ENERGYENERGY

Follow these simple tips to stop wasting energy and start saving money.

Waste lessenergy...save £££s

Save on your heating bills

A room thermostat monitors and controls the temperature in your rooms.

By turning down the heating in rooms, evenby just 1oC if it is too warm inside, can saveyou around £75 per year.

Get the best fromyour room thermostat1

To work accurately, thermostats need a free flow of air to sense the temperature. Don’t cover thermostats with curtains or block with furnitureand site away from windows, radiators and televisions.

Heating controls should be installed in a room thatyou use regularly but positioned away from radiatorsand windows.

Set your thermostatic radiator valves(TRVs)

Thermostatic radiator valves control the temperature ofyour radiators - providing room by room temperaturecontrol. If you have these, you should set the radiatorvalves in each room at a low level and gradually turnthem up until the room is at a comfortable temperature. Turning a radiator valve to a higher settingwill not make the room heat up any faster - thatdepends on the radiator and boiler size and setting.

Using your radiatorseffectively2

You can reduce your heating bills by ensuring eachradiator in your home is able to circulate heat properly.

Blocking radiators reduces the effectiveness of yourheating, so take the following steps to make themmore effective:

• pull furniture away from radiators

• don't use cabinets to disguise your radiator

• don't cover your radiators with curtains

Also turn radiators in rooms that are rarely used to alower setting when not in use.

Save around your home

Switch it off

Don’t leave lights, mobile phone chargers andappliances on or in standby mode unnecessarily.A TV on standby is still consuming energy!

Some satellite and digital TV recorders mayneed to be left on standby – check the userinstructions.

You could save between £45 and £80 peryear just by turning off instead of leavingon standby.

• Set your washing machine to 30oC

• Use a bowl in the sink when washing up instead of a running tap

• When using your kettle, boil the amount of water you need – don’t fill up if you don’t need it.

You could save over £40 per year wasting lessenergy in the kitchen.

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If you have a shower which has water heated from your boiler or hot water tank – i.e. NOT an electric shower – you may be able to fit a water-efficient showerhead. This reduces the amount of hot water used and also the amount of energy used, while still maintaining the sensation of a powerful shower.

You can get water efficient showerheads from most DIYstores. Some water companies give these away for free– contact your local water company to find out more.

A family of four could save up to £65 per yearby using a water efficient shower.

Draught excluders Heat just loves escaping through gaps in doors, windows, floorboards and other parts of your home. Stop this by blocking the gaps! You can buy draught excluding kits from mostDIY stores. Also stop heat escaping by closing your curtains or blinds at night.

You could save up to £30 per year by blocking the gaps in your home!

The power of a shower

Lighting your home There are two main types of low energy lights – CFLs (Compact Fluorescent Lamps) and LEDs (Light Emitting Diodes). Energy saving light bulbs come in various shapes, sizes and fittings.

Swapping old inefficient halogen bulbs for energysaving light bulbs could save up to £45 per year.

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ENERGYENERGY

email: mears.energy@mearsgroup.co.uk

web: www.mearsgroup.co.uk

Sources from the Energy Saving Trust - details correct at time of printing (Version 02/14)

waste lessenergy... you could reallysave £££s