To save money on your gas bill.
The more you do the larger the saving .
Boiler
1 The large round knob on the front of your boiler needs to be set at 60 degrees C. This is hot enough to kill any legionella disease in the pipes. Set any higher you are wasting Gas.
2 Have your boiler maintained every year ,in the summer for maximum efficiency. Do not leave this until the start of winter as you may have to wait for the gas engineer .
3 Any gas boiler over 15 years old needs to be replaced for a more efficient boiler, saving you money. If you are on benefits, you may be able to access the Warm Home Discount scheme and get money off your gas bill.
Controller /Thermostat
4 Put this in the room you are in the most.
5 All living rooms set at 21 degrees C bedrooms should be cooler at at 18 degrees C, bathrooms 21 degrees C.
6 Turning down your thermostat by 1 degree will save you approximately 10% off your gas bill. You will probably not notice the difference. Put on a jumper.
7 It takes 2 weeks for your body to acclimatise to a new temperature.
8 Check the on and off settings on your heating controller are still relevant. When was the last time you checked this?
9 For a finer control of your heating costs buy a 7 day controller. On a Sunday, programme it according to your diary for the following week .The tighter you control the timings of your heating coming on the greater savings you will make .
10 Time your heating to turn off half an hour before you leave the house. When going on holiday or for a weekend set the heating to come on in the early morning say 2am for a couple of hours or leave it on the frost setting.
Radiators.
11 If you don’t have thermostatic radiator valves (trv), fit them.
12 Turn the trv to the frost setting in any room you are not using.
13 Suspend sheets of foil from the brackets of your radiator to reflect the heat away from the wall and into the room. Approximate saving per radiator £20 per annum.
14 When installing radiators put them on internal walls.
Windows
15 If your double glazing is over 15 years old consider upgrading.The modern double glazing is very efficient at keeping in the heat.
16 If you have a single glazed window or leaded window, make or buy a padded covering that covers the window and can be attached to the window frame by velcro. Put this up each day in the winter as the sun goes down. Especially useful on landing windows where the cold air from the window rolls down the stairs into the hall. See if this is happening in your house.
17 Make or have made thermal linings for your curtains .This adds another layer of insulation to your window. Buy them for the largest curtains first. Once the sun has gone off the windows of a room close the curtains.
18 Have two sets of curtains and put up a heavy set of curtains in the autumn.
19 Draughtproof all doors and windows, renew any mastic that has come away on the outside of the windows.
20 Put a double glazed porch on your front door.
Conservatory.
21 Do not put any heating in an uninsulated conservatory as it probably has a very thin plastic roof . Insulate the roof with a thick layer of insulation,the thicker the better.
House insulation
Loft
22 The recommended thickness of loft insulation around and above the ceiling joists is 11 inches or 275 mm.This will come above the ceiling joists.
Clear out the junk in your loft ,sell off what you don’t need,and use the money towards the insulation. Look for any holes in the roof and repair them.
Cavity wall
23 If you have a cavity wall, all the bricks are laid lengthwise along the length of the wall, get some quotes for having it filled.This will make you more comfortable in the winter and cooler in the summer.
Alternative sources of heat.
24 Consider a Defra exempt wood stove,as all of Birmingham is a smokeless zone. Get it fitted by a HETAS Engineer otherwise it does not comply with Building Regulations.They are now very efficient and do not produce much carbon dioxide or particulates. However they do require physical effort to move the wood around etc.
25 Air source heat pumps are available. Make sure it is sized to meet your maximum winter heat and hot water requirements.
Saving money on electricity .
Get a smart meter and set the electricity rate to what you are paying .This will allow you to accurately monitor the cost of your electricity bills .Make sure the meter installed is a Smet 2.
Kitchen .
Go around the kitchen and unplug all the appliances you never use. Sell them at a car boot or dispose at the small electrical skip at the tip .
Fridge/freezers .Try to place on an outside wall or in a cooler room.
Cool leftovers before putting in the fridge, put in the microwave to cool down away from flies, don’t forget they are in there.
Keep the fridge door open for the minimum time. Take a photo of the contents on your phone and look at that rather than opening the door .
If you have room in the door fill plastic bottles with water to maintain the temperature in the fridge. In the summer you will have cool water to drink .
A self-defrosting fridge uses more energy than a normal fridge .
Chest freezers use less energy than upright freezers.
Fill your freezer with bread to maintain a low temperature .
Label all food with content and use by date and review weekly.
Defrost your freezer when you see ice build up at the back,check all the door seals.
Always make sure the doors are fully closed.
Pull out the fridge freezer once a year and vacuum the coils at the back.
Other appliances
Always buy the highest energy rating you can afford.
Upgrade to an induction hob, if you have an electric cooker.
When boiling your kettle ,boil enough water for the cups/mugs you need or boil more water and put the remainder in a thermos flask kept by the kettle.
Use a microwave for cooking whenever possible.
Fill your washing machine, no part loads .
Wash on a low temperature .
Do not wear your clothes once and wash.
In summer dry your clothes outside or in a conservatory .
Do not drape clothes over a radiator to dry ,it increases your heating bill.
Lights .
Replace all your bulbs with LED bulbs now and start saving money.They use half the electricity of low energy bulbs. Buy Warm White bulbs for your home . Choose LED lights with the high rating of A.
Turn out all lights when you leave a room
Go around the house and remove any unnecessary lights or take the bulbs out .
Check that all outside lights are off during the day .
Consider lighting the childrens rooms with solar powered lights strung around their room .
Turn the temperature down on your immersion heater to 60 degrees centigrade ,which is enough to kill all legionella bacteria .
Consider putting solar panels on your house or outbuildings. This will fix the cost at approximately 35% of your electricity bill for the next 30 years. This means your savings will increase and your payback period will decrease as the cost of electricity is predicted to double in the next ten years. By careful monitoring your electricity use and putting on appliances, showers, washing machines, dishwashers etc when solar production is high,this percentage can go up .You will also be paid a small amount for the electricity you export to the grid .
Computers.
Turn off all the peripherals you are not using .
Look on the internet about green computing i.e. how to use less energy with your computer .
Replace all single use batteries with rechargeable batteries and buy a solar battery charger to charge them.
Move your electricity supply to a 100% renewable energy supplier
Go around the house and remove any unnecessary lights or take the bulbs out .
Check all outside lights are not on in the day .
Consider lighting the childrens rooms with solar powered lights strung around their room .Turn the temperature down on your immersion heater to 60 degrees centigrade ,which is enough to kill all legionella bacteria .
Consider putting solar panels on your house or outbuildings. This will fix the cost of approximately 5% of your electricity bill for the next 30 years. This means your savings will increase and your pay back period will decrease as the cost of electricity is predicted to double in the next ten years .By careful monitoring your electricity use and putting on appliances, showers,washing machines,washing up machines, etc when solar production is high,this percentage can go up .You will also be paid a small amount for the electricity you export to the grid .
Get your kids to monitor people turning off lights when you leave a room .
On standby, try to unplug all things on standby except if is going to take you 5 minutes to reprogramme the appliance every time you use it .
Power for Good Co-Operative 