How to Save Energy at home?

We are all very aware that saving energy is great for the environment as well as saving us some much needed pennies in these tricky economic times. But how do we save energy?

There are many ways you can save energy at home and thanks to the government huge ambitious CO2 emission reduction targets there is plenty of help and incentives.

The government launched a boiler scrappage scheme which was effectively offering a discount (around £400) off a new energy efficient boiler. There were curtain requirements like the age of your boiler. Unfortunately due to popular demand this came to an end at the end of March. It got a lot of plumbers back in work and the gas companies have enjoyed the profits from this scheme, due to this there are still gas companies offering the same discounts. So one way to save energy would be to get a new boiler installed and getting these discounts while they are still available.

Another government scheme is still ongoing but is only available in England is the 'Warm Front Grant' which could be up to anything from £3,500 £6,000. You could be entitled to this grant if you are getting any of the following benefits: working tax credit, child tax credit, attendance allowance, disability living allowance, income support, housing benefit, council tax benefit, war disablement pension, industrial injuries disablement benefit, income-based jobseeker's allowance or pension credit. How this scheme works is that an engineer will come round and complete a survey of the work needed on your exciting heating system.

Ensuring your home has modern double glazing windows will have a huge impact on keeping your heating bills down and also save on CO2 emissions.

Other less drastic ways to save energy are like only filling your kettle for as much as you need, turning all lights off and using energy saving life bulbs. Stop drafts by getting draft proofing products. Turning your fridge down can also have huge benefits, as does turning down the thermostat on your central heating system.

When it comes to buying new appliances you should only choose those that have the energy saving logo which means they meet strict efficiency criteria. The logo is blue with the words energy and a star. Some have an image of the earth; others are just blue with the words Energy Star. Also buying appliances which have been rated as energy efficient don't actually cost more than normal models but will save you quite a lot over the years.


Northern Gas Heating - the UK's local supplier of new Central Heating Systems including Combi boilers.