Simple Behaviour Changes to Save Energy and Money | Glaze & Save

So often when we think about saving energy, installing expensive top of the line systems such as solar PV panels, biomass boilers and ground source heat pumps pop into mind. These are all great investments, and should absolutely be considered at future energy improvement and generation projects for your home; however, there is little to no point spending thousands on the latest tech if you have some very bad habits that could be costing you a fortune each year.

Our CEO Tanya Ewing is a great believer in changing your behaviour around energy usage as the first vital step towards creating a more energy efficient lifestyle. Having taken part in BBC2’s The Great Big Energy Saving Challenge, former VIBES award winnerTanya is passionate about getting us to re-examine our relationship with energy, stating we can all save around 20% on our energy bills just by changing our behaviours.

So what small changes could you be making to your behaviour right now that could be saving you energy and money from today? We have six of the most effective.

1. Closing shutters, curtains and blinds approximately one hour before the sun sets will help store the heat generated from the sun inside your room. If you wait until it gets dark, all of the heat will have already escaped! Closing your curtains, blinds and shutters one hour before sunset can increase the heat of a room by as much as 5 degrees Celsius!

2. Similarly, make sure that you move all large and bulky objects away from your windows. During the day warmth comes in through your windows. This heat helps to warm your home, even into the evening: but if you have bulky furniture, televisions, or even heavy blinds obscuring the window throughout the day, the sun’s warmth will not penetrate the room. Rearrange the furniture and opt for lighter window treatments for during the day and see the difference.

3. Ensure that you are switching all electrical appliances off at the socket instead of utilising the “standby” function. You can sometimes hear a slight hum or buzz from your electrical sockets: that means it’s definitely pulling power from the grid. Switching off at the socket could save you an average of £33 per year on energy bills. Tanya herself saved over £200 per year just by switching four appliances off at the socket!

4. Get to know your heating controls. Most of us have heating controls that we don’t understand or can’t work easily. You can improve your thermal comfort and save money at same time by getting to know your controls and how best to use them. Alternatively, consider installing smart controls such as NESTor HIVEto your existing heating controls. Changing this can save an average of 15% without compromising your warmth.

5. Did you know that many home owners find the temperature of 19 degrees Celsius the optimum temperature to live comfortably? What are the chances that your thermostat is currently set to 20, 21 degree, or maybe even higher? Reducing your room temperature by 1 degrees Celsius could reduce your heating bill by 10%.

6. Sometimes the simplest methods are most effective, like putting a lid on your saucepans while cooking. Putting a lid on it used up to an astonishing 90% less energy than leaving the lid off, and it speeds up your cooking time! You can save even more energy by ensuring that your saucepan is similar to your hob ring size to stop unnecessary heat loss.

So there you have it, six simple behavioural changes that you can put into practice today to begin to save money on your energy bills. Once you are fully in control and aware of your behavior, then you can start to see where you need to spend some cash to make even great savings.