Big Energy Saving Week 2025: A Guide to Saving Money and Protecting the Planet

Service your boiler annually.
This can maintain your boilers performance for longer and also is safer to detect leaks earlier.

Turn down the thermostat by one degree.
Lowering a thermostat by just one degree can save money on your bills but it's effectiveness varies by a variety of factors such as insulation and the efficiency of the system. However estimates put it at about 1-3% cost savings.

Bleed radiators to ensure efficiency.
Trapped air hinders the hot water from circulating efficiently. Bleeding the air out of the radiator will allow the hot water to flow more freely around the whole radiator.
Insulate walls and lofts.
35% of heat is lost through poorly insulated walls, whereas 25% can be lost through the roof. Proper insulation will help reduce this.

Seal gaps around windows and doors.
Lots of heat can be lost in these gaps therefore caulking them should help retain some heat and use less energy to heat your rooms. Silicone caulk is a good choice for windows because it's waterproof and remains flexible for many years. You can use a caulking gun to apply the caulk.

Close curtains at night to retain heat.
They can insulate your room and reduce the flow of warm air to the window that will be lost.

Only heat occupied rooms.
You might have a storage room, study, spare bedroom or generally an infrequently used room. Turning off the radiator in that room and closing the door will save on energy bills as the boiler has less radiators to heat
Lower the water heater temperature
Often the hot water coming out of our taps and showers is scoldingly hot and we find ourselves having to mix the hot water with the cold for it to be bearable. One way of reducing this is by turning down the water temperature on the boiler itself. This will mean the water comes out much milder and it takes less energy to heat it up.
Layer up with warm clothing indoors
Heating up a whole house for one person might be inefficient. If you can wrap up or even heat yourself with an electric blanket, this would be far more efficient than heating up the whole house

Ventilate briefly to avoid heat loss
Ventilation is important to allow fresh air into the house but we don’t want too much ventilation that will make the house cold. Perhaps open doors and windows briefly before the heating comes on as it then shouldn't stay cold for long.
Switch off heating when away for extended periods

It would be a waste of energy having the heating come on and off whilst you're away even for the weekend. If you have a programmable thermostat or smart thermostat this should be relatively easy, this way you can have the heating come on just before you come home
 

Replace bulbs with LED alternatives.
LED's use up to 90% less energy than incandescent bulbs and will also last much longer, meaning you won't have to shell out for new bulbs as often.

Unplug devices when not in use.
The phantom effect means that your devices use energy when plugged in even when they are not in use. Using an extension lead is beneficial as you only have to unplug one plug rather than several at a time.

Use timers for electronics.
This might be useful if you charge your phone overnight as it will charge your phone fully and keep it topped up continually overnight when it dips. Using a timer you could time the charger to start charging an hour or two before you wake up to reduce energy consumption.
Batch cook to maximise oven usage.
This will ensure that the oven gets switched on less frequently and will reduce energy consumption.

Air-dry clothes instead of tumble drying.
Tumble dryers use a large amount of energy, cause creases and can even damage clothes. Air drying your clothes on a clothes horse near a radiator will be gentler on your clothes and your wallet. It will also have the added benefit of making your house smell delightful.

Reduce screen brightness on devices.
Brighter settings use more battery and therefore will increase battery consumption as well as harm your eyes. Reducing the brightness will mean less frequent charging and safer eyes.

Set refrigerators to the optimal temperature (3–5°C).
This is cold enough to slow down bacterial growth and not too cold that food will begin to freeze. The colder you set the temperature, the harder the fridge will have to work to maintain that temperature. Remember, every time you open the fridge it loses some of the cool air and will have to work to cool itself down again.

Boil only the water you need.
Boiling more than the water you need will cost more energy, and any water left in the kettle won't stay warm for the next cuppa and therefore will have to be reheated again.
Use solar chargers for gadgets
Portable chargers and portable lights. You can charge these for 'free' using the suns energy instead of your wallet.
Programme your washing machine to run off-peak hours.
Most modern washing machines allow you to programme them to finish after a set amount of hours. Set your washing machine to come on in the early hours so it finishes when you wake up. This will give you time to air dry your clothes and will use the cheaper overnight rates.
Position fridges and freezers away from heat sources
Appliances such as fridges and freezers use energy to maintain their temperatures to stay cool/freezing. Therefore having them near a source of warmth such as a radiator or cooker can mean they use more energy to work efficiently. If possible, move your appliances to colder parts of the room.