3 Energy Saving Ideas You May Not Have Heard Before

You probably already know that improving the energy efficiency of your house can help to keep your bank balance healthy, improve the comfort of your home and decrease your carbon footprint. Nowadays, everyone is talking about the different ways you can cut your annual energy costs, but few people will tell you that it’s the bigger projects that tend to make a real difference to your home’s energy efficiency and those energy bills.

So, what permanent improvements can you make to conserve more energy and live a greener life? Here are just 3 energy saving techniques that you may not have heard yet.

1. Install A Modern Conservatory    

Yes, this will be costly, but installing a modern conservatory will not only improve comfort levels in your home but also reduce your energy use. Modern conservatories are very energy efficient as they capture the heat that escapes through your walls, so getting one installed can actually help to make your home warmer for longer. This means you can save more money on your bills because you’ll be using less energy to keep your home comfortable.

For the best energy savings, you need to make sure you choose a conservatory with high-quality double glazing. You should also opt for Low-E (low-emissivity) glass. This type of glass features a special coating which is usually added to the inside face of the glass and is designed to hold onto heat for longer to improve overall thermal efficiency. 


2. Upgrade Your Central Heating System

You only need to consider doing this if your own a non-condensing boiler or your existing boiler is more than 10 years old. The trouble with non-condensing boilers is that they can only reach between 70% and 80% efficiency. Modern condensing boilers are, however, up to 99% efficient because they are designed to capture and re-use waste heat, so they use a smaller amount of energy to heat radiators and turn cold water into hot water. If your boiler is more than 10 years old, it will need to work really hard to heat your home and produce hot water, leading to increased energy use.  

When you switch to a condensing boiler, you will reduce energy waste and save up to £310 a year on your gas bills. The Energy Saving Trust says that more than half the money you spend on energy in a year goes on heating, and installing an efficient condensing boiler can make a huge difference to your bills. They also say the efficiency of a modern central heating system can be improved by investing in heating controls, such as thermostats, programmers and smart controls.  


3. Switch To A Green Energy Supplier

Not a project as such, but switching to a green energy provider can save you over £230 a year. Sources of green energy in the UK include wind, hydro and solar, and the choice of suppliers is steadily growing with some saying they can provide you with 100% renewable energy. But, as the electricity produced has to enter the National Grid to be distributed to homes (and businesses), no supplier can guarantee that all of your energy is collected from renewable resources, meaning some of your electricity will probably still come from non-green sources.

As there is a rise of public interest in this sector, green energy suppliers are starting to offer more competitive tariffs. Smaller providers tend to have better deals than the big players like EDF and British Gas. It’s also worth noting that Octopus Energy is the only green energy supplier to be recommended by Which?, so it might be worth checking them out first if you decide to make the switch in order to save energy and money.


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