Saving energy in your home is both good for the environment and your bank. Implement these tips and make your home as energy-efficient as possible today.
- Turn off lights and appliances when leaving a room
- Use energy-saving lightbulbs
- Reduce water consumption
- Cold wash
- Air dry
- Only wash when full
- Invest in efficient appliances
- Get a smart meter
Turn off lights and appliances when leaving a room
One of the easiest ways to save energy in your home is to turn off all lights and appliances when you leave a room. Leaving lights on when the room is empty is an unnecessary waste of energy, as is leaving appliances on. To save even more energy, unplug your appliances from the wall. Even when turned off, they still use energy, so removing your appliances completely from any source of power will ensure that they do not use any energy whilst not in use.
Use energy-saving lightbulbs
Energy-saving lightbulbs do exactly as their name suggests, they save more energy than standard lightbulbs. Although they use a reduced amount of energy to power them, energy-saving lightbulbs are brighter and last longer than their standard counterparts, which use 90% of their energy to heat rather than illuminate the bulb. You will find energy-saving lightbulbs in most stores or online in a variety of shapes and sizes to fit most common light fixtures.
Reduce water consumption
It’s shocking the amount of water that we waste on a daily basis. Heating water for cooking, showering, and drinking uses a significant amount of energy, and most of it goes to waste. To reduce your water consumption consider taking shorter showers and turning the water off whilst you are brushing your teeth. Try to also use the required amount of water for cooking or making hot beverages as it takes more energy to boil a large amount of water than to boil the smaller amount that you will use.
Cold wash
Unless your clothing is heavily soiled or needs to be disinfected your clothing can be adequately cleaned using a 30-degree Celsius setting. Lower washing machine temperatures use significantly less energy than higher temperatures, and most laundry detergents work perfectly well in cold washes, with some detergents being cold-wash specific.
Air dry
Air drying your clothes uses no energy and has many benefits for your clothing. Firstly, drying your clothing in its original shape, rather than spinning them in a tumble dryer, reduces the number of wrinkles, therefore limiting the need to iron. Secondly, air drying is much gentler on the fibres of your clothing, increasing the longevity of your garments. Finally, if the weather permits and you can air-dry outside, your clothing will be left with the refreshing scent of fresh air.
Only wash when full
An easy way to save energy in your home, as well as your own energy, is to only use your appliances when they are full. This means waiting until you have a full laundry basket to use the washing machine and tumble dryer, and waiting until your dishwasher is full until you put it on. Rather than doing small loads of laundry and dishes several times a week, which uses up your own energy as well as the energy in your house, limit yourself to 1 load of laundry and a maximum of 2 dishwasher cycles a week.
Invest in efficient appliances
Most modern appliances, such as washing machines, tumble dryers, and fridges, have a high-efficiency rating. Due to the growing environmental crisis, many appliance manufacturers are designing their products to run more environmentally consciously, therefore using less energy. If your appliances are aging, they are more likely to be using more energy. Consider updating your appliances to newer models. Although it may be costly in the short term, in the long run you will find yourself saving money on your energy bills, as well as helping save the environment.
Get a smart meter
A smart meter is an excellent way for you to monitor how much energy you are using and how much it is costing you. This is a great way for you to see how you use energy in your home, and evaluate where you can save energy.
At Laundryheap we are constantly improving the way that we operate in a bid to become as environmentally conscious as possible. To book your Laundryheap order head to the Laundryheap website or download the free Laundryheap app.
