One of the things we all love about the Summer months is the notable reduction we see in our energy bills, as the rise in temperature essentially means we get to heat our homes for free. Now, however, we’re coming into Winter, which, along with glum weather, brings charges that seem to get more expensive every year.
Thankfully, with a bit of focus and discipline, there are several ways you can cut down your dreaded Winter energy bills. Here are my tips for making those bills more manageable.
TURN OFF THE LIGHTS
It seems blatantly obvious but how many times have you gone to bed and left the living room light on overnight? Doing this once in a while won’t make much difference but if you’re leaving the lights on every night you’ll see a notable and unnecessary increase on your bill. Try to get into the habit of turning off the light every time you leave a room.
LET YOUR DISHES DRY NATURALLY
If you use a dish washer, turn off the drying function and let the dishes dry naturally.
USE A CLOTHES HORSE
Rather than running up costs with a tumble dryer, set up a clothes horse for your drying, preferably in a small room that will heat up easily.
UNPLUG YOUR PHONE CHARGER
Having your phone plugged into a charger runs up unnecessary costs as we often forget it’s plugged in and may even leave it on charge overnight. To avoid this, set your phone’s alarm for an hour from the time you plug it in.
TURN OFF YOUR PC
As it can take a while for a PC to boot up, it’s all-too-tempting to leave it permanently on for instant access. Many of us want to hop on straight away first thing in the morning to check our emails. Why not turn it off at night and back on before your morning shower? By the time you’ve dried off, your PC will have booted. Also, make sure any peripheral equipment, such as printers or scanners, are only plugged in when you intend to use them.
MANAGE YOUR CENTRAL HEATING
The best way to do this is to use a timer efficiently. There’s no point having your house warm when there’s nobody at home to appreciate it, so make sure your radiators are only on when they’ll actually make a difference.
USE A HOT WATER BOTTLE
You’d be amazed at the difference this tried-and-tested method can make on a chilly winter night.
TURN OFF APPLIANCES
One of the first things we often do upon arriving home is turn on the TV, whether we actually intend watching it or not. Cut out this habit and only turn it on when you’re sat in front of it. Likewise, appliances like microwaves and DVD players should only be plugged in when you need to use them.
Following the above tips won’t enable you to buy that yacht you’ve always wanted, but it will lessen the terror of opening those dreaded Winter energy bills.
By Eric Hillis
