How to save energy at home

• Finding ways to reduce your energy consumption at home is one of the cheapest and most effective ways to reduce your energy costs.
• There are two main ways to attack this: cheaper DIY-low impact and substantial building upgrade-high impact. 
• Of course, you can mix and match the measures you choose to get the best of both worlds.

Stock image of a cozy cottage – credit: pxhere

If you want to save money on your heating and hot water bills, you could install solar panels or replace your boiler with an air pump. However, these are often expensive measures that require significant building work to install.

However, there are some cheaper and easier ways to help reduce your energy use at home.

Most of these will not require you to spend a lot of cash and will make a decent dent in your bills.

If we’ve piqued your interest, then read on to find out more.

How can I save energy in my home?

If you are serious about slashing your energy costs at home, there are quite a few things you can do with little-to-no-cost that can have a not insignificant impact on your bills. These include, but are not limited to:

• Replace older tungsten bulbs with CFLs or LEDs

• Unplug electronic devices when you’re not using them

• Keep your thermostat to as low a setting as possible (most people can safely turn it down to between 18°C and 21°C)

• Try to reduce the amount of water you waste

• Wash clothes and plates/cutlery at low temperatures

• Where possible, try to cook with the lid on

These are great ways to reduce energy use, but if you want to reduce your bills more significantly, you may need to consider more impactful measures.

If this is your goal, you may need to use alternative power sources and stop your home from losing energy. Solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, skylights, EVs are all great ways to cut energy.

1. Install draught-proofing

Stock image of a draught excluder – credit: Clare Eggleton/Flickr

One of the simplest and most effective ways to save energy on heating is to make your home as draught-proofed as possible.

The reasons why are very straightforward indeed. Whether you have a traditional boiler and radiator system or a more sophisticated heating system, these systems effectively work by heating the air inside your home.

That is costly, so it would be a shame to dilute it with cold air or let it leak outside, requiring more heating than necessary. Draughts are commonly found at windows, doors, open chimneys, old floorboards, and worn-out extractor fans, so be sure to keep an eye on these areas.

Depending on the nature of the draught (window, roof hatch, cracks, etc.), there are many products out there that can be fitted with little to no DIY experience.

However, don’t overdo it. Most homes in Britain benefit from a certain amount of ventilation to freshen the air and control things like condensation and mould (especially in bathrooms and kitchens). But the point here is to have controlled ventilation, not uncontrolled ventilation.

Draught-proofing around windows and doors can save you approximately £35 a year in Great Britain (GB) and £50 in Northern Ireland (NI).

If you have an open chimney, draught-proofing it when you’re not using it could save you around £50 a year in GB and £70 in NI.

Draught-free homes are more comfortable at lower temperatures. This means you may be able to turn down your thermostat, saving even more on your energy bills.

It shouldn’t cost more than around £250 for an average-sized home to get a tradesman in to draught-proof your home.

Insulating your home is a great way to cut bills – credit: Damian Fogg/Flickr

2. Insulate your home

Insulating your home is by far one of the best ways to slash bills by reducing your need to burn fuel (and money) heating the air inside your home.

Much like draught-proofing, but on steroids, home insulation effectively stops heat from leaking through your walls, floors, ceilings, and roofs. Technically, it would also include windows and doors, but that is somewhat different, so we’ll cover that in another section.

Which type of insulation should I choose?

There are various ways to do this, but your home’s age and build, and ultimately your budget, will usually limit you.

That being said, let’s take a look at some of the more notable examples.

Cavity wall insulation

If your house was built after the 1920s, it likely has a cavity external wall. Earlier ones had narrow cavities, so they may not be appropriate for cavity wall insulation, but most others are.

This method effectively replaces the air gap between the twin leaves of your external wall with an insulating material like polystyrene balls, mineral wool, or foam. Doing so reduces heat loss through the walls, helping to keep the house warmer in winter and cooler in summer.

Cavity wall insulation is a cost-effective and efficient method to enhance a home’s energy efficiency, making it a popular option for homeowners wanting to upgrade their property’s insulation.

External wall insulation

Another form of external wall insulation for older solid-walled or cavity-walled properties is bolted insulation. As the name suggests, this effectively bonds insulation to the outside surface of your home’s walls.

Like cavity insulation, installing this will dramatically reduce the heat loss from heat-conducting through your walls in winter and summer. However, not all properties are appropriate for it.

Listed buildings, buildings with structural issues, and homes with small roof overhangs or other structural protrusions are prime examples. In the latter case, the increase in wall thickness may lead to add-on costs like extending the roof’s eaves.

It is, however, one of the most expensive measures and should only be considered with expert advice.

Spray foam insulation

Yet another form of home insulation you may want to consider is spray foam. Ideal for roof spaces and floors, this method can also be used on walls.

Spray foam insulation is a liquid foam that is sprayed into position and set to form an insulating layer. It can be used to insulate your roof, loft, walls, floors, and more.

It is incredibly versatile but should only be considered with expert advice. Once set, it is difficult to remove, creates harmful fumes, and can impact home ventilation.

This form of insulation is also not the prettiest and should only be installed in out-of-sight areas like attics or under floors.

Pipe insulation

Pipe insulation effectively reduces energy bills at home by preventing heat loss from hot water pipes and minimizing heat gain in cold water pipes. By giving exposed pipes a nice jacket of insulation, hot water remains at a higher temperature as it travels through the system, As you can imagine, this will reduce the need for reheating and ensure less energy is wasted.

As a nice bonus, pipe insulation also helps prevent pipes from freezing during colder months, reducing the risk of bursts and costly repairs.

If you feel confident, you can insulation most pipes with off-the-shelf pipe insulation lengths; get a professional in if you want “a proper job” done.

Floor insulation

Solar panels are a great way to reduce your energy bills – credit: Michael Coghlan/Flickr

3. Install solar panels

Heat pumps are another way to reduce your heating bills – credit: yum9me/Flickr

4. Install a heat pump

Heat pumps are another great way to cut your energy bills over the long haul. They are highly efficient (usually in excess of 100s of percent) and can provice heating and cooling.

Unlike a boiler, they use electricity instead and work by extracting heat from the air, ground, or water (depending on the type). This heat is then transfered into your home during the winter. In the summer, they reverse the process to cool your home.

Which heat pump should I choose?

The type of heat pump you choose depends largely on your house’s characteristics and location. Each type of heat pump operates on the same basic principle of transferring heat from one place to another but differs in its heat source.

Air-source heat pumps (ASHP) use the air outside your home to heat a refrigerant liquid. This refrigerant is then compressed to increase temperature, heating your home’s hot water supply. They are relatively easy to install and suitable for most homes without access to extensive land or water resources.

As the name suggests, ground-source heat pumps (GSHP) draw heat from the ground. They are more consistent and efficient because underground temperatures are relatively stable year-round.

One downside is that they require a lot of space around your home to install. This is because most need long loops of pipe buried under your garden (or other outdoor spaces).

Water-source heat pumps absorb warmth from nearby bodies of water, such as lakes, rivers, streams, seawater, or even mine water.

These systems are highly efficient due to the relatively stable temperatures of large water bodies but are only practical for homes with access to such water sources.

Skylights are another way to help reduce lighting, heating, and cooling costs – credit: EOS Rooflights/Flickr

5. Skylights and rooflights

Yet another way to help wage war on your energy bill is to consider installing skylights or roof lights. They allow natural light to flood into living spaces, helping reduce the need for artificial lighting during daylight hours.

As you can imagine, this can lead to significant reductions in electricity consumption, lowering energy bills. Getting more natural light into your home also creates a more pleasant and healthier living environment, as natural light is known to improve mood and well-being.

A less well-known benefit of them is that they also provide a means of passive solar heating. During colder months, they allow sunlight to enter and warm up interior spaces, reducing the reliance on heating systems.

To this end, many modern ones come with double or triple glazing, low-emissivity (low-E) coatings, and insulated frames (which enhance their thermal performance) as standard.

Some models also come with automated shading systems that can adjust the light and heat entering the home without you having to worry about it. They can also help provide improved ventilation.

In addition to their energy-saving benefits, skylights and roof lights can increase a property’s value. Homes with ample natural light are often more attractive to buyers and can command higher prices in the real estate market.

Are there government grants to help cut my energy costs?

 Summary

• Improving your home’s energy efficiency is a great way to cut your energy bills in the short—to long-term.
• Low-cost, low-impact measures include replacing older tungsten bulbs with CFLs or LEDs and unplugging electronic devices when not in use to save energy.
• To make more of an impact, consider more impactful measures like installing solar panels, heat pumps, insulation, and skylights for significant energy savings.
• There are also some government grants like the Green Homes Grant, Smart Export Guarantee, Renewable Heat Incentive, and Energy Company Obligation that can help fund energy-efficient home improvements.