Going Green – Making Your Home More Energy Efficient

At the beginning of the year we all try to take stock of our financial situations. The heady days of spending over Christmas and New Year seem a long way off, and we’re all thinking about reigning in our expenses and becoming a little more frugal.

There are a number of ways you can cut down on your expenses such as comparing home and contents insurance online, as well as maybe looking to change energy suppliers and trying to stick to a monthly budget.

But what about going green too? There are a number of quick and easy ways you can save money in the home while doing your bit for the environment too. Here’s our guide brought to you by home and contents insurance provider Swinton Insurance.

Turning off appliances

On average, each year households up and down the UK spend £35 powering appliances that are left on standby mode. This could include your TV, computer and microwave being turned on at the mains, while not actually in use. By switching off your electricals each night, you’ll not only save money, can also cut down on your energy usage, which is great for the environment.

Install insulation

According to research, an average homeowner will lose around £390 worth of energy each year by not having their loft or cavity walls insulated .Yes, there may be initial outlays for this, but you’ll more than make up for that cost with the money you’ll save on your energy bills. Ensuring your home is fully insulated will help to keep the heat in, meaning your home will take much less time to warm up and will also retain the heat much better.

Change your boiler

When your annual energy bills are broken down, you can see that roughly 60% of what you spend in a year is accounted for by your boiler. Homeowners with older gas boilers are literally losing money for every day it’s in use. Replacing it with an A-rated high efficiency condensing boiler as well as improving your heating controls will result in a significant saving on your energy bills (potentially as much as £300 a year). In addition to this it will severely reduce your home’s carbon dioxide emissions.

Small touches that can make all the difference

Installing insulation and changing your boiler will require money up front, but the savings are clear. However, there are many other small touches you can make to improve your energy efficiency at home. Buying energy efficient light bulbs and appliances is a great place to start, as is ensuring any small drafts are blocked up (this can range from draft excluders to fitting new double glazed windows).

Big changes that can save real money

January may be about saving money, while February is all about going green with “Go Green Week”, so this year, why not make some big changes such as getting started with renewable energy?

Low carbon technologies such as solar panels, wind turbines and biomass boilers enable you to generate your own energy for your property. This will save you considerable amounts of money compared to what you would have spent on energy bills, and reduces your carbon footprint by using renewable energy. What’s more you can potentially export some of the energy to the national grid and be paid to do so by the government under the Feed in Tariff (FIT) Scheme. So if you’re making changes to your home, no matter how small, you too can help the environment – it’s time to go green!