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Energy Saving Week is an annual campaign to address the issues of fuel poverty and energy inefficiency, first launched in 2012 by the Citizens Advice Bureau and the Department for Business, Energy & Industry Strategy. During a cost-of-living crisis, there has never been a better time to save energy, help reduce your costs and your environmental impact.

Here are our top ten ways to reduce energy usage and save money in the home:

Heating and Draught-Proofing

1. Feeling a chill? Unless your home is very new, you’ll lose some heat through draughts. Draught-proofing could save you £90 a year on your bills, save around 105kg CO2 per year, and your home will feel warmer.
2. Don’t let heat escape through your chimney, especially if you don’t use your fireplace – installing a chimney draught excluder could save you around £100 a year on your bills, save 155kg CO2 per year and make your home feel more comfortable.
3. More than half of the money spent on fuel bills goes on heating and hot water. Try turning your room thermostat down by just one degree – you could save around £175 a year, and 305kg of carbon dioxide per year.
4. It pays to be in control of your heating. Zoning your heating, so you can control temperatures and the times your heating turns on in different rooms, can save up to £295 per year and save 450kg per year.
5. Other simple steps you can take to save money on your heating bills and reducing your carbon emissions include installing reflective radiator panels behind your radiators and closing the curtains to keep in the heat. Tucking curtains in, especially if your radiators are underneath the windows, is effective at ensuring your heating is funnelled into the room.

Kitchen and Bathroom

6. Simple steps you can take in the kitchen include using the right hob size for your pan, keeping lids on pots and pans, cooking food in batches in the oven and eating for lunch/dinner the next day, and leaving the oven door open after cooking to let the residual warmth heat the air around. Ensuring food cools down before putting it in the fridge also helps, as the fridge won’t have to work so hard to cool the food down.
7. Cutting your shower time by just one minute can make a big difference. If everyone in a four-person household with a water metre did this, you could save £52 a year!
8. Switching to a water efficient shower head could save a four-person household with a water metre around £80 on gas and water bills – quite a saving!

Appliances and Lighting

9. Turn your appliances off instead of leaving them on standby – you could save £70 a year, and around 45kg of CO2 a year.
10. If it’s time to replace a lightbulb, go for an LED. Replacing all your bulbs with LEDs would save £75 a year on your bills and reduce save 50kg CO2/year.

Please be aware, figures have been taken from  Quick tips to save energy at home - Energy Saving Trust and Energy Saving Week 2023 - Energy Saving Trust.