How to Save Energy at Home

While increasing energy rates impact your monthly electric bill, your behaviours and habits also largely influence what you pay. You’re in control of much of this, so tweaking your regular routine and integrating minor efficiency improvements can dramatically affect your pay, allowing you to cut costs month after month.

From investing in more energy-efficient appliances to optimising your routine with off-peak hours and supplementing with solar power, here are 12 tips to help you save energy and cut electricity costs at home.

Your rising energy bills aren’t entirely out of your control. While the National Grid has been raising electric tariff rates, you can still make changes to save energy and reduce what you pay on your monthly energy bill. From upgrading your appliances to supplementing grid power with at-home solar, here are 12 tips to get you started.

Understanding your energy consumption starts with a thorough audit of your energy use. By examining a year’s worth of your payments and usage, you can find your average monthly electric bill and identify areas and times of high energy usage. You can create a targeted plan to reduce your use and cut costs from there. You can hire a professional auditor to identify things like air-seeping windows or inefficient appliances, or you can conduct an audit yourself by reviewing each room’s energy usage patterns and pinpointing obvious waste points. You may also notice that you use more energy during peak hours, which costs more.

Standby power, also known as “phantom load,” is a silent draining of power that can make up as much as 10% of your home’s electricity consumption. Electronics and appliances can continue drawing power even when they’re shut off. Things like your TV set, coffee maker, and phone charger may all be guilty. Consider using smart power strips that automatically cut power to devices when not in use, or create a new habit of unplugging your electronics after you use them.

Leaks around your windows and doors can negatively impact your home’s energy efficiency, forcing your HVAC system to work harder than necessary. HVACs are already the biggest energy consumer in a house, so don’t make them suck more energy than needed. Use caulking, weather stripping, and door sweeps as inexpensive solutions to keep the warm or cool air inside and notice the difference it makes. You should also pay attention to areas of the house where different materials connect, such as where window frames meet a wall or a door meets a wooden doorway. Gaps can widen over time, creating a loss of air.

UK homes are notorious for their poor insulation, so adding more can be one of the most effective ways to reduce your household’s energy consumption. Focus on the walls, attic, and crawl spaces where heat loss is the most prevalent. Not only can this help you reduce heating and cooling costs, but it can also make your home more comfortable year-round. Add the insulation yourself or hire a professional to ensure you don’t miss any areas of concern.

This might seem too obvious to be effective, but consistently turning off the lights in unoccupied rooms can lead to substantial long-term savings. Get everyone in your household on board with switching off the lights when they leave a room, even for short periods. You could also install motion sensors or lighting timers in areas you use less frequently, like storage rooms and garages.

Also, consider your lightbulbs. Traditional incandescent bulbs require more energy and don’t last as long as LED bulbs, so swapping them out can cut your energy use and lightbulb replacement costs.

Strategically timing your primary energy use can also cut costs on your utility bill. Peak hours come with higher use rates, so you're racking up costs if you’re utilising high-energy appliances like washing machines, dryers, and dishwashers during these periods. Off-peak hours tend to be from midnight to 7 am, but you can ask your local distributor to confirm. Try planning your household activities around these hours and switching some tasks to this window to reduce your electricity costs significantly.

Heating water draws significant energy, so shower length is critical to your electricity use. If you can reduce your household shower times by just 2-3 minutes per person, you can save hundreds of gallons of heated water each month, which adds up.

If shortening shower time isn’t plausible, consider installing a low-flow showerhead to reduce water usage in a different way. Alternatively, you may lower your water heater temperature to provide adequate warmth without excessive energy use.

Embracing solar power can offset how much energy you pull from the grid and create drastic savings on your monthly bills. An array of solar panels paired with a home battery system like the EcoFlow Power Ocean (Single-Phase)or EcoFlow Power Ocean (Three-Phase)can generate and store energy that you can tap into, especially during peak rate periods when the grid charges the most. It also provides peace of mind during outages and reduces your carbon footprint.

Are your old, outdated, and inefficient appliances costing you on your electricity bill? While investing in newer, energy-efficient appliances comes with an initial cost, the long-term savings can outweigh the expense. Look for modern models with Energy Star certification, which typically use 10-50% less energy than old models that aren’t built with efficiency in mind. Pay attention to the energy rating label on any appliances you’re considering purchasing, and consider the annual operating costs and purchase price.

Can’t afford to replace all your old appliances? Focus first on replacing the most frequently used or inefficient ones to see the most impact.

The dishwasher is much more economical than hand-washing dishes, but overusing this appliance can still use unnecessary energy. Wait until your dishwasher is completely full before running it, as it will use the same amount of water and electricity no matter how full the load is. Skip the pre-rinse cycle, as modern versions are designed to handle food residue effectively. If your model has an eco-setting, use it whenever possible.

Even the tiniest thermostat adjustments can create impactful savings without sacrificing indoor comfort. During winter, lower your thermostat by just one or two degrees, especially if you’re not home. In summer, raise it by the same amount and use fans to maintain comfort while reducing the strain on your air conditioner. Programmable and smart thermostats can make these adjustments even more effortless by automating them.

Smart home technology gives you precise control over your electricity consumption. Smart thermostats, plugs, and lighting can learn your preferences and schedules and optimise energy use based on personalised patterns. They also often provide detailed reporting about your consumption via apps so you can see where and when you’re using the most energy and which systems are saving you the most.

You may be doing small things at home that you don’t realise contribute to a higher electric bill. Everything makes an impact, from leaving the lights on to showering and running the laundry during peak demand. Even if you have a solar system installed, you’re not taking advantage of your system's full benefits if you don't have proper battery storage. Simple changes, like adding the EcoFlow PowerOcean DC Fit to your existing solar array and optimising your home’s insulation, can help drive your costs down each month.