your home. They can turn 1kWh electricity into up to 4kWh of heat - that's 4x more than even the most efficient gas, electric or oil boilers!

Be one of the first to try Octopus' heat pumps

Get a water meter.

Water meters are the fairest way to pay, as your bill is based on the amount of water you use. If you’d like a water meter and you're the billpayer you can apply with your water supplier. You can also apply if you rent your home and have a tenancy of six months or more.

Swap out 1 bath a week for a shower.

You could save £12 a year on your energy bills by swapping out 1 bath a week with a 4 minute shower.

Don’t leave your tap dripping - and don't leave water running.

A dripping tap (or an overactive toilet) can waste over 5,000 litres of water a year, while leaving your taps running whilst brushing your teeth or shaving wastes 6 litres of water every minute!

Get draught-proofing.

If cold draughts are ignored, your heating has to work harder to keep you warm, increasing your energy bills and your carbon footprint... and no one wants that. Professional draught-proofing can save you around £45 a year on your energy bills, but this service can cost around £225. Alternatively, you can find draughts using the back of your hand and then follow our budget-friendly DIY draught-proofing tips for 6 different areas of your home:

Draughtproofing doors

• To block draughts at the base of your door, you can buy a cushion draught excluder (~£7) or make one by stuffing tights with socks, rice, plastic bags or any spare material you have.
• If you'd prefer a fixed draught excluder, you can install a brush strip or hinged-flap draught excluder (~£7) at the base of your door. Here's a tutorial on how to install a brush strip draught excluder.
• For draughts around the edges of doors, use self-adhesive draught-proofing strips. Foam strips are the cheapest option (~£5) but may not be long-lasting. Other options include plastic or metal draught-proofing strips. Here's a guide on how to install self-adhesive draught-proofing strips.
• Letter boxes and keyholes can also be draught-proofed using a metal keyhole cover (~£3) and a letterbox brush/flap (~£5).
• Closing curtains in front of external doors can also help to block the cold out and trap the heat in.
  
  Draughtproofing windows
• Whilst the sun is shining, keep curtains/blinds open to let in the free heat from the sun. When the sun sets, close curtains/blinds to keep the heat in and the cold out (this can lead to a 15% reduction in heat loss). Curtain liners (or even a shower curtain) can be added during the colder months to thicken existing curtains.
• Draught-proofing strips can also be used around windows that open. Here's a guide on how to install draught-proofing strips around your windows.
• Silicone sealant (~£5) can be used to seal any draughty gaps around the edges of windows.
• Secondary-glazing window insulation film (~£8.50) can be used to create a temporary double glazed window effect to reduce heat loss during winter periods. Here's a tutorial on how to use window insulation film.
  
  Draughtproofing loft hatches
• A loft hatch insulation pillow can be purchased (~£24) or made by stuffing a black bin bag with fibreglass, old cushion stuffing or any spare material. It can then be secured to the loft side of the hatch using duct tape.
• Draught-proofing strips can also be used around edges of loft hatches to seal any gaps. Here's a guide on how to install draught-proofing strips around your loft hatch.
  
  Draughtproofing chimneys
• If your chimney is still used, you can buy or make a removable fireplace guard to help reduce the draught. You just need some spare plywood or thick cardboard cut to size and insulation tape/kitchen foil. Whilst the fire is off, fit it into place in your fireplace. Here's an example of how to make a removable fireplace guard.
• If your chimney is no longer used, consider having it capped by a professional (~£150).
  
  Stopping floorboards and skirting boards drafts
• Place a rug (or leftover cuts of carpet) over exposed floorboards to reduce draughts through the gaps.
• Filler can be used to seal gaps in your floor/around your skirting boards - it is best to use filler that can tolerate movement as the boards can contract and expand.
  
  Extractor fan drafts
• Leaving an extractor fan on can chill your whole house, so remember to turn it off when you've finished using it. You can get a timed extractor fan to help ensure it's not left on unnecessarily.

Our gas saving tips below have been tried and tested by 250,000 Octopus Energy customers during the Octopus Winter Workout. Over the 12 weeks, active customers cut their typical gas use, and on average, saved 12% of their bill - collectively saving £4.8 million on their Winter gas bills!! So, how did they do it?..

Heat your body, not the whole house.

Heating a whole home costs between £2-4 a day which can rack up quickly over winter. Items such as an energy-efficient electric blanket can heat a person for just 4p an hour and a hot water bottle even less. Heating the person alongside tactically using the heating (at a slightly lower temperature and at specific times) is a vastly more cost-effective way to stay warm: particularly for people with mobility issues, for example, and spend a lot of time in one spot.

Reduce the temperature of your water.

Most of us waste gas heating the hot water for our taps to 60c, only to cool it down again by mixing it with cold water when we want to use it for showers or baths. But how hot do we need the water to clean our dishes?

At 60c, hot water can cause serious scalding in under 5 seconds. However, for water to be hot enough to kill the bacteria or other nasties on your plates, it would need to be over 75c, and the dishes would need to soak for at least 30 seconds.

So, when washing dishes by hand, you only need water hot enough to loosen grease and oils, which is generally around 30-40c. Your dish soap will do the job of lifting bacteria from the surface of your dishes so they are swept away with the water.

Disinfect your sink regularly so it doesn’t become a home for bacteria.

Set timers for your heating.

Turning your heating off when it’s not needed is a quick way to save. The trick is to set your heat to come on 30 minutes before it’s needed, and shut off 30 minutes early as well – so the room can heat up and you make the most of residual heat. See what moneysavingexpert has to say on this topic.

Check your radiators and stop heating unused rooms.

Turn off radiators in unused rooms to save wasting energy where it is not needed. Don’t forget to also keep the doors of unused and unheated rooms closed - a cushion draught excluder can also be used at the base of the unused room's door.

Here are some ways to make your radiators more energy efficient:

• Move any objects obstructing your radiators such as sofas and curtains as radiators need space to heat your rooms.
• Clean your radiators by removing dust build-up using a vacuum and radiator duster (~£5). Dust that builds up between the fins of radiators makes them less efficient. If you have radiator covers, here's a guide on how to remove them so you can access the radiator fins.
• Don’t forget to bleed your radiators as trapped air also reduces their efficiency. If there are cold spots on your radiators, it's a sign they need bleeding. Here's a tutorial on how to bleed your radiators.
• Adding a shelf positioned just above your radiator helps to push the heat forward into the room, rather than letting it rise to the ceiling. You can find easy to install, clip-on shelves in most hardware/DIY shops.
• You can also use a radiator fan to distribute the warmth into the room quicker.
• Use radiator reflector panels behind your radiators (most effective on radiators located on external walls) so the wall doesn’t absorb all the heat.
• Smart radiators: If you want to spend a bit more, get smart radiator valves so you can control your heating room by room.

Heat your cooking water with electricity.

If you’ve got a gas hob, heat your water with electricity - it’s quicker and uses less gas to get it boiling with a kettle or a microwave first.