10 ideas to make your home more energy efficient

The average UK household now spends over £1,200 a year on energy, and with prices still high, many families are searching for practical ways to cut costs. Improving your home’s energy efficiency not only lowers bills but also reduces your carbon footprint and keeps your home warmer for longer.

At WarmZilla, we specialise in heating and energy-saving solutions, from modern, efficient boilers to smart heating controls. In this guide, we’ll share 10 easy and affordable ideas to make your home more energy efficient, helping you save money, waste less energy, and enjoy a more comfortable home.

Avoid leaving appliances on standby

It is something that we have been told for years, but still, plenty of us are guilty of this one – using more energy by leaving appliances on standby. If we all turned appliances off at the plug instead, we could save ourselves around £30 per year, and that’s before the price increases.
If you’re not too great at remembering to unplug, or maybe your sockets are hard to reach, you could look at using plug-in timers. There are also options that allow you to turn sockets off via your phone.

Look into a smart thermostat

If you want your home to be energy efficient, then you need to make sure that you’re getting the best from your heating. This means avoiding wasting energy by heating rooms that don’t need it. A smart thermostat can learn how it takes to heat a room to the right temperature so that it is at that point at the time that you need it.
You can also control your smart thermostat via your smartphone. Exploring this option could see you saving £75 a year. This is based on a smart thermostat, programmers, and thermostatic radiator valves.

Turn your thermostat down

Have you ever found that your thermostat has mysteriously turned itself up by a degree or two? This is a common occurrence in a household full of teenagers, but it could be costing you money that you don’t need to spend. Given that half of our spend on energy goes towards hot water and heating, this is an area where it is certainly worth saving.
If you turn your thermostat down by just a single degree, from where you usually have it, you can see savings of around £80 a year.

Upgrade your appliances

Of course, we’re not saying that you should suddenly ditch appliances that are working perfectly well as this is just going to cost you money. However, when the time does come to replace your fridge, freezer, washing machine, or any other appliance, be sure to check out the energy efficiency rating.
As an example of savings you could make, a fridge freezer that has an A+++ rating is around £300 cheaper to run, over its lifetime, than one with an A+ rating. Likewise, switching from an A+ rated washing machine to one rated A+++ will save you around £65.

Boiler installation

At WarmZilla, we know all about boilers and how they can make your home more energy-efficient. Modern boilers are much more energy-efficient than older models. This means that they are better for the environment as well as being better for your pocket.
If you went ahead and upgraded from a G rated boiler, and lived in a detached house, you could see yourself saving around £300 a year. Given what is to come in terms of energy prices, this figure is likely to increase. With our Best Price Guarantee, now may be the perfect time to explore your options.

Insulate your roof

Did you know that around a quarter of all the heat lost from your home goes via the roof? Even with the most efficient heating system that money can buy, you could still be wasting energy, and money, as it disappears through your roof.
The answer is roof insulation. This is something that you can potentially do yourself, or you can instruct a company to do it for you. It could cost you a few hundred pounds to get done, but you will likely save over £100 on your energy bills.

Washing machines

A staple item in most homes, especially where children are involved! The truth is that washing clothes can consume masses of energy. We have already looked at switching to more energy-efficient appliances, but what else can you do?
Simply by turning your washing machine down from 40 to 30 degrees, you will save money and energy. If you also find a way to miss out on one of your wash cycles each week you can save another £5 on your energy bill.

Double glazing

With your heating on in an attempt to keep cosy in the winter, the last thing that you want is it all escaping out of your windows. Older single glazed windows can lose twice as much heat as modern double glazed ones. A-rated double glazing will help to lock in the heat as well as keeping out the noise.
The potential savings that you could see depend on your property type, but you can expect to save hundreds every year.

Get smart about water

Heating your water uses energy and it is all too easy to see this wasted. You can save by thinking about how your shower is used and even cut back by thinking about how the washing up is done. For instance, a bowl of water vs a running tap can save you around £25 per year.
Cutting just one minute from your time in the shower can see you save £7 every year, per person that uses the shower.

Watch what you’re using

If you want to ensure that your home is energy efficient, you need to know where your energy is being used. This can help you to identify the best steps that you can take to save. Getting a smart meter installed will give you a great insight into your energy use.