Go Power - Energy Saving Tips

Tips For The Efficient Use Of Energy

At Go Power, we promote the use of efficient energy use. This will help cut down usage and costs on your bill.

Kitchen

Use the kettle to boil water for cooking, instead of heating a pan on the stove. Not only will this be more efficient, but it generally takes less time too!
Cut food into smaller pieces before cooking; it may cook more quickly.
When cooking vegetables, use just enough water to cover the food and put a lid on the pan to keep the heat in.
Always use the right size of pan for your cooking ring.
Keep the lid on the pan as much as possible to keep the heat in.
Use pans that can divide into sections so you can cook several items at once.
Cook big batches of food together and freeze what you don’t need that day. It’s more energy efficient to use all the oven space available.

Lighting

Use energy saving light bulbs, these may cost more, but they use far less electricity than normal bulbs, saving you money in the long run.
Turn off any lights you don’t need, but make sure you have enough lighting on stairs and hallways.
Keep your lampshades and bulbs clean. They give out less light if they are dirty.
Use lighter lampshades where possible. Darker lampshades give out less light so you might need to use a higher watt bulb with them.
Spotlights can be more expensive to run than other lighting, so avoid leaving them on for a long time.
Fluorescent tubes give out more light and are good for kitchens.
Consider how much light you need and see if you can take out one or two bulbs from a multiple light fitting. A small hallway may only need one 60 watt bulb instead of three. Make sure you turn off the light first and take care not to hurt yourself when removing the bulb.

Heating

Place heat reflectors behind radiators which are attached to outside walls, this reduces the amount of heat lost to the outside, especially on older houses without so much insulation. It is possible to buy special Radiator Foil for this, but tin foil (with the shiny side facing the radiator) will do nearly as well.
Seal up any drafts in doors and windows using draft excluders etc. For small drafts use stick on draft excluding tape, available from most DIY stores.
Draw the curtains at night to keep the heat in (especially if you do not have double glazing).
If you are not using your fireplace, block up the chimney (just use newspaper or cardboard). A lot of heat energy is lost up the chimney flume.
Don’t keep opening the oven door while you are cooking. Keep the glass clean and you can peek in when you need to.
Microwaves aren’t just handy for reheating leftovers. Use a microwave instead of the oven for fresh food too. They’re quick, easy and economical to use and they’re handy if people in your household eat at different times. For example, jacket potatoes take just five minutes in the microwave instead of an hour in the oven!
If you’re heating things in a microwave, try to use a microwave safe lid or cling film with holes in it to speed up cooking time.
Turn down the gas on a gas hob as soon as the water boils.
Remember – you don’t need to pre-heat gas grills and ovens for most dishes.

Washing

Do not use your dishwasher / tumble dryer /washing machine unnecessarily. They are some of the most energy intensive devices in your home! Make sure you load them up correctly, and do put them on when they are practically empty.
Again for dishwashers / tumble dryers / washing machines, try to put them on after 9pm when electricity generally becomes a lot cheaper.
Wash your clothes at 30 or 40°C. Modern washing powders/liquids are designed to get clothes clean at this temperature.
Save up your dirty laundry to do full loads. Doing a half-load in the washing machine uses more than half the energy of doing a full load. If you aren’t doing a full load of washing, use the halfload/economy setting.