Energy saving tips for your home

• Flat-bottomed pots and pans allow heat to disperse more evenly
• Cookware with copper on the bottom heat up faster than other materials
• Putting lids on your pots and pans speeds up cooking time
• Match the size of your pan to the hob you’re using to avoid wasting energy
• Glass or ceramic dishes are most efficient when cooking in the oven, so you can cook at a lower temperature or for a shorter time

• Batch cook different meals in the oven at the same time
• Reheating food (particularly using a microwave) is much more energy efficient than starting from scratch
• Slow cookers and air fryers are more energy-efficient alternatives to the oven if you haven’t had time to batch cook
• But don’t boil extra! A very common tip but a good habit to get into – only boiling the amount of water you need can save a lot of energy over time
• Avoid opening your oven door too often during cooking – you can lose up to 20% of the oven’s heat doing this so it has to work harder to maintain its temperature
• Make use of the heat that has built up during cooking by turning off the oven for the last few minutes of cooking time

Aim to keep 20% of the space free – overloading your fridge forces it to use more energy to stay cold.

• It takes about 45 minutes for your fridge to get back to its original temperature if the door is open for just 10-20 seconds.
• Knowing what you’re going to take out of the fridge before you open it and making sure the door is closed fully afterwards will help minimise electricity use

Putting hot food in your fridge will make it have to work extra hard to cool down the food and keep the fridge at the correct temperature.

Having appliances that expel heat (like an oven or dishwasher) beside your fridge and freezer will make them use more energy to stay cold.

 Defrost your freezer every 6 months (or when the frost is ¼ of an inch thick).

• Wash clothes at 30°C if possible.
• Use 'Eco' settings – even if they take longer, they’re more energy efficient.
• Wait until you have a full load to wash rather than doing two half loads.
• If you’ve a smart meter and are on a Time of Use plan, using your washing machine or tumble dryer at the time when your electricity tariff rates are lower will save you money.

• This is an obvious one, but avoiding using a tumble dryer will save a lot of energy.
• When you do use a tumble dryer, make sure to put heavy and light clothes into separate loads.
• Heated clothes airers can be a good compromise for winter days – they’re quite cheap to run (about 14c per hour) and you’ll get the benefit of the residual heat in the room that they’re in.

Devices like TVs, games consoles, and desktop computers can use significant energy on standby. For example, a modern TV left on standby uses around 10W/hour, which adds up to 87.6kWh per year. At €0.37 per kWh, this costs about €32 annually for just one TV. If you also switch off a games console (approximately 12W/hour on standby) and a desktop computer with peripherals (15W/hour), you could save over €75 a year by turning off these three devices when not in use.

If you can reduce your time in the shower by 3 minutes a day, you could save about €62 a year.

They now cost about 5c an hour to run (depending on which setting you use), so used sparingly they can be an efficient solution for staying warm during cold winter nights.

• Bleed your radiators regularly.
• Service your boiler every year.

• You may already be doing this, but reducing your central heating by 1°C can lower your overall heating bills by 10%.
• Use timers or smart heating controls so your heating only comes on when it’s needed
  Use the radiator valve to turn the temperature down or to turn off the radiator completely in rooms you’re not in a lot.
• Set your gas boiler at 65-70°C and your hot water temperature to 60-65°C to help avoid overheating
  Insulating your hot water cylinder will make it more energy efficient.

A smart thermostat lets you control your heating with your smartphone or tablet. Here at Bord Gáis Energy, we’ve partnered with Hive as our official Smart Home service provider. Hive will work with your existing boiler and lets you control your heating and hot water tank from your app or smart thermostat.

This means that if you forget to switch your heating off before you go out, or you’re going to be home later than planned, just tap the app to turn it off using your smart device. And you can set your own schedule so the heating’s only on when you want it to be.

Click here to learn more about Hive.

LED lightbulbs are 85% more energy-efficient than traditional lightbulbs so can add up to big energy savings over time.

Smart electricity meters are being rolled out by ESB Networks in homes and businesses across Ireland. Once your smart meter has been installed, you can move to a Bord Gáis Energy smart plan.

Signing up to a smart plan gives you the flexibility to use your electricity at times when it costs you less. And you can monitor your daily usage and set your spend goals so you’ll be alerted when you’re about to go over your target.

Visit our smart plans page or our plan finder tool for more information.

Energy-efficient homes should be well-insulated and sealed against draughts. About 25% of the heat loss in your home happens through your attic, so adding or updating attic insulation can reduce your annual energy bills dramatically. Wall insulation is another good idea to prevent heat escaping your house, particularly if your house was built before the 1990s.

Adding Solar PV Panels to your house can supply power to appliances in your home, as well as heating water. After this, any remaining excess power feeds the grid (which can earn you money). Check out our Beginner’s Guide to Solar Energy for more information or book a free solar consultation with our expert team.

A heat pump is a device that measures and controls your home’s climate by distributing the heat that is already available in the air. Heat pumps are one of the most efficient ways to heat a house and can cut home heating emissions by 60%. Take a look at our Heat Pump Guide for more information or register your interest for a free consultation.