Summer’s coming – Energy Saving in warmer weather.
I always think Energy saving in winter is a bit obvious – turn the heating down, use thick curtains, batch cook on wholesome family meals.
but in the summer, none of those things really apply do they? With the warmer weather approaching (*eyes the rain hammering at the window and crosses fingers it IS coming…*) I’ve been thinking about this a lot.
Once the house basics are done – insulation, double glazing etc – what can I do in the summer to conserve energy?
Here’s what I came up with:
- If we DO get a heatwave *Hollow laugh* then make sure you open the windows at night, but close them and the curtains in the day. This stops the hot air and sunshine flooding in, and keeps rooms much cooler – particularly good for bedrooms, if we don’t do this my son’s west-facing room is like a furnace at bedtime on a hot summer’s evening, making it impossible to sleep.
- Cool off your hot water temperature – no one want’s a scorchio bath or shower in the warmer weather, so cool the thermostat and stop heating your water so high. Boiling a kettle for a sinkful of hot water for washing up is MUCH cheaper than heating your whole tank just for those 5litres!
- Summer clothing is lighter, so a full load of washing takes a while to accumulate. but unless your machine has a half-load option, hold off until the drum is full so that you’re not wasting all that energy and water washing only a few items.
- That tumble dryer can go to sleep for a few months – I’m determined to not use mine now until I need the central heating on (probably November).
- Turning appliances off counts all year round of course – no more standby, make sure everything’s turned off at the mains.
Do you have any great energy saving tips? We’ve been working with E.ON in collating their pretty brilliant Energy Saving Guide, which is definitely worth looking at. They’re also offering our awesome readers £150 John Lewis vouchers for their best energy saving tip – there’s still time to enter your own tip and be in to win!
29 May 2014
Saving energy is a great idea because energy sources are running out and most of them add to pollution and global warming and the severe weather that goes with it. But don’t stop at direct energy consumption. The stuff you buy has required energy in its production and transportation. So buy less stuff and spend your money on having fun instead – dancing, going to the theater. And when you do buy stuff spend extra on well made stuff involving craftsmanship. It will last longer and give more pleasure. There is no point saving energy in the home and then spending the money saved on stuff that needs replacing every couple of years.
29 May 2014
your digital tv`s and recorders need to be in standby to do over the air updates they generaly use 0.9 of a watt if you switch them off at the wall they cant do updates and become corrupt. not a good idea for such a small economic saving
3 June 2014
Not true. Simply select “software update” manually in settings on a regular basis, otherwise switch off when not in use.
30 May 2014
Definitely NOT a good idea to open windows at night these days – asking for trouble.
30 May 2014
Laura suggests turning down your water thermostat because you don’t need such hot water in the summer. You should not reduce it below 60 C. The WHO recommends this as a minimum temperature to avoid risk of ‘Legionella’. There is generally no growth above 55 C but the higher temperature kills the bacteria and avoids any risk.
30 May 2014
When waiting for hot water to run, fill 2litre bottles with the cold water, use this for drinking or watering the garden, usually I fill 3 x 2 litres everyday
31 May 2014
try not to execute anyone in your front room. those electric chairs blow your bill sky high!
31 May 2014
To save money and energy, turn off everything you do not use, items in stand-by consume anything from 10% to the same amount of electric as if it were on, kill the power completely.
I converted all my lighting to super energy efficient LED bulbs, I have not noticed any loss in lighting quality but I did calculate that in the first quarterly bill I got, the amount of investment was recouped.
Use a computer? Still got that huge box screen? Look in to changing it for an LED back lit TFT, saves electric and your eyes.
My PC is a nettop, I ditched the standard typ PC because it guzzled the juice at a rate of 350 Watts per hour, the nettop only uses 78 Watts per hour, using about 23%~ish of the energy a normal PC uses.
One of the biggest energy consumers in the home is the washing machine, I calculated that it would cost me about £10 per load, so I got rid of it and do my washing at a launderette and save myself on average £5 depending on the amount of washing load I have.
Boiled a kettle? Did you know that it is actually false economy to boil a couple of cups of water? To properly reach boiling point, you need to boil the full kettle, the saving energy part comes when you use a flask to keep the water hot. So boil a kettle, save what you don’t use for later.
If your feeling chilly, put another layer on, several thin layers beats a couple of thick layers. The more air you trap, the more insulation you have. When I lived at home we had to have ice on the inside of the windows before my mum would put the heating on!
Save on other things like water usage, share a bath or shower and that way you are recycling or halving your heat and water costs.
3 June 2014
Make the most of summer showers , and get out there in your shorts and wash that car !, it is much easier to do on a wet day than on a hot sunny one. Grab a soft (possibly nylon) yard broom or brush, some bubbles and a bucket and get washing. Water butts are an asset for the big rinse off. Most modern cars have such a good shine in their paint alone,to get away without the odd wax now and again won’t be so bad. Not only does it save you a few pounds, it also saves you dropping the car off at the car wash,and having to pick it up later ! And if you get a little wet along the way,so what ?, your be surprised that you forgot how much fun playing around with water can be ! And probably burn a few calories at the same time .
3 June 2014
drain off all the cold water that comes from the hot water tap before the hot water comes through and store it in a bucket, its good for flushing the toilet,etc,
and its then not classed as money down the drain, if you are on a water meter as I am,
I also turn of the TV and never leave it on standby its off at the mains,and I never have the TV on just for the sake of it,I turn it off if there is not much to watch,
3 June 2014
Close curtains and windows in the day daytime on a lovely sunny day?
No thanks. Heavens, can’t we enjoy the summer? Wouldn’t dream of locking the
sunshine out during the day.