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Home and Garden on Female First
Once upon a time, summer in Britain used to mean endless sunny days and a time where you could save yourself some money by switching the heating off, but with the British summer diminishing before our eyes and more cold and rainy days dawning upon us, we have to stick the heating back on and this is overstretching the purse strings.
Award winning financial solutions business Baines & Ernst have put together a number of cost-cutting tips to help reduce the money you are spending and improve energy efficiency.
These are the tips:
- Around 12% of heat is lost through draughts so having some simple draught-proofing measures in place can save you up to £55 a year.
- A quarter of the heat in your house is lost through the roof so insulating your loft properly can save you up to £100. 18% of heat seeps through the windows. By having double glazing you could save up to £140 a year.
- If you wash at 30 degrees you can use 40% less energy than when you do a hot wash.
- Reducing your shower time to five minutes can save you money. Baths hold 90 litres of water and cost about £1 each and showers use nine litres a minute, which means you could save about 50p per person, per day.
- Switching your appliances off completely instead of leaving them on standby can save £20 a year.
- In the next five years energy prices will rise so switching to a cheaper supplier can you save you up to £200 a year.
- The average family wastes £480 a year on food that they never eat. If you make a meal plan and only buy what you need you could save lots of money. Also, shop around to find the best deals and use vouchers when you can.
- Lowering the room temperature by a degree can reduce your heating bill by 10% a year.
- By investing in the latest energy-saving light bulbs you could save £10 a year.
Baines & Ernst have a new Infographic ‘Live More Economically and Save the Planet’ and a spokesperson for the organisation said ‘By adopting the main money-saving recommendations in our Infographic, you could save hundreds of pounds each year. That’s money that could be used to pay off debts, build up savings or even to escape the British summer for a holiday abroad.’ Some of the greatest savings are to be found by making your home more energy efficient and carefully planning your food shop each week. It takes a bit of effort but it is well worth it. You’re better off and the planet benefits from reduced carbon emissions.’
The infographic revealed that heating the home accounts for 68% of energy consumption and 15% goes on heating water and 15% goes on lighting. Also, With the rise in utility costs more people are being pushed into fuel poverty. In households, more than 10% of the income goes on fuel and in 2004 two million homes were placed in the fuel poverty bracket. In 2010, the figure had doubled and it still continues to rise.
Having insulation in your home is a major money saver, 33% of heat disappears through the walls but people don’t feel motivated to tackle the problem because they don’t see it as a priority. Also, electric and gas meters remain out of sight so it is easy to not check your usage.
Baines & Ernst quoted that ‘We hope our infographic will be a reminder and an incentive for people to cut their living costs and adhere to the old adage: Waste not, want not. It could be well worth it.
You can find the infographic here: http://www.bainesandernst.co.uk/infographics/live-economically-save-planet/
Tagged in Home Lifestyle Home Heating