Heating
During the Lockdown, you’re likely to be using more energy to heat your home. 
To reduce your usage, you could try and keep heating to a minimum during work hours if working from home and dress in warmer, comfortable clothes instead of turning up the heat.
Consider the type of heating you have in your home too and the way it’s monitored and controlled, heating controls and thermostats can help you maintain a regular temperature rather than highs and lows and save you money. Resolving issues with draughty spaces is also a good way to improve heat retention in a room, letter box brushes and door brushes that can be fitted to the bottom of doors all help to reduce wasted heat from ending up outside.
Lighting
The biggest energy saving tip with lighting is also the most obvious! Turn lights off in rooms you’re not using.
If you’re working from home, try to position yourself in a lighter area by a window to let in natural light and make sure your curtains are all open to let in light and heat. Consider how you light an area, if you’ve got efficient ceiling light but have a lamp you prefer to read/work beside; check to make sure you’re using an LED bulb in your reading light and not an older style of lightbulb. Standing lamps and reading lights might be using more energy than lighting your whole room lighting if the bulb in a lamp is an older type of bulb.
If you have a garden or outdoor space, you could try working outdoors. This is good for your physical and mental health in addition to saving money.
Washing
Washing Clothes
Most energy used in a washing machine is used to heat water rather than spinning the washing. By washing at 30°C rather than 40°C, you’re using less energy per wash. Some newer machines even allow you to wash at 20 °C reducing the need to heat water even further. Washing full loads, less frequently is a much more efficient way to wash clothing than frequently washing when the machine is half full.
Washing and Bathing
Heating water is expensive so when showering; consider fitting a low energy shower head, these work by reducing water wastage in the shower so less water needs to be heated to give you the same wash, some energy saving shower heads can also increase the mix of air in water jets giving you a softer shower.
Electronics and Entertainment
Televisions and computers can use a large amount of electricity to run and still use energy when left on standby. Switching appliances off rather than leaving them on standby can save you money. A few devices in the home on standby can use more than you might think over the course of the year so consider turning off your phone chargers, games consoles, Wi-Fi routers and other small devices before you go to bed to save money while those items are not in use.
Price Comparisons
Why not look at comparing your energy tariff online? You’ve likely got all the info you need at your fingertips. There are several websites to compare with and you might even find an even more competitive tariff with your current supplier through a comparison site than going to them direct. The information you’ll need to prepare to compare is your current annual usage in kWh (gas and electric for most people) and the name and end date of your current tariff. You can find this information on your bill or by ringing your supplier. It’s easy to do and could save you hundreds of pounds.
Covid 19 and your Energy Supply
OFGEM have written a handy guide on the responsibilities of energy providers during the lockdown and worries that many people may have during the current period. This can be found here.
If you’re unsure of how to switch or are in need of energy advice during or after the lockdown just contact us on our freephone advice line on 0800 988 2881.
