New year, new habits. With 2023 just around the corner you’ll be thinking about new year’s resolution for the coming 12 months. Instead of the usual, eat less chocolate, give up junk food or trying out a new exercise program, have you thought about committing to something that will benefit the earth and your wallet? Why not give energy saving a go?
Reducing your energy consumption has all kinds of different benefits, from directly reducing your energy bills (which is pennies in your pocket) to reducing your consumption of oil based fuels – which reduces your individual carbon footprint on the environment.
If you’re wanting to learn more, we’ve outlined some specifics below:
- Reducing your energy consumption will help lower your energy bills – in this cost of living crisis every penny helps at the moment.
- If you’re using energy savings products these will help improve the comfort and environment of your home too.
- Reducing your energy consumption means you’ll be reducing demand on fossil fuels – which in turn will help reduce carbon dioxide output!
- If you decide to reduce your energy consumption during peak times, this reduces demand on the grid for energy and electricity which in turn could help reduce the risk of those aforementioned potential blackouts that have been appearing in the newspapers.
- If you’ve got an Economy 4 meter reducing your energy consumption during the day but compensating during the night will ensure your bills are as kept as low as possible.
- Saving energy doesn’t necessarily mean switching off all your devices, if you improve the efficiency of your heating, add draught exclusion and other heat retaining measures you’ll be able to save energy without switching anything off – plus you’ll be more toasty!
A little more on habits
Habits can take anywhere between 14 days and 6 months to form – depending on how thrilling you find the activity you’re trying to commit to. If you want to make energy saving behaviours a real habit this near year it’s important to stay committed until the behaviours become a second nature. With this type of resolution it would be important to keep reminding yourself to do the things that save you energy, perhaps even by putting reminders around the house to keep you motivated. An example of this would be post-its reminding you to switch the lights off every time you leave a room.
When it comes to energy saving, there are certain activities you would need to commit to doing to ensure you’re being as efficient as possible these include:
- Switching off electrical devices when you’re not using them
- Ensuring that you’ve got all your electrical devices in the most efficient mode possible
- When using appliances such as kettles and ovens, ensure you’re only heating up what you’ll use, rather than extra that will go to waste.
- Closing doors, windows and other draughty areas to make sure you’re not letting the cold sneak in.
- Changing your laundry routine to omit dryers and long cycles where possible.
- Changing your own wash routine to make that as quick and efficient as possible, showers instead of baths or shorter showers.
- Remembering to turn the thermostat down when things are warm enough – just low enough to maintain a comfy temperature but not exude tonnes of excess heat.
There’s tonnes of tips available on forming new habits, but here’s a pretty handy blog about why lots of us don’t stick to their new years resolutions . Hopefully you find some useful tips here to help keep you committed.
But I don’t really want to change my behaviour
For some people, forming new habits is incredibly difficult or they’re pretty comfy with the way things are. That’s absolutely fine – we’re not here to judge anyone or insist you do as we say. But, if you’re not one for committing to a change of behaviour, might we suggest you take a look at some energy savings products instead?
Quite a lot of energy savings products are fit and forget – so once they’re in place you don’t have to even think about them. They’re doing their job 24/7.
Things like door draught excluders, chimney draught excluders, letterbox draught seals – these will all help reduce your energy expenditure. This is because they help keep warm air in your home and prevent cold draughts from coming in. This means you won’t have to crank your thermostat up so high. Plus draught saving measures ensure your home is as comfortable as possible.
You could also think of some energy efficiency improvement measures such as radiator foil, bleeding your radiators or servicing your heating system – this ensures things are working as efficiently as possible in your home, meaning you’re not wasting excess energy just trying to make things work as they should.