Heating and Utilities Blog

Energy Efficient Household Appliances

heatingandutilities — Mon, 29 Jun 2009 13:50:06 +0000

When purchasing general household appliances, it is important to consider the running costs of a product. One of the easiest ways to save money on your electricity bills is to ensure that any household appliances carry the ‘Energy Saving Recommended’ certification mark. This is a standard that has been developed by the Energy Saving Trust in conjunction with industry and the UK government that appears on all new ‘white goods’.

Any electrical appliance that carries the Energy Savings Recommended mark is guaranteed to exceed the standard energy efficiency regulations. Products carrying this certification mark can be clearly identified as ‘energy efficient goods’.

Many people believe that products carrying the Energy Saving Recommended mark are more expensive than less energy efficient products. This however is simply untrue and if you shop around you will be able to find an inexpensive appliance that is environmentally friendly and cost efficient in terms of fuels consumption.

In my next post I will discuss in greater detail the benefits of using energy saving household appliances.

Dan

Effects of leaving electrical appliances on standby

heatingandutilities — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 12:28:25 +0000

Each year over one million tons of damaging greenhouse gases are pumped into the atmosphere by electrical appliances left on standby. These appliances, which range from televisions and DVD players to dishwashers and tumble-dryers, are significant contributors to global warming. The true effects that these appliances have on the environment are often overlooked. Every year enough electricity to power a city the size of Birmingham for a year or keep Britain’s street lights burning for four years is wasted.

Televisions and DVD players are two major contributors to this issue. It is estimated that 99% of households own a television. The average TV is left on standby for more than 17 hours a day which wastes a staggering amount of energy. The growing popularity of DVD players over the years also means that many UK households now own at least one DVD player, many of which are never actually turned off.

It isn’t always the obvious electrical appliances that waste energy either. Whilst most people are aware of the fact that televisions and DVD players waste electricity when left on standby, many people would be shocked to learn that dishwashers left “on” at the end of their cycle consume 70 per cent of the power used when they are running, washing machines use just under 20 per cent of their normal electricity requirement on standby and tumble-dryers can use 38 per cent of power while waiting at the end of a cycle.

Together, these appliances are wasting a massive amount of energy. Experts have suggested that the total power used while an appliance is on standby is equal to the electricity used during the time it is in use. By turning electrical appliances off rather than leaving them on standby, you will save a significant amount of energy which will be have a positive impact on your energy bills.

Dan

Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

heatingandutilities — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:34:24 +0000

Using energy saving light bulbs is one of the simplest ways to reduce your utilities bill. Energy efficient light bulbs use around 80% less energy than standard bulbs which obviously impacts on the amount of energy you use in your home.

There are common misconceptions that these energy savings light bulbs are expensive and don’t produce the same amount of light as standard bulbs. This however is untrue. Energy saving light bulbs last up to 12 times longer than ordinary light bulbs and can save you £45 over the bulbs lifetime. According to the Energy Saving Trust, research has also shown that the majority of people can’t tell the difference between traditional light bulbs and energy saving ones.

So….energy saving light bulbs save you money, produce the same amount of light as standard light bulbs and are better for the environment!

If you were to fit all the lights in your house with energy saving light bulbs you could save around £50 a year and £675 over the lifetime of the bulbs. These figures also take into account the higher cost of energy saving light bulbs. You will usually recoup the money spent on these light bulbs within a year.

Using energy saving light bulbs also significantly affects the environment. If everyone in the UK installed just one energy saving light bulb the CO2 emissions saved would fill 2 million double decker buses. And if each house installed three energy saving bulbs, it would save enough energy to run the country’s street lights for a year.

The above information clearly shows that energy efficient bulbs will not only help to save you money….they will also help to save the planet! Why not invest in these light bulbs…you might be amazed at just how much you do save!

Dan

5 Quick and Easy ways to start saving

heatingandutilities — Thu, 26 Mar 2009 11:34:45 +0000

1. Adjust your thermostat

According to the Energy Saving Trust, reducing the temperature on your thermostat by 1°C could ‘cut your heating bills by up to 10 percent and typically saves around £65 per year’.

2. Don’t leave televisions, computers and other electrical appliances on standby

According to Moneysupermarket.com, TV’s left on standby in the UK use around £116 million worth of energy every year and DVD and video players consume more than £225 million while on standby. Computers left on standby account for even more wasted energy in the UK. A computer can still use up to 75% of its energy when left on standby, collectively costing British households £800 million a year.

3. Take a shower, not a bath

A typical bath will use around 100litres of water, three times more water than a shower. Using a shower instead of a bath will save significant amounts of water which will lead to savings on your water bill.

4. Don’t overfill your kettle

Kettles are one of the most used appliances in the kitchen with the average family using their kettle around 4 times a day and a total of 1500 times per year. It is estimated that on average we boil twice the water we need to when boiling a kettle – which means using twice the energy. Boiling only the required amount of water could help reduce your energy usage.

5. Turn off lights when you leave the room

Turning lights off when leaving the room is one of the easiest ways to save money on your energy bill. It’s quite surprising then that people still leave lights on in empty rooms which. Taking the time to turn the lights off before you leave a room will save you money in the long run. It is also possible to save money by installing energy efficient light bulbs. I will discuss this further in my next blog post.

Whilst some of the above money saving suggestions might seem quite basic, they can prove to be very effective. Saving money on your heating and utilities needn’t be time consuming and difficult. Taking a little time to consider the energy you use can lead to significant savings in the long run.

Dan

Hello world!

heatingandutilities — Fri, 06 Mar 2009 13:55:29 +0000

Hi guys. As this is my first post I suppose I’d best introduce myself! I’m Daniel (Dan), a thirty-something, married, father of two whose passions include spending time with friends and family, cooking and watching and playing football (I’m a huge Manchester United fan). I’ve created this blog in an attempt to ensure that people are as well informed as possible when it comes to their heating and utilities bill. For years I paid over the odds for my heating and utilities. After another cold winter and another huge heating and utility bill, I decided that there must be a better deal out there for me somewhere. And guess what…there was! I was amazed at how easy it was to save money. Since then I have continually tried to save both energy and money and have managed to do so fairly successfully. In future posts I will attempt to help you to reduce your heating and utilities bills with different pieces of advice. The first piece of advice will follow shortly.

Take Care

Dan