How to save energy at home

Energy bills are a big part of household expenses. Everyday actions, like making a cup of tea or turning on the heating, all add to your energy costs. Here’s a guide to help you save on energy usage at home, cut down on bills, and reduce your carbon footprint.

Understanding energy use

To start reducing your costs, it’s helpful to understand how energy is used in your home. Daily, weekly, and monthly habits affect energy consumption, along with shifts in your routine related to seasonal weather or lifestyle changes which is why we may find we use more energy in the winter months. This includes energy use from things like:

• Electrical devices (e.g., kettles, laptops, hair dryers)
• Essential appliances (e.g., fridge, boiler)
• Task-specific appliances (e.g., washing machine, dishwasher)
• Daily-use fixtures (e.g., lights, taps, shower)

These use energy, measured in kilowatt hours (kWh). Your energy bill may be based on actual usage or estimated meter readings. Submitting regular meter readings ensures accurate bills, prevents overpayments, and helps you stay in control of your energy use and costs.

Heating and cooling efficiency

In a typical household, over half of fuel bills are spent on heating and hot water. However, there are ways you can make heating more efficient with a few changes:

• Insulate windows: closing blinds and curtains helps keep warmth in.
• Draught excluders: make sure draughts aren’t getting in around or under your doors. 

Efficient use of appliances

The kettle, the hob, the fridge, the washing machine… If you do a walkthrough of your daily routine, you may notice that you use a lot of appliances—and that they use a lot of energy!

Here are some habits you could try to include in your daily and weekly routine to optimise the use of your appliances, help reduce your energy consumption, and the best part is it might save you some money:

1. Filling the kettle up with just the water that you need could save you up to £10/year.
2. Switch off… turning off your appliances at the power switch can save about £55 a year. Even when it looks off, a TV on standby still uses energy, so hit that power switch!
3. You could save up to £24 a year by washing your clothes on a 30-degree cycle, rather than running it at higher temperatures and reducing the number of washes you do a week by one for a year.

By making these small changes, you could save around £89 each year. It’s easy, quick, and really adds up over time — so why not start today?

Choosing energy-efficient appliances

When you’re in the market for new appliances, aim for those with high energy ratings (A is best). They cost less to run over time. Compare your current appliance’s energy usage to potential savings with a new one.

Efficient water heating

Boiler and radiator maintenance is important for both safety and energy efficiency- think about getting your boiler serviced annually.

Bleeding your radiators can also help with your energy bills, removing air pockets to make sure your radiators are doing their job and heating your home as effectively as they should. To find out more about how you can do this yourself, have a look at the DIY energy saving tips from the Energy Savings Trust.

If you have a hot water tank, some experts recommend covering it with an insulated jacket, which can help it to retain heat and save energy (and money) over the long run.

Long-term energy saving strategies

You may find it simpler and more affordable to make some of the changes we’ve mentioned above. If you are looking for longer term solutions these can initially incur a larger cost so it’s important to know your budget and understand what you are comfortable spending.

Draught-proofing your home is an effective long-term energy saving solution, estimated to save £80/year. It’s something you could do yourself by blocking gaps around windows, doors, and floors that allow warm air out and cold air in but make sure you don’t block any essential ventilation. 

A quarter of heat is lost through the roof in an uninsulated home. Find out more about how much a typical installation could cost you, how much you could save on your energy bill (£/year) as well as how many kilograms of CO₂ emissions you could save each year by insulating an uninsulated loft.

There are government grants available for some energy efficient, low carbon upgrades (like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme in England and Wales, or grants from Home Energy Scotland) so do check those out.  For advice on budgeting for renovations, start by thinking about how to organise your finances.

TSB has partnered with Snugg. With Snugg you can create a personalised energy efficiency plan based on where you live and the size of your home, with tailored advice on how to optimise your habits and take advantage of government funding and grants.

It's simple, by just using your postcode, Snugg can provide a free, personalised home energy improvement plan. This has options that could make your home more energy efficient and reduce energy bills too.

Enter your postcode for a free home improvement plan today. You must be 18+ and a UK resident only to use Snugg’s services. TSB is an introducer to Snugg. We can’t give you advice about the services they provide. So think carefully when deciding if the services they recommend are right for you.

For more tips and advice, explore more simple ways to save money on your bills.