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

[CeriMumsnet]

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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

Loft and cavity wall insulation, draught excluders by external doors, use eco friendly bulbs and lights off in rooms we are not using

Boil just enough water to use but if there is leftover fill a thermos flask and use during the day or night. Close doors and turn lights off when not using a room. Wear more and warm cloth

We have put a curtain up across the front door to keep the draught Sout and have knitted a draught excluder for the bottom. We also have blankets on the sofa, and have the upstairs radiators set at a different level to downstairs dipue to a distinctive upstairs/downstairs temperature difference.

Extra layer in the morning and draft excluders added to all the doors to keep the heat in and the draughts out

try not to get cold in the first place - layers, particularly of natural fibres and keeping your core warm! plus if it comes to it do some star jumps ;-)

Lots of cosy warm throws and layers to keep warm, though nothing beats a good cuddle with hubby and the kids on the sofa.

Layers (for the adults, the kids don't seem to feel the cold). And we're fortunate to have been able to invest in solar panels for the roof which save us money (and will pay for themselves several times over). I realise not everyone has that option, but it's been great for us.

Socks and slippers to keep our feet warm, which has made such a difference. We are also both batch-cooking and using the slow cooker to make extra meals to freeze down. That means that we save fuel as only need to heat something up, rather than cooking again from scratch.

I have a very shallow hot bath - and use a flannel.

Have 3 layers of T shirts on too.

Wear layers.
Wool socks and jumpers are fab.
Radiators on in rooms you use only.
Switch to LED bulbs.

I always wear lots of layers, easy to remove if get too hot but saves money by keep putting the heating on higher and higher.

Best advice I received was don’t shower and use the cooker at the same time. So if your partner is in the shower start cooking when their finished.

Keep doors closed, layer up too we are on economy 7 so we can't turn hour heating of or it gets to cold

Fluffy bed socks, jumpers, blankets and snuggles on the sofa and were always warm :-)

I have thermals curtains and aluminum radiator foil on wall of the radiators and draw all the curtains when its dark to keep the heat in. Wearing extra layers/thermals is a great help!!

We don't leave things on standby and turn off at the plug and use energy saving light bulbs.
Do lots of tradition energy saving things too, like layering clothes and bulk cooking.

Always turn the lights off in other rooms where no-one is sitting. Always turn plug sockets off when appliance is not being used. Turn down radiator valves so that heating is just ticking over. Buy a hot cup which only heats up a mugful of water at a time because you always overfill the kettle unless you just measure the amount of water you need. Do not keep the hot tap running to fill up a bowl to wash up. Get a sink with a half bowl - this us normally enough to wash up with if you haven't got a dishwasher. Always use economy settings on washing machine and dishwasher and if possible run them overnight when electricity is at a cheaper rate.

Get moving! With lockdown it's so easy to sit about and moan about feeling cold. Instead of cranking the heating, move about! Do some exercises, maybe some housework, even dance. It will make you feel good and warm you up!

solar panels, a ground source heat pump, triple glazing and good insulation - cheap, warm and toasty!

I check my windows and doors for insulation and repaire if needed

Getting a smart meter helps to monitor power usage, its fun and it can give you some clues on where you can cut down. Washing at 30 degrees, rather than 40 and not using a dryer have really helped but wfh has meant having the heating on more, so I've been using an airer next to a radiator to dry clothes. With cooking, using the small convection oven in the microwave, (for small things like jackets) rather than the large range oven and using the slow cooker to make casseroles has made a difference too.

Make sure that you do not leave lights on in rooms which you are not occupying.

My Energy Saving Measures

1. Set timer and thermostat on boiler and set budget on the smart meter
2. Batch cooking
3. Close doors and switch off TV and lights when the room is not in use
4. Unplug chargers when not in use
5. Switch electrical items off at the sockets
6. Close curtain
7. Ensure loft is lagged
8. Wear layers
9. Keep active

10. Drink hot drinks but only boil required amount of water in the kettle 11. Snuggle up on the sofa with blankets 12. Use hot wheat packs instead of hot water bottles as they keep warm unlike a water bottle that ends up cold.

Boil water only as needed and close all doors to keep heat in. Also silver foil behind radiators helps.

Close doors, switch lights off, get cavity wall & loft insulation. Wear thermals & slipper socks around the house to keep you warm.