Energy Saving Products
With energy prices rising so much in the last few years and interest rates on savings accounts at all time lows, one way of putting your money to good use is to reduce your energy bills. Luckily the technology to do this has come on in leaps and bounds in the last decade and all kinds of energy saving devices are now available to save you paying so much on energy bills and save the planet at the same time.
One area you may not have noticed the changes in is in household and kitchen appliances. Many of these have gone through rapid changes recently as savvy shoppers often look for the lower running costs rather than just the lowest initial outlay. The savings that can be achieved by going for the most energy efficient models can be astounding. Washing machines for sale today can run on as little as a quarter of the energy that is required by some of the least efficient models while producing the same results. Other devices such as kettles have also seen rapid advances in their heating technologies.
At the same time the light bulbs we used to light our homes, offices and schools have gone through a revolution. A decade ago almost every light would have been tungsten or halogen, today LEDs and other energy saving lights as often as common and have cut lighting bills in home by enormous proportions. If you've still got some old style bulbs in your home one of the easiest ways of saving energy and money is to replace them right away.
Recharging batteries for your electronic devices might not immediately sound like it's energy saving - you're using electric to charge the batteries after all, but it will work out cheaper than throwing away old batteries and replacing them and it's also better for the planet.
Heating generally takes up about half of the energy used by a house, and any savings that can be made here can really cut down your energy bills. Setting a thermostat that turns the heating down when you're out of the house can really save you bills. But traditional thermostats often only work if your schedule stays the same each and every day. The Nest intelligent thermostat might be a large outlay, but by being a thermostat that learns your habits it can often pay for itself within a year.
Replacing your windows with double glazing can save a lot of your heating bill, but it's a very expensive process. There's cheaper solutions however such as magnetic second glazing which fits on top of your windows to provide insulation and thus save on energy bills. You can also save on heating by fitting loft insulation and by fitting gadgets to your post box to stop heat escaping from it.
Some of your electric devices don't need to be on all the time, but unless you go around your house unplugging them they'll stay on using electric while you're out. Consider purchasing timer switches for not only lights but devices like your internet router and your TV to switch them off while you're at work or sleeping.