News
The £50 Energy Savings challenge
Energy Aware Week, which ran from 13th – 19th October, is a joint initiative by Northern Ireland energy companies to increase awareness of energy efficiency and provide homeowners with practical help and advice to make their money go further.
As part of the campaign, OFTEC issued the following money-saving tips, challenging local householders to be more energy efficient and to help cut their energy bills by £50 per month:
· Turn your thermostat down – try and keep the room at 19°C. Increasing room temperature by only 1°C, can increase heating costs by 10%, whilst reducing temperature by 1°C can save almost £6 per month.
· Service your boiler – by servicing your boiler, you could improve your overall efficiency by 10%, saving up to £100 per year.
· Turning off standby – by properly switching off those appliances that often sit on standby at the mains, householders can make a saving of £4 per month -almost £50 a year.
· Swap to energy saving light bulbs – switching from regular to energy saving light bulbs can save £55 per year, almost £5 per month.
· Be water efficient – by taking a shower instead of a bath and you’ll use a lot less hot water, and with a water-efficient head to your shower, you could save about £75 a year on your energy bill, around £6 per month.
Additional measures suggested by OFTEC that homeowners can take to ensure even greater long-term cost savings include:
· Consider switching to a condensing boiler – this change could reduce the annual oil bill by 18% – a cost saving of £21 per month and £259 per annum for a typical 3 bedroom house.
· Fit heating controls – simple control measures, including a 7 day programmer with room and cylinder thermostats and a motorised control, allows separate hot water and space heating. The installation of these controls could mean a reduction in the fuel bill of up to 30%.
· Insulate your home – cavity wall insulation can lead to a monthly saving of almost £10.
· Fit draught stripping across doors – eliminating small draught gaps can lead to a saving of around £100 a year, or £8 per month.
David Blevings, Ireland manager of OFTEC commented: “Energy Aware Week is all about highlighting the ways that homeowners can become more energy smart. The week is a chance to inform homeowners on the small changes they can make to cut their energy bills, often at no cost. There are additional measures homeowners can also take which do require initial investment, but these can provide even greater savings in the long term.”
Energy Aware Week is supported by a range of partners, including OFTEC, Phoenix Gas, Bryson Energy, Firmus Energy, Glow Worm, Grant Boilers, Power NI, SSE Airtricity, Valliant and Worcester.