How to Reduce Energy Consumption at Home

Quick links:

• Smart heating habits to lower your winter bills
• Cutting energy costs in the kitchen and laundry room
• Free and low-cost ways to cut energy consumption
• Home upgrades: Insulation and heat pumps
• Energy saving tips for renters
• Simplifying shared bills

You can reduce your energy use in a big way by making small changes around your home. Some easy steps include:

• Turn your thermostat down by 1°C to use less energy heating your home.
• Wash clothes at 30°C or lower where possible.
• Swap old light bulbs for LEDs when they need replacing.
• Avoid the tumble dryer and dry clothes naturally when you can.

A smart meter helps you keep an eye on how much energy you’re using. Research suggests that simply changing how much you use each day and adjusting your habits can reduce household electricity use by around 3%.

Heating is one of the biggest uses of energy in your home. In fact, if you turn your thermostat down by just 1°C from 22°C to 21°C, you could save around £120 a year on your heating bills.

If you have a combi boiler, you may also be able to reduce its flow temperature. Many are set to 70–80°C, but lowering the radiator flow temperature to around 60°C can help your boiler run more efficiently. This could save an average household around £65 a year.

This is different from turning down your thermostat. It involves changing the temperature of the water sent to your radiators rather than your room temperature. If you have a conventional boiler with a hot water cylinder, Energy Saving Trust recommends not setting the flow temperature below 65°C.

When should you turn your heating on?

There's no single best time to turn on your heating. Set your heating schedule around when you're actually at home, so you're not heating an empty house. For example, you could set it to come on shortly before you get home and switch off when you go to bed. Or you could set it to come on 30 minutes before you wake up, so you’re not getting ready in the cold.

You can also turn down the thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) in rooms you don't use as often. If your radiators are noisy, cold at the top, or have cold patches, they may need bleeding to heat properly.

Another tip is to close your curtains around sunset in the winter months to keep heat in your home. This may work for some people, but it depends on your own lifestyle and schedule. This tip will be more effective if you get thermal curtains or blinds.

Appliances that heat water or air are some of the biggest electricity users in the home, including washing machines and tumble dryers. A few changes to how you use them can cut both your energy use and carbon footprint.

• Wash clothes at 30°C: A 30°C wash can use around 20% less energy than a warmer cycle. Based on four washes a week, this could save around 10kg of CO₂ a year, roughly equivalent to driving 50km in a petrol car.
• Wait for a full load: Running your washing machine or dishwasher only when full means fewer cycles and less energy used overall.
• Air dry when you can: Tumble dryers use considerably more electricity. A 9kg condenser dryer can use around 5.2kWh per load. If you normally use it four times a week, cutting that in half could save around 60kg of CO₂ a year.
• Defrost your freezer once or twice a year: This prevents ice build-up and keeps it running efficiently.
• Only boil the water you need in your kettle: This could save around £10 a year.
• Clean your fridge coils: Keep the coils free of build-up and leave enough space between the appliance and the wall for proper ventilation.
• Switch off lights: Turn them off when you leave the room, or use a smart bulb so you can control the lighting remotely.

• Air fryer vs oven: Air fryers consistently use less than half the energy of an oven when cooking smaller portions. The best option will depend on what you're cooking and how much food you're making.

Switching devices off when you're not using them can still reduce unnecessary energy use, although standby power is unlikely to impact your bill. Learn more about ‘vampire devices’ and other energy-saving myths in our guide.

Here are some low-cost or free changes you can make:

Look at how you’re using your heating

Setting heating timers around when you're home, turning down radiators in unused rooms and avoiding common heating mistakes can reduce wasted energy without leaving your home uncomfortably cold.

Wearing an extra layer or using a blanket can also help you stay comfortable, but these shouldn't replace heating your home, particularly for older people, young children or anyone with health conditions that can be made worse by the cold.

Take shorter showers

Since heating water costs money, using less hot water is a great, easy way to save energy. Try swapping one bath a week for a 5-minute shower, or turn off the water while lathering.

Keep internal doors closed

In the colder months, keep the heat inside your home. You can do this by closing internal doors, keeping the curtains shut after sunset and turning down the radiators in rooms where you spend less time.

Tweak your cooking habits

We already mentioned some energy-saving tips for the kitchen, but even small habit changes like putting lids on saucepans to retain heat and batch-cooking meals to cut down on oven usage time can make a difference.

Some energy-saving improvements cost more upfront, but they can make a bigger difference to how much your home uses over time. If you do want to invest in making your home more energy efficient, then here are some ideas:

Insulate your home

Insulation helps keep heat inside your home, so your heating system doesn't need to work as hard. Depending on your property, loft, cavity wall, or solid wall insulation can all reduce heat loss, cutting your energy use and heating bills over the long term.

Draught-proof windows and doors

Draught-proofing is a low-cost way to stop heat escaping while keeping cold air out. You can use draught-proofing strips around windows and doors, seal gaps around skirting boards and add covers to letterboxes and keyholes.

Invest in a heat pump

A heat pump takes heat from the air or ground outside your home and uses electricity to increase its temperature before transferring the heat into your home.

Installing a heat pump can be expensive. You can get support from schemes like the Boiler Upgrade Scheme (BUS), which provides up to £7,500 towards some heat pumps, with enhanced grants of up to £9,000 available for eligible off-gas-grid properties.

Learn more about this and other energy schemes in our article about UK energy grants.

As a tenant, you typically can't make major changes to your home without landlord permission, but there are still plenty of smaller things you can do to reduce your energy usage:

• Explore low-cost measures: Try radiator reflective panels, thermal curtain linings, and draught excluders for under windows and doors.
• Agree house rules with housemates: If you’re in shared housing, make sure everyone is on the same page about energy consumption, and share some tips about cutting down on heating water and taking shorter showers.
• Get a smart meter: Check your tenancy agreement and speak to your landlord before arranging installation
• Turn down the thermostat: Turning your thermostat down by 1°C can be one of the simplest ways to reduce your heating costs.
• Be careful with plug-in heaters: Portable electric heaters can be useful for heating a small space for a short time, but running one for long periods can be expensive

Common renter’s energy concerns

⚡️ Can I change my energy supplier if I rent?

If you pay your own energy bills, you can choose your supplier. If bills are included, then the landlord usually selects a supplier and adds the cost to your rent. Under Ofgem's Maximum Resale Price (MRP), the landlord can’t legally make a profit on your energy bills, so keep the costs as accurate as possible by sending through your meter readings when requested.

🤔 Can I get a smart meter?

A smart meter can make it much easier to track your energy use. Check your tenancy agreement before arranging installation and let your landlord know if necessary.

🔥 Can I change the thermostat or heating controls?

You may be able to change your thermostat or heating controls, but you'll normally need your landlord's permission before making permanent changes. Speak to them first about any upgrades you'd like to make and who will cover the cost.

👉 Who is responsible for insulation and draught-proofing?

Your landlord is generally responsible for improvements to the property itself, such as installing insulation or replacing windows and doors. For smaller changes, you can use temporary draught-proofing solutions, such as removable strips or draught excluders, but check with your landlord before making any permanent changes.

🏡 Can renters apply for energy grants?

Yes, renters may be eligible for some energy grants, including schemes that fund insulation and heating improvements. Eligibility depends on the scheme, your circumstances and the property itself.

You'll usually need your landlord's permission before making improvements, so check the scheme's requirements and speak to your landlord before applying.

If you share your home, you’ll need to agree on how you’ll split your bills. Common bill splitting methods include:

• Splitting them manually: Work out what everyone owes, and have each person send their share to the housemate responsible for paying the bill.
• Using a joint account: Everyone pays money into one account that household bills are paid from. You'll still need to decide who manages each bill account.
• Using a bill-splitting service: With a One Utility Bill package, each bill payer pays their own share by Direct Debit, reducing the admin of managing shared bills.

For more advice, read our full guide to splitting the bills.

Even if you don’t need to split your bills, a bills package is a great way to keep track of costs. With One Utility Bill, you can combine your energy, water, broadband and TV into one monthly payment, and you’ll even get the option of Unlimited Energy, so you know exactly how much you’ll be paying each month.

Get a quote to make managing your household bills simpler.