Energy Saving - Part 1

If you examine your gas and electricity bills for the past four seasons, there is a good chance that you will find you paid a third more for electricity in winter than in summer and 3.5 times – yes that is 350% - more for gas.

There are sensible measures you can take – without being cold or hungry – to reduce your bills and help the environment along the way.

- Turn down the thermostat by a degree or two – you probably will not notice the difference. You could always put on a jumper…everyone wore them back in the 60s and 70s!

- Keep your central heating system on 24 hours a day during the cold months. It sounds wasteful, but it is just the opposite, so long as you turn the thermostat down at night. It takes more energy overall to heat up a cold indoor space than the energy used to keep that space ticking over with a little warmth.

- Lower the temperature of your hot water – by experimenting you will most likely find you had it on far to high for far too long.

- Have your boiler serviced once a year – preferably before the winter rush for Corgi-registered plumbers.

- What has become an regular mantra in the press and among the environmentally aware: switch off your electrical appliances when you are not using them – do not leave them on standby.

- Defrost your freezer more regularly – a full fridge or freezer is more economical but ice accumulation wastes energy.

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