10 helpful ways to reduce your autumn energy bills.

As we move into autumn, it’s inevitable that our energy bills will increase. However, there’s a few things we can do to reduce our energy bills.

Whether you hate it or love it, we are now in the chilly autumn months, meaning less daylight and colder, wetter days are upon us. To go alongside that, energy companies are biting our bank accounts, making our energy bills go up and up. 

How can you reduce your autumn energy bills? There’s many different avenues you can take to reduce your autumn energy bills in your home such as switching energy providers, investing in double glazing and insulating your home.

It isn’t all doom and gloom though, it really is possible to reduce energy bills by:

• Switching energy provider
• Replace light bulbs
• Buying cut draughts
• Getting a new boiler
• Insulating your lofts and walls
• Installing and using heating control
• Choosing energy efficient appliances
• Using natural heating
• Investing in double glazing
• Turning off all of your gadgets

We’ll go through each one in detail to help you reduce your autumn energy bills.

1) Switching Energy Provider

There has been undoubtable difficulty with energy companies in the last few months, but it’s still worth comparing gas and electricity prices to make sure you are on the very best deal you can be. If you haven’t switched energy providers recently, you probably will be paying out of contract rates and there could potentially cheaper deals out there. 

If you let a fixed tariff run out, you’ll end up on a standard variable tariff, and you could end up paying much more than you should on your energy bills. Most fixed tariffs last a year, so make sure to switch once a year to a cheaper deal.

Use comparison sites such as Which? to compare gas and electricity prices and find the best value provider for you and your home.

2) Replace light bulbs

Replacing your bulbs with energy-saving light bulbs can help you to lower your energy bills easily. In fact, an LED light bulb costs around £1.71 a year to run and over its lifetime, could cut around £180 from your energy bills compared to a normal bulb. LEDs are the most energy-efficient light bulbs and use almost 90% less energy than the normal light bulb.

3) Air leaks 

If you stop heat from escaping through gaps around your building’s doors and windows, this could help you save around £20 a year. Areas of your home to consider for draughts include:

• Doors: Use draught proofing strips for gaps around the edges of your doors. You should also consider brush or hinged flap draught excluders on the bottom of the doors for maximum security.
• Fireplace: If you don’t use your fireplace regularly, this can bring in unwanted breezes and let your heat escape. Use an inflatable pillow to temporarily block the chimney.
• Loft: Prevent hot air from escaping by using draught proof foam strips.
• Windows: Use draught proofing strips around the frames.

4) Use heating controls

Did you know reducing room temperatures by just 1C can cut heating bills by another £55 a year? So, a simple task such as putting on a jumper before turning up the heating can save you some money! 

Using heating controls such as a room thermostat, programmer and thermostatic radiator valve can help reduce your autumn energy bills further. Heating controls will let you set your heating and turn hot water on and off to suit you. It also allows you to set different temperatures for different areas of your home to keep your home comfortable without wasting heat.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, a typical home could save £70 a year and reduce your home’s carbon emissions by 305kg a year. 

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5) Choose energy efficient appliances

 If you need to replace one of your appliances, you can cut your electricity bill by choosing the most energy efficient model. According to Money Supermarket, A+++ washing machine can typically use £65 less energy than an A + one over an 11 year lifespan. Of course, don’t throw out your appliances if they are working well, but when it is time for a swap, a high energy efficient appliance is a great investment.

6) Natural heating

If possible, during the day you can open your curtains and blinds that face the sun to allow sunlight to naturally heat your home. This can cut down winter energy bills by lessening the need to use central heating.

7) Insulate your walls and loft

Insulating your loft and cavity walls can help keep heat in and reduce your energy bills significantly. In fact, it can avoid losing as much as one quarter of the heat in your home premises. There are a range of different ways you can insulate your home, from using a thickness of 270mm insulation to using a solid wall insulation. Make sure to do your research to make sure you pick the best one for you and your build.

8) Get a new boiler

You can save energy by upgrading your old boiler to a new A-rated condensing boiler with a programmer, room thermostat and thermostatic radiator controls. Sadly, more than half of what you spend on energy in a year goes on heating (YIKES), so make sure to replace your old, inefficient boiler with a modern energy-efficient one to make a big difference to your bill.

However, we understand that getting a new boiler can be expensive so if saving your money is more of a priority, don’t replace your boiler until it’s essential.

9) Turn off all of your gadgets

It might seem minor, but don’t leave your gadgets on standby as this can sneakily rack up your energy bill. According to the Energy Saving Trust, turning off your unused gadgets could save you up to £35 a year.

10) Invest in double glazing

Double glazing can insulate your home and keep the cold out. It will help reduce your heating bill as well as keeping the noise out!

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Still need a helping hand to reduce your autumn energy bill?

We can help! We are proud to say we are energy experts and can work with you to reduce your autumn energy bills. Get in touch with us today to see how we can help you. 
Or.. if you want to find out more about how you can save energy, check out our blog 10 quick hacks to save energy during lockdown.