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How to make your home more energy efficient

Everyone is feeling the economic pinch at the moment and with the worry of the possibility of your energy bills increasing its time to look at how you can make your home more energy efficient. In the governments pre Budget report they announced a new boiler scrappage scheme which will be coming into effect in early 2010, it is designed to replace old inefficient boilers with newer less wasteful ones to aid in cutting peoples energy bills. So what does that mean for us all? Well if you have a ‘G-rated appliance, which is 70% efficient then you will be offered up to £400 off an ‘A-rated’ appliance. Also npower will be offering homeowners a further £400 off a new boiler if they replace one that is over 10 years old so you can potentially save around £800. According to the Energy Saving Trust replacing a old in efficient boiler with a new energy efficient one gives you better control and you could cut your household energy bill by up to 25% which would be a saving of around £250 a year for a typical family. However a new boiler will set you back about £2000 so even with those savings it is out of some peoples reach, but there are measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient:

Radiators – Many people do not realise how much heat from radiators is wasted, having thick lined curtains will help stop your heat escaping through you window frames however you need to make sure your curtains do not drop over the front of you radiators as the heat will never reach the room. Also if you have radiators in rooms that are very rarely used like a spare/guest bedroom then it’s worth turning off the radiators in those rooms.

Insulation –Most people know heat rises however many people seem to forget this fact when it comes to heating their home and leave their loft space poorly insulated and free for all your heat to disappear out into the cold. It’s important to get your roof, floors walls water tank and pipe work properly insulated as this can also cut your bills in half and it doesn’t have to cost thousands as many people are entitled to claim government grants to help with the cost, as well as making sure you block all draughts especially around doors, windows and letter boxes.

Energy efficient products – There are many products out there that can help you stop wasting energy and money, like fridges, dishwashers TV’s and more these products will have a energy saving recommended sticker on so when your old appliances need replacing it worth looking for appliances with this on.

Energy Saving Light Bulbs – You will use around 80% less electricity than traditional bulbs with these energy efficient bulbs and they do produce the same amount of light.

Picture courtesy of Arlor