Save money sources

The savings shown in the Save Money House are estimated and for illustrative purposes only. Actual savings may vary due to a variety of factors including the following: house size and occupancy numbers; energy efficiency rating of house and existing/new equipment; boilers and heating systems; and energy tariffs.

Garage

Understand what you can and can’t recycle.

Did you know that the unreleased energy contained in the average dustbin each year could power a television for 5,000 hours?

Source: The Recycling Guide

Cycle to work and see how much you could save.

Londoners commuting to central London from zone 2 can expect to save around £1,032 a year!

Source: TfL: annual travelcard,  zones-1-2

Service your car and save around £100 a year.

Making sure your car runs more efficiently with regular services is not only better for the environment but could also save you around £100 on fuel each year. Also, ensuring that you have the correct tyre pressure could save you almost £100 a year, while keeping an eye on your oil levels could prevent a massive repair bill!

Source: Autotrader, July 2008

Be a greener driver and see the savings you could make.

Did you know that greener driving could save you one month’s fuel over a year?

Source: DirectGov

That works out at around £75 and the best thing is that it will take you less than five minutes to become a greener driver – simply by making a few adjustments to your driving style.

Source: National Statistics - £75 based on £31.80 a week for the operation of personal transport, such as petrol, diesel, repairs and servicing.

Save money with an eco car and lower your carbon footprint too.

If you must drive, then why not consider switching your fuel-guzzling car to one of the new hybrid or electric cars on the market? It could save you around £800 a year in fuel costs alone!

Source: What Green Car

Garden

Forget tumble dryers and use an airer instead.

Ditch the tumble dryer and opt for a rotary airer and you could save over £55 a year.

Figure for using a tumble dryer (over a year) from UK Power Calculator.

Source: UK Power calculator

Save a packet on homegrown fruit and veg.

Based loosely on two people living together, shopping two times a month over the course of year (prices correct as of 12/08/10): Cherry Tomatoes (4 x 300g, 98p each) £47.04/ Lettuce (3 x Iceberg lettuce, 84p each) £30.24/ Cucumber (2 x whole, 70p each) £16.80/ Potatoes (5kg white potatoes, £2.49 per bag) £29.88/ Carrots (14 loose carrots, 8p each) £13.44/ Apple (16 loose Braeburn apples, 29p each) £55.68/ Spring onions (2 bunches, 72p each) £17.28/ Courgettes (6 x courgettes, 34p each) £24.48/ Broccoli (2 x broccoli, 75p each) £18.

Prices from Tesco.com

Chickens will provide you with fresh eggs everyday.

Invest in a couple of chickens and you save yourself around £60 a year in eggs! They are also great for fertilising the soil and eating your vegetable kitchen waste.

Source: The Poultry Pages

Stop buying compost and make your own!

In the UK, up to 30 per cent of our household waste could be composted.

Source: Waste Online

Collect rainwater instead of using the hose.

In the UK, the proportion of water used for gardening can approach 50 per cent during the driest months, which can be costly if you’re on a meter.

Source: Save the rain campaign

Bedroom

When it comes to insulation, remember your walls.

Did you know that around a third of the heat lost at home is through the walls? Just insulating your cavity walls could save you around £160 a year on your fuel bills and 800kg of CO2.

Source: Tesco Home Efficiency

Save money by not overcharging your mobile.

We’re all guilty of overcharging our mobile phones – in the UK alone, we waste 85,000 tonnes of CO2 by doing so.

Source: Money Supermarket

Keep bills down by choosing the correct tog duvet.

In deepest darkest winter, you can save a fortune on heating bills by making sure you have a high-tog duvet. Similarly, having a low-tog one for the summer will reduce your need for air conditioning.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Draught-proof your home and feel the warmth.

Use strips and excluders to draught-proof – you could save around £25 a year on heating bills.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Remember to recycle your clothes when you have a clear out.

Did you know that 1.2 million tonnes of clothing waste goes to UK landfills every year?

Source: Act on CO2

Switch the lights off when you’re not using them.

Turning the lights off when you leave a room is one of the easiest things to do, but forgetting to do this is costing us £140 million a year!

Source: Act on CO2

Get eco savvy with energy-saving light bulbs.

Fitting just one energy-saving light bulb can save you on average £2.50 a year – and by swapping all the light bulbs in your home for energy-saving ones you could save around £37 a year.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Bathroom

Keep water bills down by being shower smart for FREE!

 The average family can save around £30 on their gas bills and over £30 on metered water bills a year with an Eaga ShowerSmart.

Source: Eaga ShowerSmart

Stop flushing away your savings.

Hippos installed in the average home provide a saving on your metered bills of approximately £20 per annum, with a pay back on your initial investment within 8-12 weeks.

Source: Hippo the Water Saver

Save water by turning the tap off.

A running tap can waste more than six litres of water a minute...

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Ditch the bath and take showers instead.

A typical bath can use over 80 litres of water, while a shower uses only about a third of that.

Source: Waterwise

Loft

Keep energy bills down and the warmth in with insulation.

If you install loft insulation to the recommended minimum of 250mm depth, you could save around £205 a year on your bills and nearly 1 tonne of CO2. Sign up for Tesco Home Insulation and you’ll earn two green Clubcard points for every £1 you spend. Recommend a friend and you’ll receive 500 Clubcard points.

Source: Tesco Home Efficiency

Keep your pipes warm and save money.

Check your water pipes and hot water tank are properly insulated. Simply by adding lag to your pipes and tank could save you around £35 a year.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Make sure your water tank is at the right temperature.

Check your hot water tank isn’t too hot. Anything over 60°C wastes energy – and therefore, money.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Kitchen

Choose an A-rated boiler when you upgrade.

If you’re looking to replace your old boiler, make sure your choose an A-rated condensing model. Not only is it far more energy efficient, but it could also save you up to £235 a year.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Do the washing up in a bowl to reduce your bills.

Make sure you do the washing up in a bowl, rather than leaving the tap running – you could save around £25 a year on your gas bill.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

It’s ecofriendly to use your dishwasher when it’s full.

When full, a dishwasher uses less water and electricity than washing by hand. Use an Energy Saving Recommended dishwasher and you could save around £12 per year on your electricity bill.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Wash at 30°C or cooler and save money and energy.

Wash at 30°C and save up to 40 per cent on your electricity usage and around £10 year on your electricity bill.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Make big savings when you use your leftovers.

If everyone used up their leftovers, we could all save over £680 a year!

Source: Love Food Hate Waste

Monitor and your energy usage save money on your bills.

According to Ofgem, an OWL can save the average household up to £125 off a £513 yearly bill.

Source: OWL

Lounge

Heat your home with a wood-burning stove.

A biomass boiler could save you around £470 a year on heating bills.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Create an insulating barrier with double-glazing.

Halve the heat loss in your home with ESR double-glazing and you save around £130 a year on your heating bills.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Get into the habit of turning things off.

A stand-by saver could save you £42 a year (dependant on number of appliances plugged into the socket).

Source: Tesco direct

Turn the thermostat down and put a jumper on.

This will take less than a minute and reducing your room temperature by 1°C could cut your heating bills by up to 10 per cent and typically save around £55 per year.

Source: Energy Saving Trust

Roof

Harness the power of the sun with solar panels

Installing solar panels is a clean, sustainable and highly efficient alternative to polluting fossil fuel energy resources – and they can take over £300 off your annual electricity and hot water bills.

Source: Tesco Home Efficiency