How To Save Electricity

How can I save electricity?

The simplest ways to save electricity are the cheapest, I think. Don't leave appliances like the telly on standby and you can save up to 60% on the electricity it uses. Don't leave your phone on charge when you don't need to. Also save electricity by putting on an extra layer of clothing and turn down the heating thermostat. For every one degree centigrade you turn it down by you could save £40 a year. Install cheap radiator controls on each radiator so you can turn individual radiators down and turn some off to save on electricity, especially at night or in rooms you don't use. Close doors for rooms you don't use to conserve heat and save on electrical bills. Pop a big stone or a brick in the oven when you're cooking and use that to warm the bed. Using more blankets or duvets rather than turning the heating up when you sleep also helps to save energy. Turn your hot water boiler down to 60°C. Close your curtains at night or add a velcroed in lining to your curtains in the winter which sweeps down to the floor and that stops drafts very effectively, helping to reduce the cost of electricity. Alternatively, use some old tights as draft excluders to stop drafts under the doors. Turning off lights obviously helps save electricity. I've put mirrors behind wall lights because that gives the effect of more light bulbs than you actually have. Use candles instead of lighting, but be careful around children and blow them out when you leave the room. I keep a thermos by the kettle, and I put excess boiling water into it so next time I don't need to boil a kettle and use more electricity than necessary. Another thing to do is to make a pot of tea and not a cup of tea, and save boiling the kettle twice - and save on tea bags. Use a tea cozy - if you don't have one of those use an old wooly hat - to keep the pot warm and save having to use more electricity to re-heat the tea. Replace light bulbs with energy saving bulbs and you could save up to £100 during one bulb's lifetime. For more ideas on how to save electricity check out the energy saving trust.