It is no secret that as the winter months creep in, Irish households start to feel the pinch a little more. Especially considering that now more than ever, saving money is so crucial, as we enter the first winter of the ‘cost of living crisis’ and oil and gas are more expensive than ever. That is why having a plan in place to save money is always a good idea. In this article, we will look at reducing your heating bill and how you can save money this year. We also showcase some great money-saving appliances and answer some of the most frequently asked questions surrounding energy and electricity savings.

There are so many ways to save electricity and money around the home, here are 5 quick and easy things that you can do every day to ensure that your bills are not through the roof at the end of the month/quarter.

1. 
   Turn down your thermostat – various studies have shown how reducing your thermostat temperature by just a few degrees can decrease your overall bill at the end of the month. Considering the fact that most modern thermostats are programmed to have set schedules, you can easily set up your heating to go on and off at a certain time and pre-program a lower temperature.
2. 
   Unplug your appliances – this might seem like an obvious thing to state, but you would be amazed at the number of people that completely forget that while an appliance is plugged in and on, it still uses electricity, even if only a little. This is known as ‘phantom loading’ and believe it or not, can cost you up to €100 per year. Your fridge and freezers need to be left plugged in, but TVs, phone chargers, toasters, microwaves, and even kettles do not need to be on 24/7. It might only save you a little, but a little can add up to a lot over a year.
3. Lightbulbs – Again, this might seem obvious to some, but there are two parts to this point. Firstly, turn off lights in your home when you are not using a room Now, this doesn’t mean that you should sit around in a house full of darkness, but it does mean that you should be mindful of which lights you leave on. Secondly, is the use of LED lights. Numerous studies suggest that LED bulbs are far more energy efficient and longer lasting than regular bulbs. So if you are looking for a simple way to save a little money this year, then using LED bulbs might be the answer. Electric Ireland released a statement claiming that on average, a household will save €7 per year per LED bulb that they switch to. So if you have 8 different bulbs to change, you could be saving yourself €60+ per year.
4. Turning off radiators where they are not needed – Now, most homes will have a heating system of some kind, and this system will typically control all of the radiators. However, each radiator will have its own heat setting that can be adjusted. If you have your heating on but are only using 1-2 rooms in your home, then why not switch the radiators in the unused rooms to 0 or 1. That way, you are not using up electricity or heating costs in rooms you are not using. Alternatively, you could always heat up one room using a fan heater or keep yourself warm with an electric blanket. Read on for our personal recommendations on fan heaters and electric blankets.
5. Be Mindful, don’t be wasteful - The fifth and final tip for reducing your electricity bills in your home is not to be wasteful. SEAI stated that the biggest energy zappers in the Irish home are the shower, the cooker, the dryer, the washing machine, and the kettle. Now of course, we are not going to tell you how often you should use an appliance, but you can be mindful of HOW and WHEN you use them. For example, on days when the weather is cool and dry, consider hanging your clothes out to dry instead of throwing them into the dryer and using electricity. Avoid hanging them on radiators as this will block the heat in your room and can warp your doors and flooring. You can also consider taking shorter showers (or using the shower at the gym or work if that is an option for you!), don’t boil the kettle 2 or 3 times when you just need to boil it once (we are all guilty of that one).

Our Energy Saving Appliance Recommendations

We have a large collection of appliances in-store and online, but when it comes to saving you money on your heating, we think that we have the perfect solutions.

In each of our 23 stores nationwide, we have a large selection of electric blankets that you can put under your bedsheets and use to keep your bed warm and toasty before you get in on a cold winter's night. You don’t even need to have the heating on in your room, because once you are cocooned in a warm bed, there will be no need to get out. A great blanket is the Winterwarm luxury fleece double bed underblanket. It costs only €35, is machine washable, has varying heat settings, and will keep your bed warm and toasty on the coldest of autumn and winter nights.

Another way to keep one area in the home warm without having to worry about spending a tonne of money on heating and electricity is through the use of a fan heater. Fan heaters are a fantastic tool because they can keep one room warm with limited use of electricity and are portable, so they can be carried from room to room, meaning that you won’t have to worry about the cost of heating multiple rooms at once.

For better or worse, electricity is indispensable to life as we know it. Although we may not yet be able to produce enough clean energy to power the world, we can reduce environmental damage by learning how to save electricity whenever we can. Above, we give you a few practical tips that will help you to do just that.

Although we are currently experiencing a difficult cost of living crisis, there are still a variety of ways to save money around your home and reduce your overall electricity bill. It is all about being smart and staying conscious of the amount of electricity you are using on a daily basis. Little change can make a big difference over a year.

Reducing energy use in your home saves you money, increases the world's energy security, and reduces the pollution that is emitted from non-renewable sources of energy.