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SAVING MONEY ON UTILITIES
(Gas, Electric and Water)
Since I've been doing a lot of research on UK energy efficiency.. This is some of the tips I've compiled from watching and reading so much content. I thought I'd share it here (while yes this isn't a magickal blog post but think of the supplies you could buy with the money you save from your utilities) for anyone who it might help..
- Adding weather stripping rubber for bottom of doors, window foam stripping, cork and energy strip will keep the warm in in winter and will help keep the cooler air in in summer making your home more efficiently the desired temperature.
- Try putting on extra layers like jumpers before reaching for the heating. Try to limit your use of heating and also try not to max 68 degrees heat thermostat.. each degree is so expensive!! Your body will adjust. (Or if you're me grab some blankets..!)
- If possible set water tank to medium-hot not very hot (120 F) no one needs crazy scolding water 24/7. So heat the tank less save money..
- Unplug devices at the wall or turn them off at the plug. Leaving items on standby can eat up so much money (a term known as vampire energy, phantom power, ghost energy etc). Even worse when you leave items on - I watched a video where a guy was spending crazy money just leaving his cable box on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHBQ27udXHY - yes that's American BUT he has super helpful information on working out the cost of each item too so worth a watch no matter where you live.
- Wash laundry cold/low heat and peg out laundry when possible. You can wash your clothing with cold water but check your detergent is compatible for this. Also make sure your washer is full and do big loads. Also a front loading washing machine is typically cheaper to run.
- Same goes for dishwasher - while it might save water in the long run it's a big electric eater so if you wash using cold & full loads again.
- Try not to use dishwasher and oven.
- Change all light bulbs to LED 9W you'll save so much money here's an average chart for different kinds of lightbulbs https://www.sust-it.net/lighting-energy-calculator.php
- Turn microwave to correct setting,. Ie don't nuke everything!! Also turn off at the wall / unplug when not in use it's crazy how much that clock display can cost you!! If you need a clock buy a battery operated one they're not too expensive.
- Add water aerator to taps.
- Electric gangs with switches.
- Fridge on 2-3 it doesn't need to be artic cold to keep your goods from spoiling. Also keep fridge and freezer stocked so it takes less power. Cover food/drink/liquid in fridge so doesn't create moisture and make fridge work harder. Another tip is to put a paper towel in with (at the bottom) each item ie bag of lettuce, bag of carrots, box of tomatoes etc as this will help keep goods from spoiling and reduce moisture.
- Open the curtains and use natural lighting through the day.
- Turn off lights and items when not using them.
- Change shower head to 1.5g aerator or less.. Typically a shower puts out 10 gallons a minute. You can change that to 1.5 gallons a minute and still enjoy a shower. Still get as clean. And you at that rate you're using less water, less electric and you could even shower longer for less.
- Wireless home phone is expensive use old fashion cord.
- Empty the tumble dryer lint trap every time not only does this make the tumble dryer perform better and thus using less electric but also it prevents the risk of fire.. Again do bigger loads when possible.
So there's a few real money saving tips. Feel free to comment if you have further tips. Note I live in the UK where I don't have air con, ceiling fans etc but definitely look into those things if you do!!
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