The most common question I’m asked is what are the most important things I can do to reduce my energy use. Here are the top 5 easiest things with the greatest return on the cost or improvement in comfort:
- Make sure you have a good level of loft insulation and, if it’s right for your home, cavity wall insulation – You should have ideally 300mm of loft insulation (plus and insulated and draught proofed loft hatch!). Local authorities are likely to offer free loft and cavity wall insulation, so why not put his top of your “To-do” list?
- If you have an open fireplace and don’t use it regularly, it’s a big drain on your central heating system and costing you money. It’s also reducing your comfort by encouraging draughts. Consider fitting a chimney balloon, Chimney Sheep or use some newspaper to reduce the air flow up the flue
- LED light bulbs – especially if you have inset halogen light fittings, your energy use on lighting will reduce by changing to LEDs
- DIY draught proofing – when the wind blows, you know where those draughts are – so do something about it and make your home more comfortable!
- Have a look at your boiler – if it’s an old boiler (whether gas, oil or LPG) you may see a significant improvement in your fuel use by switching to a condensing boiler. Depending on your individual circumstances, there may be some financial help available
