Start with how energy is used
Home energy use is rarely spread evenly. In many homes in cooler climates, heating and hot water account for the largest share, with appliances, lighting and cooking making up much of the rest. In warm climates, cooling can take the place of heating as the big item. The practical point is that a habit tied to something large is worth more attention than one tied to something small.
The ten habits below are grouped by what they act on. None of them comes with a promised saving, because actual results depend on your home, your climate and how you already live.
Heating and hot water
1. Turn the heating down a little. Heat loss from a building generally increases the bigger the difference between inside and outside temperature. A slightly lower setting therefore tends to reduce the energy needed, and you may find it hard to notice the difference.
2. Heat the rooms and times that matter. There is little benefit in warming empty rooms. Timers, room thermostats and radiator valves let you match heat to use. How these controls work together is covered in more detail in the explanation of heating zones.
3. Keep the heat in. Curtains drawn at dusk, doors closed between heated and unheated rooms, and sealing obvious gaps all reduce how much heat escapes. For deeper fixes, home insulation addresses roofs, walls and floors, and draught proofing deals with gaps around doors and windows. These tend to give lasting results because they work without you remembering to do anything.
4. Reduce hot water use. Heating water takes energy, so shorter showers and fixing dripping hot taps cut that demand. Lowering a hot water store’s temperature may also help, but check with a qualified installer first, because water that is too cool can create a health risk in some systems.
Cooling
5. Block heat before it enters. In hot weather, shading windows that face the sun reduces the heat that needs to be removed later. Opening windows in the cooler parts of the day and closing them when it is hotter outside can help too. Methods such as shade, airflow and thermal mass are collectively known as passive cooling.
6. Use fans before air conditioning where that is enough. A fan moves air and helps you feel cooler without lowering the room temperature, and generally draws far less power than an air conditioner. If you do use air conditioning, keeping filters clean and not cooling unused rooms helps the unit work more efficiently.
Lighting
7. Switch to efficient bulbs and switch off when not needed. Older incandescent bulbs turn most of the electricity they use into heat rather than light. LED lighting does the same job with much less electricity. Turning lights off in empty rooms is a small habit, but it costs nothing. There is no need to replace bulbs that still work in a hurry, since each new bulb has its own manufacturing footprint, but replacing them as they fail is sensible.
Appliances and electronics
8. Wash and dry with the mechanism in mind. Most of the energy a washing machine uses goes into heating water, so washing at a lower temperature, when the load is dirty enough to allow it, usually uses less. Full loads are better than several part loads. For clothes drying, a line or airer uses no energy at all, whereas tumble dryers use a lot, so reserve them for when you need them.
9. Cut the quiet drains. Many devices draw some power even when they appear to be off, which is known as standby power. The amount varies by device, and for most households it is smaller than heating or hot water, but it runs all day, so switching off at the wall for items you rarely use is a reasonable habit.
10. Choose and run appliances sensibly. When replacing a fridge, washing machine or other large item, energy labels help you compare running use. Placing a fridge away from heat sources and keeping it reasonably full but not overstuffed can help its efficiency, and cooking with lids on pans and using the right-sized hob ring reduces wasted heat. Keeping an old appliance until it fails can be better than replacing it early, since manufacturing a new one also uses energy and materials.
Check whether it is working
Habits only matter if they change what you use. Reading your meter at the same time each week, or comparing bills across similar months, shows whether a change has made a difference. Because weather affects heating and cooling so much, compare like with like, such as one cold month against another.
What not to expect
Be sceptical of any claim that one trick will cut your bill dramatically. Energy saving is mostly a series of modest changes, with the largest gains often coming from heat loss and heating controls rather than from small electrical items. Some measures cost money upfront, and whether they pay back depends on your home. If you rent, you may be limited to behaviour changes and portable measures, which is still worthwhile. Where you are unsure about anything involving gas appliances, boilers or electrical work, use a qualified professional rather than guessing.