This summer has been one of the best in decades thanks to weeks of glorious sunshine, but as autumn’s cooler weather creeps in, many families Edinburgh will start spending more time inside at home.
Nicholas Combe is a Smart Energy Expert with British Gas and installs smart meters in homes across Edinburgh to help residents monitor and take control of their energy use. Here, Nicholas gives his top tips on how to be energy savvy this season.
Rethink how you cook
“Cold autumn evenings usually mean big, hearty dinners. If you’re cooking for the family, consider making double the amount you need and freezing the rest. Batch cooking can cut down on the amount of energy you use and means you can enjoy some extra free time in the evenings when you don’t have to cook from scratch.
“Another top tip when reheating food is to use your microwave – it uses around 10% less energy than an oven.
Be savvy with your chores
“No matter how hard we try we can’t get away from doing household tasks. While technology has made certain jobs easier, it’s also meant that some tasks can be fairly energy intensive.
“Most of us bring out the vacuum to clean hard floors such as tiles, wood or laminate, but a sweep with a brush and dustpan can be a fast fix that doesn’t use any energy at all.
“If you’ve only got a few pots and pans to clean, washing up by hand can save energy too, or if you’d rather use the dishwasher, wait for it to be completely full before turning it on. It can cut down on the number of loads you do each week, helping to save energy.
Turn off the gadgets!
“We all love our smart phones and will lovingly charge them overnight – but doing this can use more energy than you need to. Try charging your phone for a couple of hours earlier in the evening instead. Don’t forget to unplug the charger from the socket when you’re finished too. Even when it’s not connected to your device it will still be using a small amount of energy.
“Do you watch TV through your games console? Doing so could be using a lot more energy than watching your favourite programmes directly through your TV. Most televisions now have built-in apps, so if you love to catch up on shows through on-demand, try doing it through your TV rather than your games console.
Think smart
“Having smart meters installed can help you keep your energy use in check and help you save up to £32 a year*.
“They come with a smart energy monitor that shows you how much energy is being used in pounds and pence, in near real time, helping to put you in control of your energy use and spend.
“The monitors are a nice way to get your kids engaged and thinking about energy in the home – they’re able to see usage levels going up and down when they’re using different gadgets around the house.
“Smart meters also mean an end to estimated bills and manual meter readings as they automatically send readings to your supplier, so you don’t have to.”
Join the millions of people already enjoying the benefits of smart meters. To find out more visit: www.britishgas.co.uk/smart
NOTE:
Millions of British Gas customers will see their bills rise for the second time this year after the firm announced it was pushing up prices again by almost 4% from 1 October.
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