SIMPLE WAYS TO CUT ENERGY BILLS THAT COST NOTHING
With news of yet another round of energy price hikes hitting hard pressed families, some timely advice from the Heating Helpline – its top 10 tips for cutting energy use and they all cost nothing.
22 October 2013 – The last news that hard-pressed families wanted to hear was yet another round of price rises by the Big 6 energy companies which is likely to take the average dual fuel bill to around £1300 a year – a big chunk of household expenditure and likely to push thousands more families into fuel poverty. Faced with energy bills that seem to just keep going up and up, Heating Helpline (http://www.heatinghelpline.org.uk), the free consumer advice service operated by B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association, issues its top 10 tips for energy saving – all which cost nothing.
- Turning your room thermostat down by just 1ºC could save over £100 a year and you will never notice the difference.
- If you have an adjustable thermostat for your hot water you should set it to no hotter than 60°C (140°F). Any higher is a waste of energy and could scald; much lower and there may be a risk of harmful bacteria forming.
- Turn down the radiators in any spare rooms; why pay for a warm space with nobody in it?
- Keep your doors and windows closed when the heating is on and save £15 a year.
- Use a microwave instead of your oven – they use less energy and take a fraction of the time.
- Turn appliances off when you’ve finished using them – £1 billion worth of energy is wasted in the UK every year by appliances left on standby. Switching off the standby on gadgets and appliances could save you around £50 a year on your bills.
- Turn down your heating when you’re going away for any length of time.
- Washing machines use huge amounts of energy. Some machines have low energy programmes – if you reduce the wash temperature from 40°C to 30°C it can save 40% more energy.
- Take care filling the kettle. If we only boiled the water needed we’d save enough power to light every streetlamp in the country.
- Bleed your radiators at least once a year – when hot water can flow into every part of the radiator it is much more efficient.
The Heating Helpline has a free leaflet called 'Top Energy Saving Tips To Save You Money' which lists other low cost ways you can cut your energy bills. For a free copy call the Helpline on 0800 810 8303 or you can download a copy from the Heating Helpline website at: http://www.heatinghelpline.org.uk.
Ends
Issued on behalf of the Building & Engineering Services Association (B&ES) by Next Step Marketing Ltd
Media enquiries to: Heather Lambert. Tel: 44(0)1256 472020;
Fax: 44(0)1256 471010; E-mail: heather@nextstepmarketing.co.uk
Notes to editors
Since its formation in 1904, B&ES, the Building & Engineering Services Association (formerly the HVCA) has represented the interests of companies engaged in a wide range of building and engineering services including domestic heating and renewable technologies.
B&ES members are subject to regular, third-party inspection and assessment of their technical competence and commercial capability, carried out by an independent certification body at least every three years.
B&ES members who undertake gas installations are registered with Gas Safe – the gas safety watchdog body – and are also members of TrustMark, the Government-endorsed scheme designed to direct customers towards reliable tradespeople.
B&ES operates the Heating Helpline (www.heatinghelpline.org.uk) to provide consumers with free, impartial advice on every aspect of home heating.
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