As colder weather approaches and energy prices remain high, energy-saving switches are becoming increasingly important to offset any upcoming added costs of heating the home.
According to Green Match, household kitchen appliances, including fridges, hobs, and ovens, contribute to roughly 17 percent of the typical electricity bill, making this a vital room to address when aiming to cut costs.
But energy-saving switches don’t need to be extravagant – one measure can even be as simple as changing pots and pans.
Explaining ways to be more energy-conscious, Ben Gallizzi, an expert at Uswitch said: “If you’re using an electric hob, choose flat-bottomed pans so the pan is in full contact with the ring and the heat spreads through it as evenly as possible.
“Certain pan types are better at conducting and retaining heat. Copper-bottomed pans heat up more quickly than stainless steel and cast-iron pans retain heat more efficiently, so you won’t need the heat to be turned up so high.”
Mr Gallizzi suggested keeping the heating rings as clean as possible. He said: “Any food that sticks to the ring will absorb heat, making it less efficient.”
Mr Gallizzi also shared additional hob tips that can help people cut costs in the kitchen, such as using the right size pan.
He said: “Always use a pan which is the right size for the amount of food you are cooking to ensure that you use less energy in heating a bigger surface area when you don’t necessarily need to.
“Similarly, when you’ve selected your pan, make sure you use the right size hob for it. A bigger burner will waste energy and a pan that’s too big will take longer to get to the right temperature.”
Ofgem’s energy price cap will drop on October 1 from £2,074 a year for an average household to £1,923.
However, new figures from the Resolution Foundation show that while the cost per unit of energy is coming down, 7.2 million – or 35 percent of homes – in England will spend more than they did last winter.
This is because the Government’s Energy Bill Rebate Scheme, which knocked £400 off eligible households’ energy bills over six monthly instalments, is not being offered for this year.
Fortunately, there are wider and more significantly effective measures people can take to reduce costs even further than those made in the kitchen, such as switching off standby mode.
Mark Sait, the CEO and founder of money-saving platform SaveMoneyCutCarbon, said: “Start by switching off appliances that aren’t in use at the mains, changing your shower heads to a low-flow model, and the easiest, swapping your incandescent light bulb for an energy-efficient one.
“This simple and cost-effective behaviour can reduce your energy consumption by 90 percent.”
In addition to this, Mr Sait said turning down the thermostat by one degree can save up to 10 percent on a person’s heating bill.
The World Health Organisation states that a home at 18C is the appropriate household temperature for a healthy adult. Therefore, those who tend to set their thermostat to 20C or 21C could try setting it to only 18C to save some energy and money.
