Money Saving Energy Tips

MONEY SAVING ENERGY TIPS

George Burke, who is a retired General Manager for Wales at Age UK Financial and Income Services and had a regular weekly consumer affairs column in the South Wales Echo called ‘Ask George’, shares his ideas with us.

It is said that for each degree that you reduce your thermostat, could save you £65 a year. (source MSE.com). Don’t forget that if you feel that you cant afford to pay your energy bills then contact your supplier asap.

  1. With the weather hopefully becoming warmer going into Spring, it should be possible to turn the heating thermostat down to 19 degrees. However why not keep a comfy blanket handy to cover your legs in the evening. This will reduce your heating bills and save you money.
  2. Change your lightbulbs to a LED type which are much more economical.
  3. Wash clothes on a lower setting.
  4. If you are in a council tax band of A to D, you could be in line for a £150 rebate from the Vale council.
  5. Don’t forget to claim your annual heating allowance from the government if you were born before 1955. Usually £200 a year.
  6. Search for drafts especially around doors. Draught excluders are fairly inexpensive.
  7. Try not to use your tumble dryer. A good old clothes horse will do the job or hang them on the outside line.
  8. Try and shower for one minute less.
  9. New energy efficient appliances will save you money than many of your old appliances.
  10. For further money saving tips always go to Martin Lewis’s moneysavingexpert.com website.

 

Other useful tips include:

  1. Try not to use your car so much. Try and do small shops by Bus. The 96 bus from Wenvoe will drop you off at Morrisons supermarket. Have a coffee whilst you are there.
  2. Share a car with a neighbour or good friend to the shops etc.
  3. Look for cheaper household brands.
  4. When you get to the checkout, ask yourself “do I really need it?”.
  5. These days our society has become a society that, if something is broken, then lets go and buy a new one. Many items could be fixed and reused. Try it and save yourself some money. (Sounds like Wenvoe needs a Wenvoe “Repair Shop”. I am sure there must be plenty of skilful people in our community that could repair many of these items. Do we have any takers?

 

Hopefully these large price increases in our energy and fuel wont be forever, but in the meantime you might be able to save some money by adopting the tips above.