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Nice Save! ALEX FICE SPEAKS TO LOCAL EXPERTS ABOUT HOW TO BRING DOWN HOUSEHOLD BILLS, IMPROVE ENERGY SECURITY AND REDUCE CARBON EMISSIONS ENERGY MATTERS
DIAL IN Tweaking the settings of your boiler could cut down bills
SAVE YOUR ENERGY “The rise in prices we’re currently facing is due to an energy shortage, so it’s vital to save power where possible – even if you can afford not to – as this will help to bring down prices,” says Nicola Terry of Cambridge Carbon Footprint. “Higher prices mean the government has to spend more on subsidising energy supply, and that money has to come from taxes, or worse, reduced public services.” GET AN EPC An energy performance certificate (EPC) tells you how efficient your home is. The Cambridge Building Society has published tips on its website for ways to improve your EPC rating, including insulating the walls and loft, replacing your boiler for a more efficient model, adding solar panels and replacing light bulbs with LED units. By improving your EPC, you’ll be boosting your home’s energy efficiency, translating to lower bills. DIAL IT DOWN One effective way of reducing your energy consumption is to lower the temperature
a third to operate compared to some heaters (according to estimates from EnergyAustralia) and make a massive difference to your sense of comfort. “My husband wasn’t very well last winter, so we initially turned up the heating for him,” says Nicola. “But then, I bought him a heated jacket powered by a USB battery pack, which turned out to be incredibly effective at keeping him warm.” COMING TO A BOIL The majority of UK homes have combi boilers, which are often set with a flow temperature (the temperature at which the water that gets sent to the radiators is heated) of 70-80°C. By lowering that to 60°C or less, the boiler runs more efficiently and saves around £97 on a typical household bill. You can also adjust the hot water temperature of your combi boiler; reducing this to 42°C decreases the amount of fuel needed to heat the water and saves another £26 per household each year.
in rooms like bedrooms and non-living areas. You can do this by adjusting your thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) from their highest setting to the midpoint. Nicola recently contributed to a report for Nesta indicating that this simple change could be adopted by up to 76% of UK homes, reducing household bills by £68 per year and saving the UK £1.5 billion. A WINDOW OF OPPORTUNITY “Another less well-known approach to saving energy is applying window film to single- or double-glazed windows as a low-cost version of secondary glazing,” explains Nicola. The film reduces draughts and limits conductive heat loss through the glass. It is understood that around 87% of dwellings could add window film to all windows in the property, saving £43 a year on household gas bills – yielding a total saving of £1 billion across the UK. HEAT THE HUMAN Turning down the central heating is going to make your home significantly colder, but that doesn’t mean you have to be as well. Electric blankets cost less than
For more tips on how to reduce your household energy bills, visit moneysavingboilerchallenge.com and transitioncambridge.org
94 NOVEMBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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