Five easy ways to save energy this winter

You’ve dusted off your boots, dug out your winter coat and swapped your t-shirts for jumpers, but have you thought about whether your home is as ready for winter as your wardrobe is?

As the nights draw in and temperatures start to drop, it's time for us all to think about how to live sustainably and make sure our homes are energy efficient this winter to ensure we aren’t wasting energy and to keep our energy costs as low as possible. This is even more important this year with the likelihood of most of us spending more time at home this winter.

There are some easy ways you can get your home winter ready – here are five top tips.

Your boiler plays a key role over winter, keeping our homes and our water warm. So, it’s really important to ensure it’s working as efficiently as possible to maintain its reliability and to save you from wasting energy and money.

If you haven’t already, try turning your boiler on before it gets too cold just to check it’s working properly and to check the radiators in each room are all heating up. If rooms aren’t heating up or if radiators feel cold at the top and hot at the bottom, it could be a sign that there’s air in the system and your radiators need bleeding¹ to let this air escape. This is a simple job you can do yourself without the need of a professional.

We’d also recommend having your boiler serviced ready for winter. If you haven’t done so already this year, book an appointment to ensure it’s working at its best and to avoid any bigger problems when you need it most.

If you have an older model boiler, consider upgrading to a new, more energy efficient boiler, as this could also save you money in the longer term.

If your home is well insulated, you'll need to use less heat and therefore spend less on your heating bill.

Many cold spots, for example under doors or around windows, can simply and easily be banished with low-cost draught excluders. And by shutting internal doors and curtains you can ensure cold air isn’t coming in through any gaps, helping to stop the warmth from your heating escaping.

Having your loft insulated and walls insulated can also make a huge difference to your home’s temperature and heating bills, so make sure you check your insulation levels and ensure your home is as well insulated as it can be.

Knowing when and where you use your energy can be a great way to make easy changes to ensure you use less and to keep energy costs as low as possible. Installing a smart meter and using your smart in-home display to track your energy use around the home can help you save energy and money. That’s because you’ll easily be able to see where you use the most energy and how you could be more energy efficient.

Ideally your thermostat should be set to between 18ºC and 21ºC, however if you have rooms in your house that aren’t often used, then make sure you keep the heating lower there. You should keep radiators on at least the minimum low setting though to ensure your system runs properly and rooms don’t get damp.

Smart thermostats, such as Bosch EasyControl  allow you to control your heating in each room separately and remotely from your smartphone, meaning when you’re not in, you'll be able to switch your heating on and off from wherever you are.

Lighting accounts for around 15% of a household’s typical energy bill² and by switching over to energy efficient light bulbs or LED lighting, you could save money on your bills and reduce your energy use.

On sunny days, try to let natural daylight in to your home to avoid having to use lighting throughout the day. You can also think about adding some extra cosiness to your home this winter with some well-placed candles and lanterns, so you don't need to turn on quite as many lights.

By following these simple sustainable living ideas, you’ll be able to ensure your home is as energy efficient as possible, which will not only help to save money on your heating bills, it’ll also help to reduce your carbon footprint this winter. 

And by choosing our 100% renewable electricity as standard and at no extra cost³, you can ensure that any electricity that you do use during winter is from a renewables-backed source too.

^{1. Information for how to bleed a radiator can be found on uswitch/energy-saving/guides/how-to-bleed-a-radiator} 

^{2. Information about the costs of lighting can be found on energysavingtrust/home-energy-efficiency/lighting} 

^{3. Electricity backed by 100% renewable sources. E.ON's renewable generation assets, agreements with UK wind generators and the purchase of renewable electricity certificates. The electricity supplied to your home comes from the National Grid and DNOs. eonenergy.com/renewable}