Even though by this time of year we don't usually have the heating on, those household bills keep on coming. If only we could train our families to be more energy-efficient. I have tried rigging up the children to a treadmill, but sadly it didn't provide enough electricity to power a long-life lightbulb.

Phil Levermore, Managing Director of Ebico, a not-for-profit gas and energy supplier, recommends the following energy saving tips. He says that Ebico's customers have on average saved 10% on their energy bills by following this advice:


Kitchen tips
• Think small – use the toaster rather than the grill for toast, the grill rather than the oven for small vegetables
• Shut that door – keep the fridge door open as little time as you can. Each minute it is open, it takes three minutes of energy to cool down again. Aim to keep your fridge and freezer three quarters full and defrost them regularly. You can put bottles of water in your fridge to fill it up if it's empty. Never put hot food in your fridge or freezer as it makes it work harder than it needs to.
• Zap it – use your microwave to warm food up. Not only is it quicker, it is much more energy efficient than using an oven.
• Chop it up – when cooking, chop your vegetables as small as possible. This means they cook more quickly, which uses less energy. Put lids on saucepans, and cook with a steamer where possible. This ensures you maximise on each ring you are cooking on.
• Match it – ensure the size of the cooking ring matches the size of the saucepan to avoid heating air





Bathroom
• Say no to baths – a five-minute shower uses about a third of the water of a bath and can save 50 litres every time.
• Turn it down – reducing your immersion heater temperature by one degree means you'll save energy and be unlikely to notice the difference

Lighting and electricity
• Lights Off – when you leave a room, turn the light off on your way out. It's said that UK households spend £1.9bn on electricity every year for lighting.
• Energy saving – use Energy Saving Light bulbs which last up to 10 times longer than normal light bulbs, meaning each bulb fitted could save you around £40 over its lifetime.
• Unplug your phone charger – if chargers for devices such as mobile phones and laptops were unplugged when not in use, the UK could save enough electricity each year to power 115,000 homes. (Energy Saving Trust Stat) Turning off your mobile phone over night will mean you have to charge it less.

Washing
• Load it up – put full loads in your washing machine and wait until your dishwasher is full before turning it on. De-scaling these appliances will also help them run more efficiently.
• Turn down the temperature of your wash – 85% of the energy that washing machines use goes to heating the water, so switch to a cooler wash. Washing at 30°C uses a third less electricity and can be just as effective for a normally soiled load. Plus, modern washing powders are designed to now be more effective at lower temperatures.
• Dry your clothes outside – this way you'll save energy normally used by your tumble dryer. In the winter, put your clothes on a clothes horse rather than on the radiator, as covering the radiator will make your boiler work harder than it needs to.

Source [Ebico]