How energy efficient is your home? In the UK, only 40% of homes meet the energy efficiency standard, meaning many people live in homes that aren’t being heated properly and are simply wasting their money on energy bills.
But is it easy to improve your home’s energy efficiency, and how can you do it on a budget? Not all improvements can be made on a budget, and some efficiency aspects require a significant investment, such as insulating loft spaces, for example, or adding Knauf DriTherm 32 to cavity walls. However, if you are carrying out remodelling work, this can be done much easier. But there are also many other ways you can insulate your home for less to help you reduce energy wastage and protect your finances, too.
Lower your Thermostat
The Energy Savings Trust recommends setting your thermostat to between 18 and 21 degrees Celsius to help you reduce your energy while still efficiently heating your home. For many healthy, well-dressed people, this is often enough. It keeps you comfortable and saves money at the same time. While you might need to adjust this from time to time to account for extreme temperature drops, setting a regular schedule to heat your home can avoid you having to turn it up in colder temperatures as your home will regularly be warmed up to 18 to 20 degrees, eliminating any severe drop in temperatures inside.
Air Seal your Home
Identifying cracks, gaps or air leaks around your home can help you block them up and save up to 10% on your energy bills each year. This means using draught excluders in gaps under doors, adding caulk to window frames, and adding Cavity Wall Insulation In NI where needed for more significant issues. All of these small tasks can help you to reduce air escaping and ensure your home retains its heat easier, reading the need to turn up that thermostat.
Use Curtains and Blinds Effectively
What this means is to know when to open and close your blinds and curtains. In the summer, if you want to keep your house cool, closing the curtains and blinds during the time of day when the sun comes through the windows will block out the heat and keep the room cooler while opening them again once it’s cooler outside will help to circulate cool air. The opposite is true in the winter. You want to open them up when the sun is shining through the windows and then close them again once the sun sets; this will allow the warmer weather in during the day and eliminate the cold from coming through after dark.
Turn It Off
Another free and easy option to reduce excessive energy consumption and make your home more energy efficient is to turn everything off when not in use. Things like your cooker, fridge, freezer, etc. need to be on all the time to perform the tasks they need to, but other appliances such as TVs, small kitchen appliances like kettles and toasters, gaming equipment, phone chargers, etc., do not need to be plugged in all the time. Unplug them from the socket and turn them off to help you reduce energy wastage. You could find you save around £80 per year by doing this one small trick.
Each of these aspects individually might not seem to add too much in the way of savings. Still, combined, they can really add up to a hefty amount on your energy bills and contribute to a more energy-efficient household.