Energy Efficiency in Your Home

Do your bit for the planet!

In the face of a big challenge like climate change, it might seem hard to know how to start to tackle it. With almost half of the UK’s carbon dioxide emissions resulting from the energy that we use every day at home, at work and when we travel, making small changes to your everyday behaviour can dramatically lower the amount of energy you use – reducing damaging emissions and maybe saving you money too.

Here are some simple steps that you can take to increase the energy efficiency in your home and save up to £200 on your annual bills.

No cost energy saving tips

• Use lids on pans when cooking and use the right ring size to avoid heating air instead of the pan
• Don't leave TVs or other appliances on standby or on charge unnecessarily
• Use economy settings on dishwashers and washing machines for half loads
• Do your washing at a lower temperature - modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures and a 40 degree wash cycle uses a third less energy than one at 60 degree
• Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows
• Don't leave the fridge door open longer than is necessary - for every minute the fridge door is open it will take three minutes to cool down.
• Turn your central heating down. Reduce the room thermostat down by one degree and save up to 10 per cent off your fuel bill.
• Use your timer controls so that your heating is only on when it needs it to be
• Is your water too hot? Set your hot water cylinder thermostat to 60 degrees
• Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements in your kettle)

Fact: The average household has 12 gadgets left on standby or charging at any one time! (Energy Saving Trust). Standby can account for 10 per cent of household electricity consumption.

More ways to be energy efficient

• Appliances
• Buy energy efficient appliances. If you replace any white goods in your home look for the Energy Efficiency Recommended logo
• Invest in energy efficient light bulbs. Low-energy light bulbs last up to 12 times longer and use less energy than their inefficient counterparts. You can save £68 over each bulb's lifetime

The cost of energy saving light bulbs has come down dramatically recently and some utility companies will even give them away for free so look out for offers.

Boilers and central heating

• Replace your old boiler. Replacing your 15 year old boiler with a new energy efficiency condensing boiler and installing heating controls could cut your bills by 40 per cent
• Put an insulating jacket on your hot water tank. They cost less than £10, yet if everyone in the UK fitted one the energy saved would be enough to power 64,136 households for a year.
  

Home insulation – keeping the heat in

• Invest in draught excluders for letterboxes, keyholes, doors and windows that open onto the outside. You can also plug the gaps between floorboards and around skirting boards
• Have your cavity walls insulated and save an average £130 to £160 per year on your heating bill
• Insulate your loft. 270mm of loft insulation can save up to 25 per cent of your heating costs
• Double glazing won’t just help save you money on your heating bill, it will reduce noise and condensation too

Take a look at our grants page to see what help is available for installing these and other energy saving measures.

Tips come from the Centre for Sustainable Energy and the Energy Saving Trust.

Contact us

Energy team
Tel: 020 7525 2000
environment@southwark.gov.uk 
30-34 Penrose Street
London
SE17 3DW