Skip to content

East Midlands Energy Efficiency

Hints & Tips at Home

We all want to do our bit.  Safety, sustainability and energy efficiency are important to us all.  Sometimes it’s the little things that can make a big difference, particularly when we act collectively.  Here are some top tips to help at home.

Goto page: 1 2 3 4 5

Use the sun to reduce your heating bills. Leave internal doors open to rooms which trap the sun so the heat can spread to other areas.

Thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) only limit the maximum temperature areas reach. It is a common misconception that they change how quickly an area heats up. Don’t turn them up thinking the room will heat up quicker.

A dripping tap can waste at least 5,500 litres of water a year. If this is hot water you’re also wasting the energy used to heat it. Get leaking taps fixed promptly.

Giving your plants’ roots a good soaking once or twice a week in dry weather is much better than lightly watering them every day because most of that water just evaporates away. However, new plants do need regular watering until they are established.

Fill a jug with tap water and leave it to cool in your fridge. You’ll save water by not having to run the tap for ages to get a cold drink.

Fit a water butt to collect rainwater. Your roof collects about 85,000 litres of rain each year (around 450 butts full). That’s water you can use for your plants and to wash the car, and it’s free!

If your charger has an LED to show it’s in use, it is still using energy until you switch it off at the wall or unplug it.

Spending one minute less in the shower each day will save up to £8 a year off your energy bills, per person. With a water meter this could save a further £11 off annual water and sewerage bills. If everyone in a four-person household did this it would lead to a total saving of £75 a year.

If you need to use a tumble drier, make sure you use a full load and keep the lint filter clean. It will keep your machine working more efficiently saving energy while also reducing any risk of fire.

Get into the habit of turning lights off when you leave a room. A family could save between £50 and £90 a year just by remembering to flick a switch, if they don’t already do this.

Goto page: 1 2 3 4 5