Household Money Saving Tips
Saturday 25 October 2008
With this week’s definite chill in the air, we might be tempted to turn up the heating and keep the lights blazing. Here are the Consumer Council’s tips for keeping those essential household bills down.
Waste not, want not -Only use the water you need when you’re boiling the kettle - this could save £560[a] over a lifetime.
Fix that tap –A hot water tap left dripping for a week wastes enough water to fill half a bath[b].
Ready, steady, cook -use an electric kettle rather than a saucepan for heating small amounts of water for cooking.
Time is money - fit a timer to your immersion heater. You can set it for half an hour and get enough hot water without worrying about forgetting to switch it off.
Switch off - use dimmer switches or switch off lights and appliances when not in use. Turning off lights would save £806 over a lifetime and not leaving appliances on standby would save £2,296[c].
Replace your light bulbs- with energy saving ones: just one can reduce your lighting costs by up to £45[d] over the lifetime of the bulb - and they last up to 10 times longer than ordinary light bulbs.
Switch off - turning off your mobile phone charger when the battery is full can save £426[e] over a lifetime.
Cool it - turning down the central heating even by just one degree would save £5,779[f] over a lifetime.
Nights are drawing in -Close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows.
Baby, it’s cold outside - Defrost your freezer regularly to keep it running efficiently.
Shut it - Don’t leave the fridge door open longer than necessary as it lets cold air escape and increases your electricity consumption[g]
Keep it clean – when you’re doing the laundry, try to wash a full load or select half load or economy settings for smaller loads. Use lower temperature settings if you can.[h]
For more information, visit the Consumer Council website at www.consumercouncil.org.uk
