With Halloween upon us once again, it’s time to break out the pumpkins, scary costumes and sweets for trick or treating.
However, much like ghosts during winter your bills can start to creep up on you and give you a scare. So, in the spirit of the spooky season, let’s take a look at how we can help bring your bills down this winter.
The Shining... energy efficient light bulbs, of course...
Slice your bills Freddy Krueger style by replacing your light bulbs with energy efficient LEDs. The data really does speak for itself:
If you’re a savvy soul and have already replaced your light bulbs, remember to turn off the lights when you’re not in the room. It sounds obvious but it’s scary how many people forget!
The Chill Factor...
According to official data, households can achieve annual savings of about 1% for each degree of thermostat adjustment per 8 hours. If you’re a techie, you could also upgrade to a ‘smart thermostat’.
A smart thermostat can link to your phone or tablet and allows you to control it remotely with the click of a button as part of an artificially intelligent home (hopefully nothing like Proteus IV in Demon Seed).
Doors, windows and floorboards, oh my!
Doors are notorious for slowing down heating systems (as well as werewolves, vampires, possessed toys, velociraptors, you get the idea). On a serious note, according to Which?, using a couple of draught excluders could help you save up to £20 a year.
Draughts can also come from your floorboarding/skirting, loft hatch and chimney. You can use a silicone-based filler to fill the gaps in the floorboards or a good old-fashioned pillow to stop hot air escaping up the chimney (just make sure to remove it on Christmas Eve for obvious reasons...).
"I ain't afraid of no ghost..."
According to Energy Saving Trust:
- 25% of heat is lost through the roof of an uninsulated home.
- Up to £335 of heating costs can be lost through walls.
- Insulating your floors can save you £40 - £85 per year.
While insulating your home sounds like a daunting task, you’ll feel the warm, comforting benefits over a long period of time, unless you're too scared to go up in the attic, who ya gonna call?
Vampire appliances, using energy when not in use
Many of us are guilty of leaving our electronics on standby mode, but the cost of this can easily build up over time and be truly terrifying. Energy Saving Trust estimates that each UK household spends around £50 - £86 a year purely on appliances in standby mode. The biggest offenders are TVs, computers and mobile phone chargers. The good news is that this is a problem that’s easy to fix. Socket timers are a great investment that can help slay the blood-sucking vampire of energy waste.
Do you have any energy-saving tips that you’d like to share? Get in touch on Twitter or Facebook – it would be devilishly good to hear your suggestions.