9 product switches that can help reduce your energy costs

Smart product switches

With rising energy costs, many are having to be smart with their energy use to not run high energy bills. There are in fact some simple smart product switches you can make to save money and energy.

Air fryer vs Oven

You might think that an air fryer is just for fried food, but in fact you can cook more or less anything in an air fryer that you would in an oven. Granted the air fryer is smaller in size and perhaps not ideal for large family style cooking, but if you're a smaller household or just need a few dishes cooked in the oven, the air fryer is a great alternative and it also uses significantly less energy than an oven, most models can run up to 250 degrees, so you can definitely get the same result as from an oven. Most air fryer also have a shorter preheating period of about 1-2 minutes, while an oven can go up to 5-10 minutes, wasting more energy.

Slow Cooker vs Cooker

A slow cooker uses around 150-210 Watts of power vs a stove top which uses between 2000-5000 Watts of power. Meaning that although you may cook longer with a slow cooker, after 8 hours of use you have used the same amount of power that a gas cooker uses in just 45 minutes. You can use a cooker for everything from stews and soup to cooking rice or baking cakes. It also cooks the food faster or can be left on low heat for a longer period of time for slow cooked food. Using a slow cooker instead of a cooker can help you save up to 70% energy.

LED vs Lightbulb

A simple and affordable switch that can save energy is making sure that you use LED bulbs instead of incandescent lighting, as LED uses up to 75% less energy than normal bulbs. Although there may be a higher upfront cost the LED bulbs do help save in the long run and most of them also have a longer life span.

Smart Thermostat

Smart thermostats hit the market a few years ago with Google Nest leading the way, the idea behind a smart thermostat is to help save energy through the principal of; the more you know about how much you use, the more you see how to use less. Google claims that according to an independent study it was shown that a smart thermostat saved people an average of 10-12% on heating bills and 15% on cooling bills. With a smart thermostat you can operate your heating remotely via the internet using your mobile phone, tablet or computer. Some can also learn your routine or adjust your settings depending on the weather forecast.

Solar Panels

Solar panels capture the sun’s energy and convert it into electricity that you can use in your home, if you create an excess of energy and you’re claiming a Smart Export Guarantee tariff, you’ll receive a payment for every unit of electricity you export, if you however don't generate enough energy you will buy energy from the grid. There are some limitations of course, you will need space and means to be able to purchase and install the solar panels, but if you are able to it is a great investment.

There are also more accessible forms of solar panels that have been incorporated into products such as chargers that can help save energy as well as some smaller solar panels that can help charge or run smaller appliances. If you're worried about the efficiency of solar panels bearing in mind the UKs infamous lack of sunny days, don't worry, they are still efficient in cloudy weather, but of course, the more sunshine, the more electricity will be generated.

Blocking Draught

With high energy prices the last thing you want is a huge chunk of your heat escaping through gaps and draught. Heat can escape through the bottom of doors, gaps between windows and through poorly insulated walls and windows. Some simple ways to improve this is to invest in some heavy curtains to help prevent heat loss through windows, ideally investing in double glazed windows would be the best, but this can be costly and is not an option for renters.

To stop heat escaping through doors you can use a draught excluder, which can be bought or made from plastic bags and some thick material and then placed at the bottom of your doors. There are also draught-proofing strips that you can place around your window and door to help block out all draughts. If you have a fireplace we would suggest looking into getting it up and running as it can help you save on heating costs, however if you are not using or planning on using it, it's a good idea to block the draught that can come in through it by either fitting a cap over the chimney pot or an inflatable pillow to block the chimney.

Wood & Pellet Fireplaces

With many worried about the soaring energy prices, having to turn off heating to save money is not ideal, especially during the cold winter months. A wood or pellet fireplace is a great option for keeping your home warm. Not only are wood and pellets less expensive, their price is more stable and less prone to the large price hikes that we see with gas, propane and oil, all this making it a more viable heating option. Wood pellet fireplaces are also able to burn using a wide variety of materials. Although this may be a great option when looking to cut heating costs and lessen dependency on gas, there are a lot of regulations to adhere to so just make sure to stay up to date on the latest information available.

Microwave Ovens

Microwave ovens are another great and energy efficient way to cook, and you can cook much more than you might think. What makes microwaves more efficient is that they don't require any preheating and microwaves only heat your food and doesn't need to warm the air space as it does with an oven.

Washing and Drying

Washing and drying clothes is one of the most basic essentials in our daily life. Cutting costs in this respect can be tricky, but if you're looking to buy a new washer or dryer always make sure to invest in one with a high energy rating, preferably a washer with an A rating to ensure that it is as energy efficient as possible. Beyond that washing your clothes at 30°C instead of higher temperatures as well as running the machine only once per week will help cut some costs. You can also track energy prices and make sure to do your washing during periods of time when the prices are lower, generally during early morning or evening.

Tumble dryers consume a lot of energy and to avoiding using it whenever possible is a great way to save if you are looking to buy one, opt for dryers with an A+++ rating. Try hanging clothes outside during the summer and indoors on racks during colder months, just be mindful of moisture and keep the room well ventilated so that your home doesn't become damp. Similarly to washers, try to opt for one with a higher energy rating when purchasing a dryer.

Calculate your energy consumption

Calculating how much energy an appliance uses in a day can be useful to figure out which appliances are consuming the most energy as well as how to optimise your energy usage.

It's fairly simple to calculate as electricity is generally measured by kilowatt hours (kWh), which equals 1,000 watt hours. To calculate how much energy you consume you should multiply the device's wattage by the numbers of hours you use it. So if you have a lightbulb with the effect of 60W and use it for 10 hours, that will equal 600 watt-hours per day.

As your bill will most likely mark this in kilowatts you need to calculate further to get the kWh, you need to divide by 1,000 (as 1 kilowatt equals 1,000 watts), so in this case 600 watt-hours per day/1000 = 0.6 kWh (per day). Multiply this number by the number of days in the month and you will have an accurate total for how much energy your appliances use per month.

The Standby Thief

Many appliances are consuming energy even when you're not using them, there are some which can be safely switched off to completely eliminate standby costs, this can save you up around £55 per year. If you want to learn more about standby mode and which appliances consume the most energy whilst on standby, you can here read all about energy thieving appliances.

All information and facts are from Energy Saving Trust.