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Here are some helpful energy savings tips

Managing your fuel spend can be difficult. Your household circumstances, your property, your lifestyle, your heating system can all affect your bills. Cutting energy use cuts bills – hopefully there are cuts you can make to improve efficiency that don’t affect your lifestyle too much.  We have partnered with SCARF Energy Support to provide Caledonia and Cordale residents with access to a free energy advice helpline and a dedicated advice service – click the link below to find out more about how SCARF can help and support you.

We suggest the following saving tips

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Lower your hot water and heating temperatures

  • Reducing the temperature of your hot water / heating at source can result in significant savings, quite often boilers and electric hot water systems are set at temperatures that are higher than they need to be. If you have a combination boiler this can be done at the boiler or if you have a hot water cylinder the thermostat on the cylinder can be adjusted. Setting your hot water temperature between 50°C and 60°C should provide water that is hot enough without the temperature being excessive. Heating temperatures vary and will need to be tweaked to levels that meet your needs and work with the thermostat / controls

Be smart with your heating

  • Turning your thermostat down by one degree could save on your bills. If it feels comfortable for you, turn the thermostat for your living areas down to 20°C. The temperature in hallways and bedrooms should be cooler, ideally between 15-18°C. Some heating systems have a programmer that comes with your heating system to ensure that heating and hot water will be provided at set times of the day. Setting this to reflect your needs will result in heat and hot water being generated only when needed

Move furniture away from radiators

  • Large pieces of furniture next to radiators soak up vast amounts of heat, so move them away to enable hot air to circulate around your room. Moving your sofa six inches away from the radiator could help you make savings on your bills

Don’t keep your Fridge/freezer door open for longer than necessary

  • Close the fridge door as quickly as possible. If it's open for even 20 seconds, it takes 45 minutes for the fridge to cool down to its original temperature.Defrost your freezer regularly. Frost build-up in your freezer increases the amount of work your freezer's motor has to do. If the motor is working harder, then this means it's using more energy. It’s recommended to do it every six months to help it run efficiently.

Be smart when using the ove

  • The oven is one of the most expensive appliances in the home to run. Close the door quickly after opening while cooking or it will have to reheat itself which will require more energy. Batch cooking saves time and energy. It’s more cost efficient to use a microwave for smaller meals instead of your oven

Don’t charge mobile devices over night

  • Don't charge your phone at night-time when you're in bed. The device might only need one hour to fully charge, not the seven or eight hours while you sleep

You can save money off your gas bill if you turn the 'pre-heat' off on your boiler

  • Some boilers have a 'hot water pre-heat' function. This keeps a little hot water prepared in the boiler and so cuts down the time it takes for hot water to come out of the taps. While this function is useful it does run even when there is no call for hot water therefore increasing costs. The easiest way to turn off the pre-heat is to switch onto your ECO setting. When ECO is displayed the boiler will be in ‘Economy mode’ and the pre-heat will be turned off. However, not every boiler will have an Eco setting, please refer to your boiler handbook

Turn the radiator temperature down or off in rooms that aren’t used a lot

  • Close doors between rooms that are heated and unheated to keep the heat in. Rooms that are not heated adequately may develop condensation and subsequently mould, so it is important to ensure that there is an adequate air flow in rooms and to maintain a small amount of background heat if possible. Adequate airflow can be achieved by keeping furniture and items away from walls, using the vents in windows and minimising dust and debris form the environment

Consider having a shorter shower instead of a bath

  • Showering uses less water than a bath, so it requires less energy to heat the smaller amount of water used, this and reducing the amount of time you spend in the shower is another way to potentially save money. Most of us spend around seven minutes in the shower but shortening that by just one minute could result in significant savings on your annual energy bill. An easy way to keep track of how long you spend in the shower is to set a timer and each time try and see if you can cut this down

Lower the temperature of your washing machine cycle

  • Washing clothes at 30 degrees rather than higher temperatures will save around 40% of the energy used each year. Modern washing powders and detergents work just as effectively at lower temperatures. Wait until you have a full load before using the washing machine but make sure you don’t overload it

Turn off standby mode

  • Turn off appliances at the wall when not in use. Even in standby mode they are using 20% of the energy they would consume if they were on. So, if there's any kind of light on, it means there’s electricity going through the device

Lighting

  • Turn off lights when you are leaving a room or when you do not need them. Fit low energy LED light bulbs, especially in rooms you use a lot, like the living room and kitchen