Updated: May 23, 2023
Recent spikes in fuel costs have encouraged many households to think more carefully about conserving energy over the colder months, where methods of keeping warm without turning the heating on have been saving UK residents on their bills.
But energy conservation strategies don’t have to be abandoned once the coldest months have passed. Living in an unpredictable climate, we’re not always guaranteed a hot summer here in the UK, where you may still wish to stay warm indoors throughout the rest of the year.
Even if the sun does shine, households will still be paying to use their other gas, water and electric services aside from central heating. As such, there are a number of ways to save energy even throughout the summer – read on to learn more about the best methods and techniques.
Summer Energy Saving Tips
There are several affordable ways that you can save money on your household energy bills at home. Make the most of the warmer weather and increased daylight hours in the following ways:
Let Natural Light In
Opening blinds and curtains on sunny days is a great way to warm your whole house without turning on the heating. Even if the temperatures aren’t soaring, an increase in daylight hours will be enough to promote warmth, where glass windows help to conduct heat throughout your interior.
Reduce Indoor Lighting Usage
As the sun begins to shine for longer, take note of what lighting you have switched on inside, and consider leaving your electric lights switched off during the daytime and early evening. A change to more energy efficient LED bulbs can also help you to save on your bills, where you can unplug fully if you’re away from home for an extended period.
Dry Laundry Outdoors
Rather than utilising your tumble dryer which requires lots of energy, consider drying your laundry outside. Installing a washing line or taking a drying rack into your outdoor space are great ways to manage this, where laundry is left smelling fresher when dried in the fresh air.
Defrost Your Freezer
Your freezer is likely to be opened more frequently during the summer months, as you access ice and other cooling items. This encourages moisture to collect inside, furthering ice build-up that can reduce freezer efficiency. Taking the time to defrost your freezer will remove this excess ice, allowing your freezer to work better whilst using less energy to stay cold.
Water Management
We all consume more water in the summer months, where a number of methods can be employed to conserve resources. Taking shorter showers instead of baths can make a big difference, whilst rainwater can be collected in garden water butts to reduce hose pipe usage.
Service Your Boiler
The summer is the perfect time to book a service for your boiler. After a long winter of heating, your boiler may be in need of a check-up, where the warm season provides ample opportunity to leave your heating off for a period of time whilst your system is checked or replaced. This will improve the energy efficiency of your boiler in time for the next bout of cold weather.
Keeping Cool Without Air Conditioning
Air conditioning systems can utilise lots of energy, and increase your household bills over the hot summer months. If you wish to reduce how often you switch on the air con, or if you don’t have a cooling system in your home, then you may wish to consider cheaper alternatives to reducing indoor temperatures, where some ideas are listed below:
Close Your Windows
Contrary to the instinct to seek fresh air, closing your windows in summer prevents warm air from outside entering your cool interior. Keeping curtains drawn during the day can also prevent heat from seeping in.
Let The Night Air In
The temperature will generally drop at night time, making it beneficial to open your windows so that cooler air can circulate. This will also be advantageous if there is a rain shower, where this naturally brings a drop in temperatures.
Insulate Your Doors
Having well insulated doors in your home will prevent heat from circulating throughout your space. Shutting the doors to unused rooms can also help to keep the rest of the house cool, where you can keep the heat within specific closed off areas.
Limit Use Of Electricals
Electrical items give off waste heat energy that can be warming your interior. Cooking resources including ovens, grills and stoves are more obvious heat emitters, where you should limit using these in hot weather wherever possible. Using washing machines and other devices in the evening can also help to cut daytime temperatures.
Deliberate Fan Usage
Indoor fans can help to keep you cool indoors whilst using less energy than an air conditioning system. Importantly, you must use your fan in the right way to avoid circulating hot air, where placing a container of ice in front of your fan can assist with creating a cool breeze.
Strategic Planting
It is possible to utilise your garden space to keep your interior cool. Planting vines or other climbing greenery against your exterior can block and absorb sunlight, helping to keep your walls cool. Additionally, trees and shrubs can provide shade for windows to further reduce indoor temperatures.
Solar Panels
Investing in renewable energy for your home is a great way to save you money on your energy bills. Although these options can be pricier than DIY solutions, it is an investment that will save you money in the long run.
Solar panels work well all year round, but they do produce more energy in the summer, where there are longer daylight hours and the sun is higher in the sky. Even if the summer is a washout, this can still benefit your solar panel system, where rain can wash away surface dirt allowing the panels to work more efficiently.
A solar panel system will produce energy for your home to subsidise your bills, where any energy you don’t use can be fed into the national grid, which may result in further payments for your contribution.
Smart Controls
Installing a smart heating system can also help you to save money on your energy bills. This is because it will give you more control over your heating and air conditioning usage, where you can control your temperature systems from your smartphone.
This technology allows you to control your home temperatures whilst on the go, where you can also heat each room to a different temperature, rather than resorting to heating your entire property.
These controls can save you money all year round, but they become especially useful during the unpredictable summer months, where you may find colder mornings are followed by hot and sunny afternoons. Smart controls allow you to respond to these fluctuations while you’re away from home, which helps you to use your heating more effectively.
UK Energy Management: Saving You Money On Your Energy Bills
At UK Energy Management, we’re working hard to cut down your household energy bills, where we provide a wide range of system upgrades and installations backed by government funded initiatives.
Through the ECO4 funding scheme, we’re equipped to provide your home with a range of energy saving resources. These can include smart control provisions, electric storage heater installations, heating upgrades and fully funded solid wall insulation services for your property.
In addition to this, we can also provide eligible households with solar energy systems, where a solar panel installation can help you to lower your carbon footprint whilst also saving you money, even on cloudy days. Once we have deemed your home to be eligible, our engineers will take care of everything, from an initial home survey to the final installation. We’re an accredited solar panel installer, where our priority is always to deliver excellent customer care and unbeatable quality standards across all our projects.
To find out if you’re eligible for these services, fill out our speedy online form, and one of our team will be in touch to book your home survey. Contact us now to find out more about how we can help, or to check your eligibility.
