Energy saving tips: how to reduce your energy bills

Wondering how to save energy at home and reduce your bills? With energy prices and the wider cost of living in mind, using less energy can help keep household costs down. From heating your home to using appliances more efficiently, small everyday changes can add up. Our energy-saving tips offer practical ways to reduce your energy use at home. 

Quick energy-saving tips you can use today

How to save energy on heating, lighting and washing

It's really important to look at home heating habits and make small changes to our everyday lives to help reduce the heating bill. 

• Turn down your thermostat. Just one degree lower could save you up to £120 a year. Set a timer on your thermostat for your heating to come on only when you need it.
• Turn the heating flow temperature down. Without lowering the temperature of your home, turning the flow temperature down on your combi boiler from 80℃ to 60℃, you can save 12% of the gas used to heat your home.⁽¹⁾. This isn't suitable for all systems, so find out more with our Boiler Flow temperature guide.
• Don't heat empty rooms. Using individual radiator valves means you can reduce or turn off radiators in unused rooms if you have any. Doing this can cut around 5% off the typical UK household's energy usage. Try to keep doors between adjoining rooms shut to stop the heat from escaping.
• Run your heating only when you're at home. Even using your central heating for an hour less each day adds up to big savings over time.
• Bleed your radiators. Trapped air can make your radiators less efficient, so they'll be slower to heat up. If you feel confident doing it yourself, read our guide on how to bleed your radiators.
• Switch off the lights. Every time you leave a room, switch the lights off. This could save you about £7 a year.
• Change your light bulbs. Fitting energy-saving light bulbs is a great way to reduce energy use at home. Energy Saving Trust estimates that an average home could save £45 a year by replacing halogen spotlights with LED bulbs.
• Change your washing machine habits! Turning your washing machine temperature down to 30 degrees saves around 40% of the energy used each year.

kitchen energy-saving tips

Small changes to how you cook and use kitchen appliances can help reduce your electricity and gas use and lower your energy bills.

• Stop the frost. Defrost your fridge freezer regularly to prevent it from using more energy than needed.
• Clean behind your fridge and freezer. Dusty condensing coils (used to cool and condense) can trap air and create heat - not what you want for your fridge. Keep them clean, and they'll stay cool, using less energy.
• Use smaller pans. The smaller your pan, the less heat you'll need. Using the right size pan for your meal means less energy wasted.
• Keep saucepan lids on. Your food will heat up faster, which means you could save 124kWh of electricity a year.
• Fill the dishwasher before each cycle. Make sure your dishwasher is full and set to an economy setting. Using your dishwasher for one less cycle per week for a year could save you £11.
• Only boil the water you need. Overfilling the kettle wastes water, money and time. Instead, only boil as much water as you need. This can save up to 83kWh of electricity a year.

Bathroom and hot water energy-saving tips

Heating water uses a significant amount of energy at home, with hot water accounting for around 18% of a household's heat demand. These simple energy-saving tips can help you use less hot water, reduce energy use and keep your bills down.

• Consider a water meter. Depending on your water provider and water usage, you could save with a water meter. Find out who supplies your water and contact them to find out more.
• Taking shorter showers. Keeping your shower time to four minutes could save the average household £45 a year on energy bills. Swapping one bath a week for a four-minute shower could save around £10 a year.

Low-cost investments to save energy

• Choose thermal curtains and keep the heat in. Investing in thermal-lined curtains and ensuring they're closed in the evening can reduce heat loss by 27% and save an average home up to £291 a year on energy bills.
• Install a smart thermostat and heating controls. Smart thermostats and heating controls allow you to manage your energy consumption more effectively and conveniently. You'll be able to adjust your temperature settings when you’re not at home through a smartphone. Installing heating controls could save you up to £110 per year.
• Add a thermostatic valve to radiators. Control the individual temperature of your radiators with thermostatic valves to help prevent wasting energy.
• Draught proofing. Block gaps where heat escapes and cold air gets in; you'll prevent heat loss and keep your home warm. There are a number of places where you can prevent draughts. Draught-proofing your chimney alone could save you around £60 a year.
• Heat people, not the room: Rather than putting the thermostat up further, you could try a heated electric blanket to keep you snug. They typically cost between £25-50 to purchase but use as little as 3p per hour of electricity even on the highest setting.
• Switch to an energy-efficient showerhead. An energy-efficient shower head could reduce the amount of water you use even further and save you up to £25 per year. When you're using less water, you need less energy to heat it.
• Invest in a hot water cylinder jacket. If you have a hot water tank investing in a jacket could save you up to £50 a year as the jacket reduces the amount of heat the cylinder loses and keeps water hot for longer, making them more efficient and cheaper to use.

Bigger investments for long-term energy savings 

• Consider low-carbon electric heating for your home. Not only can a low-carbon electric heating system such as an air source heat pump help lower your carbon footprint, but you may also save money with specific tariffs designed to support your heating system!
• Invest in A-rated appliances. If you're in the market for new home electricals, be sure to check the energy rating. Choosing a more efficient appliance can help you use less energy and save money over its lifetime.
• Insulation - keep the warmth in. Did you know that only 18% of UK homes have an insulation age of 2002 or younger? This means a huge number of houses are not meeting the current insulation regulations.
• Gas boiler care and boiler cover - includes boiler efficiency checks. Make sure your boiler isn't costing you more by working inefficiently.
• Boiler replacement - gas boilers usually last around 10 to 15 years and heating makes up over 50% of your energy bills⁽²⁾, so if your boiler is older it might cost you less to replace it, rather than repair it.

How to choose an energy tariff

Reviewing your energy tariff could save you money, and switching energy suppliers is easy! See how much you can save - why not get a quote?

A smart meter could help you save

Smart meters help track your energy usage and show where you can save. Helping you lower your bills and carbon footprint.

Smart benefits include:

• You're in control - you can see the cost of your energy
• Get more accurate bills
• If you use cards or keys, you can top up online
• Get a smart meter installed, at no extra cost! 

Other ways to reduce energy at home

There are plenty of other ways to save energy at home, from choosing more efficient appliances to thinking about how you manage your energy day-to-day. For more energy efficiency tips, find out what makes an energy-efficient home or explore more advice on our Energywise blog.

You can also find more advice on saving energy at home on the GOV.UK website.

Frequently asked questions about saving energy at home

What are the easiest ways to save energy at home?

Start with small changes like turning off lights and appliances when you're not using them, lowering the temperature on your thermostat, washing clothes at 30 degrees when you can, boiling only the water you need, and taking shorter showers.

These are simple changes that don't cost anything extra and don't require any major changes to your home, but can help you save energy.

How can I reduce my electricity bill?

Look at how efficiently you use electricity day to day. Use LED lightbulbs, run your washing machine and dishwasher with full loads and choose eco settings where possible, and opt for energy-efficient appliances when it's time to replace them.

What saves the most energy at home?

Heating is an important area to focus on when reducing your energy use. Using your heating controls effectively, draught-proofing and insulating to prevent heat loss, and improving the efficiency of your heating system can all help. What works best will depend on your home and how you use energy.