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

[CeriMumsnet]

This discussion is now closed

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

It's funny how the majority of the answers are consistent with layering up. I also like making food in bulk so we're not constantly wasting gas and electricity.

As hard as it is, starting the morning with a quick 30 min exercise workout is a great way to get warmed up indoors and save energy without cracking up the heating! Also, instead of running the tumble dryer I will hang up freshly washed clothes indoors in winter and in summer ( outdoors ) to save myself on energy!

Buy some decent throws for everyone. We bought gorgeous faux fur ones in b&m. Make sure everyone has slippers and a decent dressing gown and warm pyjamas. Single outlay that means you can reduce the heating being on substantially.

With 6 people in the house, we do try to keep the bills down. The tip one is shopping around to get the best tariff. On top of that I:

• Use eco friendly light bulbs in main rooms and say nothing to the children’s dark and dingy rooms lit only by battery USB lights or battery operated fairy lights
• Nag the children to switch off bathroom and kitchen lights or constantly go around switching them off in empty rooms.
• Attempt to win the battle of the thermostat whilst yelling ‘just put a hoodie on’.
• Incentivise the older 3 to shower more quickly by promising food will be ready in 5 minutes.
• Allow the younger one to skip her bath every so often if she hasn’t been doing sport or rolling in mud.
• Have periodic electronic lockdowns and a wifi curfew, then they are forced to do something constructive or go to sleep.
• Train everyone to only use the low heat settings on the washing machine and insist they wait for them to air dry.

Always wear thick socks and slippers, keep a throw on each bed and multiple ones on the sofa.

Insulating our loft made a huge difference. We put in a much thicker layer of insulation and it really made a difference. We also put brush seals underneath some of the doors which stopped the cold drafts.

I always layer up and I don't like the house when it's too warm so I'm lucky in that sense as I'm not always tempted to put the heating on.

I had insulation put in a while ago and it was the best choice ever as it means I don't need to use as much heating.

Turn the lights off as you leave a room, draw curtains in the evenings, use a blanket/duvet on the sofa, dressing gown and slippers. We also have Nest which is great as we can control the heating when we are out, to go back on when we are coming home.

When working from home, I have a heated throw rather than just put the heating on for me.

I'm turning into my Dad and find myself saying all the things he used to say to me when I was little- turn the light off if you leave a room, put another jumper on, close the door... !!
It's quite funny but I totally understand now!
I also do other small things like only fill the kettle with as much water as I need and keeping shower times to a minimum.
It does make a difference.

Blankets on the sofa, base layers, warm shower, hot drinks, thick tights under trousers

An Owl monitor! (or equivalent energy monitor)

When we got one a couple of years ago it was interesting to see our energy use go up and down as we switched various appliances on and off and to see the cost in ‘real time’. We did a challenge with the children to see how low we could make the reading go, running round the house turning things off (sounds dull but it was fun at the time and made them aware of energy use!) We appreciated that it was almost impossible to get it to 0 as there were a few things that were always running e.g fridge, clock radios etc which we didn’t turn off but we saw the ‘spike’ of energy that a kettle/iron/hairdryer caused and also the effect of turning off lights.

The novelty has worn off now (!) but the monitor lives on the kitchen table where it’s a good visual reminder of our energy usage - I’m now used to what the normal daily reading is so can see if it’s higher than usual or if anything has been left on.

Blankets, thermals and big socks - then the heating! I love my hot water bottle at bedtime too.

Close the curtains as soon as it starts getting dark.

We made sure that the gaps in our wooden floors were sealed and it's made a huge difference this year compared to last year.

I always batch make food on a Sunday. It means less energy wasted in the kitchen and more time for other things in the week. I make sure to turn switches off when appliances are not in use.

I also use energy saving light bulbs as I do tend to use the lights for a long time throughout the evening.

I used energy saving products. They don't cost that much more, but are so worth it for keeping costs down.

A smart meter has helped me see just how much energy I'm using an adjusting accordingly. I now have the perfect balance of usage for my needs yet not wasting anything.

We have an Everhot stove and a wood burner for the central heating and hot water.
I make soup and slow cook in the bottom oven. It throws out some heat in the kitchen so the radiator in there is turned down. We pick up fallen branches and season them.
We have a walk in shower and have a timer on the window sill.
Sofa has throws on the back if it is really cold.I use low energy bulbs and put a lamp on instead of the overhead which has three bulbs. We turn the lights off when we leave a room. I have racks on two radiators and a maiden to leave washing in the kitchen over night instead of using the dryer, which is just used for sheets and towels in winter.
I wear pretty thermal vests and the children did when they were young. The extra layer makes all the difference in the north.
I batch cook things like bolognese sauce and fish pie and freeze half.I also make puddings like rice pudding which go in the slow oven. The Everhot is cheaper to run than an Aga.

Keep all the doors closed. Pull the curtains in the evenings (thick lined curtains). Lower the heating and wear warmer clothing. thick fluffy socks and slippers keep your feet warm making you feel warm. Throws and big snuggly cushions on the sofa.
Only heat up the water you need when boiling kettle for a cuppa.

I find thermal layers to be perfect. I don't spend extra on thermal clothes either, get them whenever there's a deal so for me it's perfect.

My home is insulated and although I hate this when it's the summer and during heat waves, in the winter it's perfect as it means we don't have to put the heating on as often.

Our house is old and drafty. We have built an internal porch that really helps. I also try to get everyone to wear extra layers. We've got a big pile of blankets in the living room to keep cosy under. We got a wood burner installed last year and it's great for heating the downstairs quite cheaply rather than having the heating on to heat the whole house up when we're generally all downstairs.

Thermostatic valves on all the radiators.

Little changes all add up over time; only boiling enough water for the drinks you need, if you do have excess then make another drink and pour it into a flask.
Unplug phones and tablets as soon as they've finished charging. Get in the habit of switching things off at the sockets.
Slow cookers are much cheaper to run than ovens, you're only heating something a little bigger than the food whereas with a conventional oven you're heating a much larger space. If you are using your oven then add some extra food to any unused shelf then freeze it, a couple of jacket potatoes for example.
Freezers run more efficiently when full but fridges will be less efficient if crammed.

If we're cold we add extra layers, thick wool socks and a wool sweater (always wool) but if we've been outside and it's mega-cold then we find a hot bath is the quickest way to get warm again.
Not so good at this time of year, but from March onwards we peg laundry out on the washing line instead of using the tumble dryer.
Our central heating and lights and some plugs are controlled on our phones/ iPads so no excuse for not switching things off, really handy if we've gone out and forgotten.