Energy Efficiency
We believe that the cheapest, greenest energy is the energy we don’t use, so we want to help you to use less and save more. With our smart technology, such as the Smart Score feature in the My Utilita app, we’re helping our customers lower their energy by up to £228 a year – and you can too by making simple changes to your energy usage.
Top Energy Saving Tips
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Heating your home
Drop the thermostat by just one degree and you could save up to £158 a year!
Our top tips:
- Stay warm, cut costs. The recommended healthy household temperature is between 18-21 degrees, so nudge down the heat and start saving.
- Get cosy, wear warm. Grab an extra jumper, your most cosy socks or slippers and put an extra blanket on the bed to avoid reaching for the thermostat. Don’t forget, clothing made from natural fibres, such as cotton or wool, will help to keep you warm in the winter and cooler during summer.
- Take Control. By using the timers on your boiler, you can select which time you want the heating to come on and turn off. Be sure to turn the radiators off in the rooms you’re not using, and keep all internal doors shut to retain the heat.
- Mind the gap. Look out for any gaps or cracks in your windows, doors, and floors, letting the cold air in and warm air out. Try using thick curtains, draught excluders on your doors, sealant on any small gaps and even rolled up newspaper to insulate your home.
- Keep it clear. Make sure your radiators aren’t blocked by any furniture, keeping a clear space will ensure the heat can efficiently spread around the room, making your heating system work more effectively.
- Radiator Reflectors. You can lose heat if a radiator is on an external wall, especially if it isn't insulated. Reflector panels help reflect that heat back into the room – these can be found at hardware stores or alternatively tin foil is another cost-effective option.
- How to save on heating your water. Using a gas oil or LPG central heating system? It will always be cheaper to set the timer, so the hot water only comes on when you need it. However, if you’re using an electrical immersion heater and have an Economy 7 or 10 tariff, it’s cheaper to heat your water during the night. Make sure your tank is well insulated to prevent it cooling during the day!
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Washing and laundry
Shrink your bills, not your clothes – you could save up to £16 a year by washing at 30C instead of 40C / 60C.
Our top tips:
- Wash at 30. Washing detergents are designed to work just as well at 30 degrees as they do on 40 degrees, so try to avoid washing laundry on a higher temperature. Wait until you have a full load too – not only will you save energy, but you’ll also save water too.
- Hang your laundry. Tumble dryers can cost between £30 - £100 a year depending on the size of your household. To avoid using it in the winter, simply hang your washing on a clothes horse and pop it near a radiator to make the most of your central heating.
- Be an Eco Warrior. We understand that a tumble dryer may be a necessity over the colder months, so to save time and money, use eco balls to allow heat to move more freely. Alternatively, try adding a dry towel in with your wet washing to reduce the time it takes to dry your clothes.
- Be smart about washing up. Fill a bowl of water with warm soapy water and avoid rinsing plates under the tap, as this wastes clean water. If you use a dishwasher, be sure to fill it completely before you switch it on – it will use the same amount of water and energy regardless, so a half-empty load will waste half the machines water and energy.
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Hot water
Spend a minute less in the shower and save up to £8 a year.
Our top tips:
- If you have a power shower, turn the pressure down! A high-pressure power shower is a luxury, but you'd be surprised how much water they use - sometimes even more than a bath.
- Use your head. An energy efficient shower head can save a four-person household as much as £38 a year on energy costs, plus an extra £53 a year on water bills.
- Keep your showers to about less than 10 minutes. Spending one minute less in the shower each day will save around £8 on your energy spend each year, per person.
- Keep it cool, don't heat your water to a scalding temperature. For most people, 50°C/122°F is the most comfortable temperature.
- Maintain your Boiler. Fitting your hot water tank with a thermostat could save you up to £30 a year and reduce your carbon footprint by 130kg. Plus, if your boiler has an insulation jacket, you could reduce your energy spend by £40 and your carbon footprint by 170kg.
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Electricity
Switch it off and save up to £54 a year.
Our top tips:
- Avoid standby and save. We’re all guilty of leaving devices on standby, but did you know that your appliances can use as much as 75% of the energy they use when they're fully switched on, when they’re left on standby? Watch out for TV’s, kitchen appliances and phone charges using that vampire energy.
- Turn the lights out. Be sure to switch the lighting off once you leave a room, you could save yourself up to £25 a year.
- Light it up & lower the cost. Switch out any old-fashioned incandescent lighting for more energy-efficient options and save on your overall energy bill. If the average household replaced all their bulbs with LEDs, it could take up to £35 a year off the energy bill.
- Get the kids involved. Challenge your little ones to become energy-saving detectives - use your In-Home Display to find where your energy is going and teach them the importance of turning electricals off.
- Buy smart. An electric oven with the new A+ efficiency rating will use around 40% less energy than a B-rated oven.
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In the kitchen
Only boil as much water as you need and save up to £6 a year.
Our top tips:
- Fancy a cuppa? Boiling an average 3kWh kettle for 10 minutes per day will cost around £27 per year. If you only boil as much water as you need, you could save up to £6 – that’s another 500 tea bags you could buy with the saving!
- Batch cook. If you're going to use the oven, cook a few meals at a time to get the most out of having your oven on. You can freeze un-used batches and re-heat them for quick and easy future meals.
- Heat your home whilst cooking. Once you’ve finished cooking up a storm, leave the oven door open and let the heat warm your kitchen. The oven might give off enough heat for you to adjust your thermostat, a far more efficient use of that stored heat than throwing it out of your home with an extractor fan.
- Make things easy for your fridge & freezer. Keep them full to ensure empty space isn’t wasted - they don't have to work as hard and therefore they use less energy. An A+++ fridge freezer will save around £190 in energy costs over its 10-year lifetime compared to an A+ model
- Switch it up. Cooking on an electric hob for just thirty minutes a day costs £90 a year. Using an electric oven for thirty minutes a day will set you back £82 a year. For a cheaper alternative, get yourself a microwave – when used for 10 minutes a day, this will only cost you just £3 per year.
