Cut your energy bills by 75%

How much do energy efficient improvements really save you? Harvey Jones investigates the true cost of going green.

There are two types of people in this world, those who turn off the lights when they leave the room, and those who leave them blazing away.

I'm a switcher-offer, but my girlfriend is a leaver-oner. Last week, she accused me of following her around the house, flicking off the lights behind her. I confessed. With the cost of energy soaring, I said in my defence, we can't afford to squander electricity.

And with the average household now spending more than £1,200 a year on home energy bills, you probably can't afford it either.

Get efficient, get saving

Harassing your loved ones or switching utility supplier are just two methods of slashing your utility bills, and I heartily recommend both, but there is a third, improving your home's energy efficiency.

The Fair Investment Company has just claimed the average household could save more than £900 a year by adopting a few simple energy-saving tips.

Now that's a lot of money. It would mark a spectacular 75% drop on that average £1,200 annual household bill.

To achieve that, you would have to chuck out your PC and TV, disconnect the central heating and live by candlelight – and I even I haven't suggested that to my girlfriend.

Life's a gas

So let's examine how they came up with such a massive saving. First, you can save a modest £40 a year by replacing your normal light bulbs with energy saving models.

Green campaigners claim low-energy bulbs are no longer the bulky monstrosities of yore, and give off warmer light as well. Not everybody will agree. But they do use five times less energy and last up to 12 times longer, and you can buy a triple pack for a few pounds.

The next energy-saving proposal on Fair Investment Company’s list is switching off appliances at the plug rather than leaving them on standby. This could save you up to £30 a year, the company claims.

Washing laundry at 30° could save you a further £10, while switching to energy saving recommended equipment such as a washing machine could save you £16.70 a year.

Related goal

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Do this goal

Finally, here's one I've been trying. Your kettle is a big energy-guzzler. So if you only boil the water you need, you could save up to £10 a year. You also get your cup of tea quicker. Biffo!

Lowering your thermostat a couple of degrees during the winter can save you £60 a year. You could put the money to a new jumper. Or maybe thermal underwear.

So far our efforts have saved us the princely sum of £166.70. Where on earth is the remaining £750 of savings coming from?

High energy

Now we come to the big money. If you haven't properly insulated your walls, roof, loft, water tank, pipe and floor, the work could save you on average £501 a year.

Installing a brand new heating system could save up to £155, while double glazing and draught proofing your house could save £150.

That makes a total saving of £972.70. Sounds wonderful doesn’t it… but alert readers will have noticed there is a catch.

Installing double glazing, buying a whole new heating system and replacing all your white goods such as dishwashers will set you back thousands, or even tens of thousands of pounds. It could be years before you see a return from that outlay.

So we can take those figures with a pinch of salt. But that doesn't mean you shouldn't do your bit.  Don't you know there's a credit crunch on? Not to mention a warming planet. Plus, as long as you don’t move house before you break even, making these improvements should eventually prove cost-effective.

Save the planet

Some of you might be able to get a Government grant for the work. Pensioners over 60 who receive state help such as pension credit, council tax and housing benefit can claim up to £2,700 in energy-saving grants under the Government's Warm Front scheme, called Energy Assistance Package in Scotland and the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme in Wales.

Many local authorities also award grants to local residents to help them cut their energy usage. The Energy Saving Trust website helps you search for details of grants and awards. It also gives you plenty of advice on cutting back on energy use.

She's electric

I sat my girlfriend down and discussed which of these energy-saving measures she would be willing to implement.

She declared energy-saving bulbs were dim and gloomy, and there was no way she was cutting back on her tumble dryer use, although she did fancy a new washing machine.

Our loft is already insulated, and our double glazing is only about three decades old.

After some hard bargaining, we settled on 1° off the thermostat, a couple of low energy light bulbs (in rooms she rarely ventures into) and a bit of insulation tape around the windows.

Better than nothing, I suppose, but it's not going to save the planet, or my wallet. Hopefully you can do better.

Now I'm just going to check if she's left any lights on…

This is a classic article which has recently been updated.

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