Energy efficiency
Content owner : housing@knh.org.uk Last updated : 05/03/11
Energy saving tips
- Turn your thermostat down. Reducing your room temperature by 1°C could cut your heating bills by up to 10 percent and typically saves around £50 per year. If you have a programmer, set your heating and hot water to come on only when required rather than all the time.
- Is your water too hot? Your cylinder thermostat should be set at 60°C/140°F.
- Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows and check for draughts around windows and doors.
- Always turn off the lights when you leave a room.
- Don't leave appliances on standby and remember not to leave laptops and mobile phones on charge unnecessarily.
- If possible, fill up the washing machine, tumble dryer or dishwasher: one full load uses less energy than two half loads.
- Only boil as much water as you need (but remember to cover the elements if you're using an electric kettle).
- A dripping hot water tap wastes energy and in one week wastes enough hot water to fill half a bath, so fix leaking taps and make sure they're fully turned off!
- Use energy saving light bulbs. They last up to 10 times longer than ordinary bulbs, and using one can save you around £45 over the lifetime of the bulb. This saving could be around £70 over its lifetime if you're replacing a high wattage incandescent bulb, or one used for more than a few hours a day.
Insulation
KNH has a number of programmes to make sure that the homes we manage are properly insulated,
including loft insulation top-ups and a scheme to insulate homes with solid walls.
Using strips and excluders to draught proof around leaky door and window frames can save around £25 a
year on heating bills. The new windows and doors that we have installed should mean draughts are not a problem in your home. However, if you decide to add further draught proofing, you must make sure you do not block any purpose-made ventilation.
White Goods
Home appliances account for a significant chunk of your household energy bills and CO2 emissions, so it's in your interests to look for these energy logos when buying appliances. It's your guarantee that these products are the most energy efficient in their category, will cost less to run and help lower CO2 emissions
Washing machines
A AAA rated washing machine: A for energy efficiency, A for spin efficiency and A for wash performance.
You can also save energy by washing at lower temperatures; washing clothes at 30 oC instead of a higher
temperature can use around 40% less electricity. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as
effectively at lower temperatures so unless you have very dirty washing, bear this in mind.
Tumble dryers
If you can, try drying your clothes outside, but if you do need to use a dryer, an Energy Saving Trust recommended one will be the most energy efficient option. Also remember if you dry clothes indoors, you need to ventilate to remove the excess moister in the air, and don’t dry cloths directly on the radiator or fire.
Dishwashers
It costs around 22% less to run a cycle on an a efficient dishwasher as it does on an old, inefficient machine. It will save you around £11 per year on your electricity bill and 47 kilograms of CO2. They can also less water, even compared to hand washing.
Refrigeration products
Fridges and freezers are the hardest working appliances in the kitchen - they are on the go 24 hours a day,
7 days a week, so if your fridge or freezer isn't energy efficient it's costing more to run and is responsible
for a higher amount of CO2.
If everyone in the UK upgraded their fridges and freezers to high efficiency models, we could cut our
energy use, saving about £688 million and the equivalent CO2 emissions of over 470,000 homes.
Kettles
Kettles are one of the most used appliances in the kitchen. Energy Saving Trust recommended kettles or instantaneous water heaters have to meet strict testing, ensuring that they demonstrate a 20% reduction in energy consumption over that consumed by an average kettle. If every household in the UK used these kettles, we would save over £160 million of energy a year. This is enough electricity to power 70,000 homes for a year and enough CO2 to fill over 950,000 double decker buses.
Televisions
The latest integrated digital televisions (IDTVs) have the capacity to receive digital
signals without the need for a set top box, so they use one power supply instead of two.
Unlike many set top boxes, IDTV's can be switched off without losing their settings and so
don't have to be left on standby.
A Recommended IDTV can save around £4 a year and 17 kilograms
of CO 2 each year compared to a similar TV and set top box and are the most efficient in their class.
Also be aware of the difference in running costs between LCD and Plasma screen TVs, this can be significant.
Set-top boxes
Between 2008 and 2012, every television in the UK will be switching to digital
television and will need to be compatible with a digital signal to be able
to receive broadcasts. If you are planning to replace your TV set, you can
buy an IDTV; if not, you can purchase a set top box to receive a digital signal.
An Energy Saving Trust recommended standard set top box can use up to a third less
energy while in on-mode than a typical set top box and therefore will cost about 30 per cent less to run.
Desktop and laptop personal computers
There are around 12.2 million desktop computers in the UK, and around 17.3 million laptop computers. As the UK has around 26.6 million homes, domestic computers (desktops and laptops) now out-number households. Choosing an energy efficient desktop or laptop computer can have a real impact on reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions
Fuel Switching
Changing your energy supplier or tariff can result in significant savings, and now thanks to recent changes made by Ofgem (the energy regulator) it is much simplar and reliable.
For more information on fuel switching view the pdf below
