Practical ways to reduce your fuel bills

So, are there some realistic ways to reduce your gas and electricity bills? We ask the experts for their advice.

Prevent heat loss
Draught-proofing your home yourself is a cheap way to save on energy bills. You need ventilation, but if you’ve got unwanted draughts from windows, for example, you can buy foam strips, or a metal or plastic version with brushes.
Fit excluders to the bottom of the doors to keep your bedroom nice and cosy and install a chimney cushion (an inflatable draught excluder) as 20% of a room’s heat can be lost up an open chimney.

Try a TRV
To improve efficiencies further, consider installing thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) on the radiators. These help regulate the heat in a room in order to provide a more constant temperature, rather than the continual intervention that a manual valve can require. These days, they come in a wide range of styles and finishes that suit almost any situation.

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Switch to LED bulbs
The average household uses 67 lightbulbs a year, switching from incandescent bulbs to LED will require an initial outlay, but you could save energy costs, not to mention it’s also better for the environment, as LEDs lower your carbon footprint.

Choose energy-efficient appliances
You can reduce costs in the long run by shopping smartly whenever you need to replace an appliance.
You could make savings of hundreds over the life of a fridge freezer, by choosing an appliance that has a good energy rating.

Turn off unused appliances
It takes seconds to flip a switch, but it’s worth making sure you’re not wasting energy with lights and appliances.
When you leave a room, remember to turn the lights off and don’t forget electronics like TVs, computers and speakers.
If you can see the little red light, they’re still using electricity in standby mode, and can add to your bill.

Get a smart meter
A smart meter can track what you’re actually using. Start by turning everything off, then turn things on one at a time, to see exactly how much each appliance is costing you. This is also great for seeing if your out-of-date appliances are costing you much more than it would cost to replace them for a better-energy-rated new appliance.

Look after your boiler
An inefficient boiler could be adding to your energy costs gradually over time.
The most obvious sign that your boiler is becoming less efficient is if your house is not warming up as it should, or how it has done in past years.
It’s worth getting your boiler serviced regularly, at least once a year, to help ensure that it is running as efficiently as possible – this may save you money in the long run.
If you live in an area with hard water, limescale build-up could be making your boiler less efficient.

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