Reducing Your Electricity Bills
Start with the things that use the most power. Small changes are useful, but heating water or a room usually matters more than unplugging a phone charger.
See what your appliances cost
Use your own electricity rate and compare different routines to estimate potential savings.
Where should you start?
Anything that produces heat tends to use a lot of electricity. Electric heaters, immersion heaters, showers, tumble dryers and ovens are therefore worth looking at first. After that, check appliances that run for many hours each day.
Check the timer and thermostat before changing anything else.
Use full loads and avoid the tumble dryer when you can.
Deal with wasted use, standby power and inefficient settings.
Measure before you guess
Take a meter reading today and another at the same time next week. Make one or two changes during that week, then compare the readings. This is more useful than relying on a list of average savings for a home unlike yours.
Heating and hot water
If your home uses electric heating, the controls make a big difference. Set timers around the hours you are at home and use the thermostat to keep rooms comfortable rather than turning it up as high as it will go. A higher setting does not warm the room faster.
- Close doors while heating a room and keep furniture clear of heaters.
- Use room controls so you are not heating unused spaces more than necessary.
- Do not use an oven or hob to heat a room.
- If you have a heat pump, ask the installer before changing its main schedule or water settings. Heat pumps often work best when run steadily.
- Put an immersion heater on a suitable timer rather than leaving it on all day, unless your system is designed to work differently.
Laundry and washing up
Heating water and drying clothes both take energy. Wait for a full load, use an eco programme where it suits the items, and wash clothes at 30°C when the care label and level of soiling allow it.
- Dry clothes outside or on a well-ventilated rack when practical.
- If you need the tumble dryer, clean the filter and use its sensor programme rather than adding extra time by habit.
- Fill the dishwasher properly, but do not block its spray arms.
- Skip pre-rinsing dishes unless your machine’s instructions say it is needed.
Cooking and the kettle
Match the appliance to the job. A microwave is often sensible for reheating a small portion because it heats the food without heating a large oven. A full oven makes more sense when you are cooking several things together.
- Boil only the water you need in the kettle.
- Use lids on pans and choose a ring that matches the base of the pan.
- Avoid opening the oven door repeatedly; heat escapes each time.
- Cook extra portions only if you will store and use them safely.
Lighting, screens and standby
Turn lights off in empty rooms and replace old halogen bulbs with LEDs as they fail. For televisions, computers and games consoles, check the sleep and energy-saving settings before buying plug-in gadgets that promise large savings.
Switch devices off at the wall when they are not needed and it is safe to do so. Do not turn off equipment that needs continuous power, such as a fridge, freezer, broadband router used for essential services, alarm or medical device.
Fridges and freezers
These run day and night, so basic maintenance helps. Leave room for air to move around the appliance, keep door seals clean and replace damaged seals. Let hot food cool safely before refrigerating it, and defrost the freezer if ice is building up.
Do not switch a fridge or freezer off to save electricity. Food and medicines need to stay at safe temperatures.
Work out what an appliance costs
The label on an appliance usually gives its power in watts (W) or kilowatts (kW). Use this quick calculation for an estimate:
To turn watts into kilowatts, divide by 1,000. Thermostatically controlled appliances switch on and off, so their actual use may be lower than the rating on the label.
Check when electricity is cheaper
If you have Economy 7 or another time-of-use tariff, your unit rate changes at set times. Running a dishwasher, washing machine, immersion heater or EV charger in the cheaper period may reduce the cost, but only use timers and appliances in the way the manufacturer recommends. Check your bill or supplier’s app for the exact hours.
If the bill is becoming unaffordable
Contact your supplier early. Ask about an affordable payment plan and any support funds they offer. Independent energy advice is also available through Citizens Advice and the services for Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Saving energy should not mean sitting in a dangerously cold home or going without hot food.
Compare two meter readings
Use readings taken on different dates with the rates from your tariff to estimate what you have spent.