Home Energy Efficiency Guide: Simple Practical Everyday Steps

Clear, doable changes for your home that keep you comfortable and reduce running costs.

Start with what you can notice tonight

You don't need to redo your whole house. Walk through every room one evening this week, with a plain notepad. Stand for one quiet minute in each space. Notice which lights are on that no one is using. Notice chargers left plugged in with no device attached. Notice cool draughts by window edges, or radiators blocked with boxes, laundry or furniture. These are not grand projects. Every single one you note can be fixed that same evening. You do not need to buy anything for most of them. When you check radiators: if a sofa or stack of clothing is sitting in front, the heat stays behind that object instead of moving around the room. Just move it 30cm away. That is all. You can try this tonight, before you sit down. You will notice the difference in temperature within an hour. Browse Smart Home Essentials for simple tools that work with your existing habits.

Manage heating and cooling

This is the largest running cost for almost every home. You do not need fancy equipment to adjust this well. Set the temperature only for the room you are actually using, not the whole house. Close doors to unused spaces. There is no need to warm a spare bedroom or empty office all day. Adjust the temperature one degree lower when you are sleeping, and one degree lower again when you leave the house. Many people will not notice this difference at all, but it adds up consistently over every month. If you use timers, set them to turn on 15 minutes before you come home, not an hour. No extra warmth is gained by running it while the house is empty. Do not cover radiators with towels or clothing. Dry laundry on a line where air can move around it freely. Find simple items for your home in Household Supplies.

Work with natural light

During daylight hours, open curtains fully on the side of the house that gets sun. Close them on the shaded side. In cold months, this sun will warm the room at no extra cost. In warm months, closing curtains on the sun facing side will keep the room cool, without running any fans. Turn off overhead lights when there is enough daylight to see. Many people leave lights on out of habit, not because they need them. For evenings, use one local lamp near where you are sitting, instead of lighting the whole room. You will get better light for reading or working, and you only run one small light. Browse Lighting for lamps suited to every room.

Maintain the things you already own

Every appliance works well when it is clean. This is not complicated, and almost no one does it regularly. Vacuum the back of your fridge once every three months. Wipe dust off fan blades. Clean the filter on your cooker hood regularly. Clear crumbs out of the bottom of your oven. When an appliance is clean, it does not have to work harder to do the same job. It will also last much longer. You do not need to replace anything. Most appliances that people discard will work well well for years, if you just clean the parts that get dusty. This is the single most effective thing you can do for the items you already own. Find basic cleaning items in Essential Tools.

Small daily habits that add up

None of these take extra time. You just build them into the things you already do every day. Unplug chargers when you take the device off. Do not leave televisions or game consoles on standby when you are finished using them. Boil only the amount of water you actually need for one drink, not a full kettle every time. Wait until a dishwasher or washing machine is full before you run it. There is no benefit to running half loads. Do one of these each day for a week. After that it will become habit, and you will not think about it any more. Small regular actions always have more effect than one big change. Browse practical kitchen items in Kitchen & Dining.

When you do buy new items

When it is finally time to replace something, check the information sheet that comes with every appliance. It will show you the running cost per year, under standard use. Compare this number for different options. A slightly higher upfront cost can work out much cheaper over the ten or twelve years you own the item. You can test how an item will fit and look in your home before you buy, using Magic Mirror · Home. This lets you place the item in a photo of your actual room, so you know it will work properly before you order. 5% of each sale goes to a cause you choose.

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