People in Ireland are earning less and less, yet spending more and more on their household bills.
With the time of year that’s in it, people are spending fortunes on their electricity and heating bills. There are a couple of things that can save you a few bob here and there.
If given the choice between central heating and an electric heater, you should turn on the central heating every time. Almost nothing burns up more electricity than electric heaters.
An hour a day could raise your bill by €10 a month. Considering the current temperatures, it wouldn’t be unrealistic for you to be using the heater for three or four hours a night, adding up to €80 to your bi-monthly bill.
It still doesn’t eat up as much money as the immersion heater, however. The cost of heating your house from hot to cold works out at about €1 every time you use it, or about €30 a month, though it wouldn’t have to be left on as long as the heater.
Dryers
Tumble dryers also use up massive amounts of energy. While it would be difficult to dry your clothes in this weather, it might be an idea to dry them on the radiators if you are heating your house anyway.
Energy saving light bulbs (CFLs) cost about three times more than normal bulbs, but will save you massively in the long run. You’ll pay in or around 20 per cent less for your lighting bill, and CFLs last 15 times longer than the average bulb. Installing dimmer switches would also be a good idea.
Don’t leave your phone charger plugged in when you are finished using it, don’t leave your computer or its charger plugged in all day or the television on standby. Appliances on standby still use 20 per cent of their electricity.
Only boil as much water in the kettle as you need for your cup of tea/coffee/hot water bottle. Filling it up to the top all the time is just a needless waste of energy, as well as your time.
Rated ‘A
You should also make sure your washing machine and dishwasher are full when you are using them to make it more economical. If buying a new one, make sure the appliance is an A’ rated one, as they use a third less energy.
If you have a thermostat, reducing the temperature by just one degree will save you 10 per cent a month. Insulating your house should save you a lot of money, 200mm will stop 30 per cent of the heat leaving your house.
Switching from ESB to Bord Gais, meanwhile, will give you an immediate saving of 10 per cent and a further 2 per cent if you are an existing Bord Gais customer and a further 2 per cent if you pay by direct debit.
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