10 Ways to Reduce your Gas and Electricity Usage

As a tenant in a houseshare, there are some easy actions that can help increase energy efficiency, reduce energy costs.

These actions will ensure you remain within the Fair Usage Cap that you have agreed with your Landlord on your Tenancy Agreement, and will help you avoid paying any excess bills at the end of the month.

Here are TEN ways to reduce your gas and electricity usage:

Become aware of your energy consumption

Use the smart meter display unit that was provided in your Houseshare  to see how much electricity is actually being used daily, and what uses a lot. Kettles and irons for example use far more electricity than you would think. So don’t fill and boil a full kettle, for just one cup of tea! Only add the water you need.

Leave the heating settings as they are

In your houseshare the heating is programmed to come on for several hours in the morning and again in the evening, and maintain a comfortable temperature.  Most houses have a Timeostat installed which means that you can boost the heating if necessary during the day when it is cold. You should not touch the heating  settings and should avoid having the heating on all day, as this is the most common cause for excessive usage, and will incur extra cost for you.

Layer up

Grab a jumper before turning the heating up too high.  It’s far better to put some trousers or a woolie on, and keep the heating low, then walk around in your shorts when it is cold with the heating turned up. This is England, it is cold and damp in the Winter and you need to wear warm clothes!

Bedding

Make sure you have adequate bedding to keep you warm at night. Hot countries often don’t use quilts or blankets, but in England in Winter we need warm bedding – a quilt and quilt cover set is inexpensive and available from most large supermarkets for example Tesco or Asda.

Close the curtains

If there are curtains,then closing them  in Winter, especially at night, will help to keep the warm air in. In the Summer the curtains keep out the sun so your house will stay nice and cool.

Unplug electronics

Electronic devices use energy even when they are turned off. By unplugging them in the room you have rented, no extra energy is wasted.

Clear your radiator access

Furniture placed in front of radiators will block the air and the heat won’t be able to circulate and warm up the room. So make sure there is nothing in front of the radiator in your room, wherever this is possible

Shower efficiently

Heating up water requires a lot of energy, so don’t stay in the shower for ages unnecessarily.

Turn the lights off

Turning off the lights in rooms where they are not needed. Letting in as much natural light as possible will help also save energy and reduce running costs in shared houses.

Close the windows

Yes it’s good to let fresh air in, and for air to circulate in a house share. However it isn’t good to leave windows open mindlessly especially if the central heating is on. When this happens the boiler has to work harder to heat to replace the heat that is escaping outside and your heating bills will rise dramatically. So please be careful only to open your windows to air the room, or when the heating is not on. And ask your housemates to do likewise.

IMPORTANT

The cost of energy has dramatically increased, and most landlords are now applying the Fair Usage Cap that is in the Tenancy Agreement you signed.

What is the Fair Usage Cap?

The Fair Usage Cap means that your gas and electricity bills are capped at £200 per month for the whole house.

If the bills are greater than £200 per month then the excess is divided between the tenants and invoiced to them. Payment must be made immediately.

Please refer to your Tenancy Agreement so you understand your Fair Usage Cap.

We want to help you as much as possible to stay under the Fair Usage cap.

Hopefully, these simple tips will help you to keep your energy usage down, save money and of course, most importantly, respect our planet.

We all have a responsibility to respect and protect our planet.