5 Ways to Be an Energy Efficient Student!
As we all know is it very environmentally friendly to save energy, but it also saves us a lot of money too. You can be an energy savvy student and make sure your monthly quota is met or better yet have leftover credit to roll onto next month! If you follow some of these suggestions we can ensure your home will be more energy efficient and the utility bills will be less in the future!
1. Make Sure Everything is Turned Off
There’s no denying that we’re all guilty of not doing everything in our power (excuse the pun) to conserve energy in our homes, whether it be leaving the TV on or forgetting to turn the hallway light off. We are constantly leaving lights and appliances on overnight while we’re sleeping and this is an obvious waste of electricity.
This of course, will end up being very expensive for you. To avoid going over your quota and receiving unnecessary charges, make sure you switch off all unused electrical items and lights before bed...Especially the Boiler!
2. Laundry Day
When it comes to doing your laundry, there are a few little things that you can do to help conserve energy and keep all the costs down. The number one thing to do is never put on a half load of washing – always make sure you wait till there is enough for a full load or you will be wasting energy. Secondly, make sure you wash your clothes at 30ºC instead of 40ºC and choose a quick wash if you have a machine with that option.
Something else to take on board is to avoid using tumble dryers, if you are trying to keep the costs down, they are more of an a luxury rather than a necessity. Using clothes airer is adequate enough to get your laundry dry, better still as mentioned before, Spring is fast approaching so if you have a garden hang your washing outside and it’ll half the drying time.
3. Turn Down Your Thermostat
As we start to approach the warmer months a good idea would be to turn your thermostat down and change the timer on you boiler so it comes on for shorter periods of time. Even turning it down by the smallest fraction will help to reduce the bill. Also if remember to turn heating off if you aren’t home for long periods, you’ll be saving so much more.
4. Drip, Drip, Drip...
Make sure you aren't wasting unnecessary amounts out water as well! Not turning off taps properly can use up a substantial amount of your water usage at the end of the month.
If you have a leak anywhere in your house whether it's a tiny drip or a massive leak, please make sure you report the issue to your landlord or agent because this is also something that over time can rack up your usage. Also if you really want to save on you monthly quota, be sure to take short showers instead of baths.
5. Find & Exclude Any Draughts
Small draughts throughout your home can have the cumulative effect of leaving a window open all year long. The main and most obvious places to check for draughts in your house are around external doors and window frames and letter boxes.
Once you’ve figured out where the draught is, we advise you to let your agent/landlords know so they can treat the issues accordingly. Problems like this can be rectified incredibly quickly and easily by your agent or landlord investing in draught excluders to lay across the bottom of doors. By preventing draughts, you will find your house warmer, the utility usage lower and the bills cheaper! #Winner.
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