Saving Energy + A Competition!*

We’re always very conscious of how much energy we use and in our house did everything we could to save energy and money.

We insulated the loft and under our floors, updated most of our windows, sealed gaps and draughts and renewed most of our radiators. Admittedly, we did all of this because we were really cold in our draughty Edwardian house but it’s surprising how much energy you can save with just a few simple updates.

There are so many ways you can save energy and often little changes can make a big difference. Switching your light bulbs to LEDs, or even just turning off appliances when you’re not using them can already make an impact.

The Energy Saving Trust is a great place to find information on how you can save energy in your home. It’s where we went for advice when we first started to insulate our house and they have tons of great recommendations for all areas of your home.

The Energy Saving Trust also has a great Facebook page where they share information and tips on how you can save energy and money. Best of all, they’re currently hosting a fab competition where you could be in the chance of winning a new energy saving washing machine!

Head over to the their Facebook page to enter and why not give them a like while you’re there?

Image: Energy Saving Trust

How efficient your appliances are can make such a huge difference. I’m not saying run out and replace something that works with something that’s more energy-efficient but if you’re thinking of purchasing a new appliance it’s definitely worth taking a look at the energy rating.

We already shared our new dishwasher and one of the biggest reasons we opted for it is because of the A+++ rating.

How much energy an appliance uses is often something we don’t think about but some of the stats are really surprising. According to the Energy Saving Trust there’s a difference of £25 in running costs between an A+ and A+++ rated fridge, so just imagine how much energy you’re using (and money you’re wasting) if you’re still using an old less efficient fridge!

We’ve recently managed to cut our energy usage even more. We now only have LEDs throughout our home, we have a new TV, dishwasher and fridge which are all much more energy-efficient than our previous ones and we no longer have a car and only use public transport – although I’ll admit that that’s taking some getting used to!

Here are a few things you could think about doing to check and improve your energy consumption:

• Check how efficient your current appliances are (we use an energy meter that we were sent for free from our utility company) and check how efficient they are compared to newer models.
• Dry your washing outside or if you do want use a tumble dryer think about using an energy efficient one with heat pump technology.
• Your boiler is probably your biggest energy expense so it’s possibly worth prioritising an update if yours is outdated (or if it looks something like ours did!).
• Update your home to energy efficient lighting.
• Update your heating controls so they’re more efficient in controlling the amount of heat you need.

There are loads of really interesting stats and figures and more importantly loads of information over on the Energy Saving Trust website and Facebook page. Why not head over there to see how you could save energy and save money in the process?

And don’t forget – you can enter the competition to win an energy saving washing machine here!

What do you do to save energy? Do you have energy saving appliances or LEDs in your home? Have you ever measured how much energy your appliances use?

*Disclaimer: This post is in collaboration with the Energy Saving Trust. All opinions are our own. Thank you for supporting the brands that make it possible for us to keep sharing new content with you!