No one is happy about rising energy prices. The bill goes up by leaps and bounds. Therefore, now is an excellent time to take a good look at ways to save on your energy bill. Read on!
1. Use Less Hot Water
You don’t have to take a cold shower or wash your dishes with cold water every day, but it is advisable to use less hot water. Every time tap water has to be heated, it costs energy. So every small adjustment counts. For example, wash your hands under normal “cold” water.
Returning to the nice long hot shower: you might want to consider shortening it a bit. To put it in perspective: if you shower for 5 minutes each time instead of 9 minutes, you can save about € 60 per year! You can also install a water-saving shower head. With this your daily shower is just as pleasant, but you waste less water.
2. Turn Devices Off Completely
When your appliances are on standby, they still use some energy. Therefore, make sure you really turn off your television or computer when you are not using them. In some cases, it is even best to unplug them to prevent standby power consumption. For example: a phone charger keeps using energy, even then it isn’t charging anything! Don’t feel like having to think about your plugs every time? Then you can also choose to install a saver plug: this turns devices that are on standby off completely after a while. And that saves you a lot of precious kilowatt hours.
3. How Do Your Curtains Hang?
Is it still warm outside and is the sun shining on your window? Then quickly slide open your curtains, because these sunrays bring free heat into your home! It would be a shame not to take advantage of that. In addition, make sure your curtains are not hanging in front of your heating system. A lot of heat can get trapped between your heater and curtains, so the rest of the room doesn’t heat up properly. And that’s a waste of energy!
4. Don’t Give Drafts a Chance
You can endlessly heat your home, but if there are drafts coming in from outside, there’s really no point. With draught strips under your doors and windows, and especially near your mailbox, you’ll notice a big difference in the temperature. With fewer drafts, you won’t have to turn on your heater as long to get your home to a comfortable temperature.
5. Turn Down the Thermostat
As soon as it gets colder, it is cozy to turn your heater on immediately. Yet with current energy prices, you’ll want to put this off a little longer. Instead, put on a pair of thick socks first or grab a warm pullover (Dutch: pullover heren) or V-neck sweater (Dutch: v hals trui) from the closet. The longer you can make it without a sweltering heater, the lower your energy bill will be! Then, if it really does get too cold in the house, you can be more conscious about when to turn your heater on and off. For example, don’t wait until you go to bed, but turn it off an hour beforehand. The warmth will linger for long enough until you are under the covers. You can also do this automatically if you install a clock thermostat in your home. And while we’re on the subject of heating: be aware of which rooms in the house you want to heat. After all, heating your bedroom makes no sense if you don’t go in here all day.
With these five simple tips, you will notice that your energy consumption goes down considerably, which can save a lot of money. Good luck with adapting!
