How to make your home more energy efficient

People spend more time at their homes these days than ever before. The electricity costs have gone through the roof for most of us. Making our homes more energy efficient is one of the best sustainable changes we can make.

According to the Guardian “The UK’s renewable electricity outpaced its fossil fuel generation for the first time in 2020 and could remain the largest source of electricity in the future, according to an independent climate thinktank.

The thinktank behind the report, Ember, revealed that renewable energy generated by wind, sunlight, water and wood made up 42% of the UK’s electricity last year compared with 41% generated from gas and coal plants together.”

Here are a few tips on how to make your home more energy efficient

Get insulation

Insulating the loft, attic, or flat roof is a simple and effective way to reduce heat loss and heating bills.

Use available grants

There are several grant schemes available.

In England, the government’s Green Homes Grant scheme provides homeowners with a grant of up to £10,000 towards the cost of installing one or more energy-efficient improvements.

This includes insulation or installing a low carbon heat system, such as an air source or ground source heat pump.

Homeowners in England, including landlords, can get up to £5,000 to pay part of the cost of energy saving measures like insulation. Low income households can get 100% of the costs of work covered up to £10,000.
Make sure you’re one of the 600,000 households who could save up to £600 a year on energy bills by applying today.
Green Homes Grant scheme

What can you do to make your home more energy efficient. Green Homes Grant image. — https://greenhomesgrant.campaign.gov.uk/

Heat pumps for sustainable heating

Heat pumps are a readily available low carbon heating alternative to a gas boiler.

They run on mains electricity, which is becoming increasingly decarbonised.

You can choose from Air source heat pumps, Ground source heat pumps, Solar water heating, Biomass or Thermal energy stores.

Solar photovoltaic panels (SPVs)

This new technology, Solar photovoltaic panels, converts the sun’s energy into electricity.

They are an efficient means that will cut your electricity bills and reduce your carbon footprint.

Depending on where the Solar photovoltaic panels will be situated, there are many options available.

You can choose panels to fit on a sloping south-facing or flat roof or ground-standing panels or solar tiles.

More tips on making your home energy efficient

Do not leave your devices on standby mode when not in use. Turn the plugs off at the wall for all electric appliances.
Buy energy-efficient appliances.
Boil only as much water as you need when using a kettle.
If you replace all the bulbs in your home with LED lights, you could reduce your carbon dioxide emissions by up to 65kg a year. This is equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted by driving your car around 220 miles.
Switch to a renewable energy supplier.