Share your tips and tricks for saving on your energy bill with ESB Energy - £200 voucher to be won

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During the winter months we tend to use more heating, hot water and electricity to combat the cold and the dark. This year, with many of us working from home the energy bills are likely to be higher than ever. Luckily there are many simple changes we can make as a family to reduce our energy bill, and with this in mind, ESB Energy would like to hear your tips for cutting down on your energy usage.

Here’s what ESB Energy has to say: “We know that as a parent you have enough to worry about. At ESB Energy we pride ourselves on our excellent customer service, we have a 4.5 rating on Trustpilot, so with us you can be assured that your energy is being taken care of. We also offer 100% renewable electricity on all our green tariffs – these are our cheapest tariffs –so that you can save money, while doing your bit for the planet. What's also great is as soon as you become an ESB Energy customer, for every friend you bring over with you, we’ll give you both £50 bill credit each. That’s £50 for you and £50 for your friend. You can bring as many friends with you as you want. Bring two friends over, we’ll give you £100. Bring ten and you could get £500 off your bill! Another top tip to save money on your energy bills, by switching to ESB Energy.

Switch to us today to start saving on your energy and we’ll automatically enter you into a draw to win a £1000 Amazon voucher”

Do you take the old school approach and layer up with thermals and a wooly jumper instead of turning the heating up? Have you challenged your family to swap baths for showers or set forfeits when people leave the lights on? Or perhaps installing a smart meter has made all the difference in your household.

Whatever your tip for saving on the energy bill is, all who post on this thread will be entered into a prize draw where one lucky MNer will win a £200 voucher for a store of their choice (from a list).

If you’re considering switching energy provider you can request call back from ESB Energy to find out more here. Plus, you’ll be entered into a prize draw to win a £1000 Amazon voucher if you switch to ESB Energy.

Thanks and good luck with the prize draw!

MNHQ

Insight T&Cs apply

We have the heating on for an hour in the morning, then we don't put it on until around 5pm (I think we caved in around 3pm in the cold spell a couple of weeks ago). We wear layers and when sitting to do work/schooling we had a blanket on our laps, and did a 5 min workout to warm up.
If the oven needs to go on then 2 or 3 things are cooked at the same time so that reheating is only a 10 minute job instead of another hour of oven use. Oven gets left open after cooking to add a bit of free heat to the house!
Washing machine and dishwasher get put on the eco-cycles (that take about 7 billion hours).

If there's too much water in the kettle then any leftover gets put in the sink for any bits of washing up on the side.
Remembering to turn off chargers once laptops and phones have 100% charge.
Going out for a long walk mid/late afternoon is doubly good for us as we get the exercise then when we get home we are so warm that the thermostat can stay low for a bit longer.

We use HIVE to control our heating and that has made us more conscience about how much heating we use. We're now able to see what the current temp is in the house and setup schedules for when the heating comes on/goes off so when we're not in we don't have it on.

Energy saving tips include:-

1. Turning off the lights and heaters (e.g. central heating radiator dials) in unused rooms, especially when going out.
2. Avoiding filling up water kettles to the top before heating if it's just for a single cup of coffee.
3. If you're walking around the house in a T-Shirt and you feel chilly, wear a jumper - avoid automatically switching the heating on, or if you do, set the heater temperature low. Similarly, you may use blankets and throws to help keep warm.
4. Think about house loft insulation if this is needed - financial assistance / grants may be available for low-income households.

We live in a new build so are pretty well insulated here but I'm always telling the kids to put a jumper on if they're cold. They are like most children and like to be naked most of the time though!!! I do like to snuggle up under a blanket when its really cold out though.

We've recently resealed our doors to make sure we don't have heat escaping! Made a big difference

Wear lots of layers!

Hot water bottles.

I am like a broken record telling the kids to switch off lights and TV once they've left the room. Maybe it will take until they are paying their own energy bills for them to get the message

We layer up when sat on the sofa and close the curtains as the night draws in. I systematically switch of lights as I come downstairs. If we get too chilly we got for a nice walk locally and then feel the benefit of coming back in.

We got an epc certificate when we moved in and could see some of the fixes were cheap and easy to do ourselves such as insulation. We also invested in lined thermal curtains which really help at night!

We have just moved so insulating the loft was a priority . I am finding that with homeschooling we are having the heating on more than if it was just me at home . We are going to do an energy comparison soon to try and get a better deal

thick curtain on conservatory to block drafts.keep doors shut on rooms/turn off lights in rooms we are not in/only boil enough water in kettle/dont have heating on for hours unless very cold

Another one constantly turning lights off. Before home school restarted, I just layered up in the day and left the heating off. No point if just me!

I leave the curtains shut at the back of the house when it’s really cold, nobody can see & it really does help retain the heat

We have hive heating so it’s set to a schedule. Although DH has it super cold and I’m always sneaking it up when he’s not looking!!
Thick socks and fleecey blankets for everyone too.

We put extra layers, mainly focus on slippers and blankets while kids are reading on sofar.
adjust the thermostat especially during the day time. limit the number of rooms that we use during the evening. Complete ironing in one go.
Try to complete bulk cooking twice a week.
Make sure kids, as well as their dad, switch off lights before leaving the room! Literally, I feel like I'm a policeman! But it's good fun!!!

Keep warm with two layers eg. Legging with trousers, jumper and cardigan, two socks. Hot water bottle. Eat warm soup /food.switch lights when not in room. Thermostat not too high. Draw curtains. Close doors where possible.keep a throw or a little blanket on your knees when sitting

Clothing goes on before the heating. Curtains shut if it's dark outside. And no heating after kids bed time until half an hour before we get up.

I messed up buying a 2 minute tooth brushing egg times, and its 30cm high. My youngest uses it twice as an guide to shower lengths.

Don't buy a 400 year old house!

Thermal blinds, with the honeycomb shape, and thermal curtains have done a lot to cut down on heat loss in our home.

Thick Heavy Curtains...works perfectly to keep the heat inside ( you can make your own by lining current curtains with a good £10 blanket , attach with buttons for the winter if you can )

Pour some hot water from the tap to speed up your wash if it's a cold fill only model.

Layer up or use blankets if sitting watching TV. Keep busy which keeps you from feeling cold. Use energy efficient light bulbs and I use Hive to keep an eye on my family usage of heating.

A surprising bonus for us of taking up our old carpets and having the original floorboards sanded and oiled was that we found we got all the benefit of the hot water pipes that run under the floor. All of a sudden we had free underfloor heating!

I purchased a heated pad that is so cheap to run and means I do not have to hear whole rooms, when only one of us is home.