Given that electricity prices are always rising, it is always a good idea to see how we can reduce the cost. There are essentially two ways to do this:
Paying less - Getting better deals from energy providers, this could mean fixed priced deals or more appropriate tariffs for the usage.
Using less - E.g. enabling energy saving options and replacing items with more efficient ones where necessary. This is what this page will help with.
Before we can reduce our usage, we need to find out what we are using! We can do this in using one of the methods below:
Either via the Smart Meter's IHD (Display) or a mobile App, these will tell you how much energy your entire house is using. You may be able to tell how much energy an individual device is using by looking at the wattage difference when the device is on then off.
These plug in between the device and the socket. Some display the power used on the device, others link to a smart phone. #Argos sell monitoring devices such as these. Given that appliances can draw varying amounts of power over their use, it is worth leaving them plugged in for a while to get a good average.
If you have the manual for the device, that is an easy place to look. You may also be able to find the details online.
Note that many devices such as fridges and freezers are not running all the time. Computers also use less power when they are idle as well.
When you know the wattage of an item, put it into the Electricity Cost Calculator below to see how much the item is costing you!
Many items have either an eco mode where the device can run using less energy or a sleep mode where if the device is not being used over a length of time, it turns itself off. It is worth looking for these options and making sure they are on and adjusting as necessary.
No energy saving guide would be complete without saying something about light bulbs!
By this point, most incandescent (glass) light bulbs have probably been replaced by a CFL (curly) light or an LED bulb, if not then it may be worth replacing it. The LED equivalent of an old 100 watt bulb will use under 20 watts of power. LED bulbs are now much cheaper so should pay for themselves much sooner.
Making sure you have the right wattage for a particular area is a good way to save energy too. Some very low wattage (<5 watts) bulbs are great for small areas. Given their fragile nature, bulbs are probably better bought in shop but if you want to buy online, #Wilko or #Homebase are good places to start.
Also remember that an light that is off draws no power so if a room has no one it in, turn out the light...
For the most part, you cannot get away from using a cooker and they all use a lot of energy. Beyond turning the oven off during the last 5 minutes and planning meals, there are not many options. There are some alternatives that may be useful in addition though:
Microwaves do use a lot of energy but they are usually not on for as a traditional oven. They are great for things such as vegetables, baked potatoes and porridge.
These can do more typical oven foods (chips) but as they do it faster, it works out cheaper.
It should be noted that neither of the above options are likely to pay for themselves in a hurry, but if you already have one then they may be worth using.
They all use a lot of power so it is best to make sure you are only boiling what you need.
In general, using an item for as long as possible is the greenest option, however many newer electrical items can use significantly less power than their older versions. It may be worth working out whether replacing an item is the better option. Very old fridges and freezers are prime candidates to check as newer models are much more efficient, though the initial cost can be high. If you buy online, make sure to go through #TopCashback or use a loyalty card to reduce the cost!
Use the calculator below to get a rough idea of how much an item costs to run for a year:
Quick items: 10w LED Bulb, Wii, Xbox Series S, Xbox Series X
| Wattage (1KW = 1000) | |
| Hours used per day | |
| Cost per kWh (pence) | |
| £0 | |
As mentioned above, many devices do not use full power all the time, e.g. a computer may peak at 180w when busy and idle at 20w when not particularly active.