British households have reduced their energy spend by an average of £22-a-month by making simple changes, such as leaving hair to dry naturally, switching devices off at the socket, and limiting use of the tumble dryer.
A study of 5,000 adults found 28% say this is the first summer they’ve made attempts to reduce their energy use.
These attempts include turning unused lights off (49%,) switching devices off at the socket (39%,) and disconnecting phone chargers from the wall (37%.)
Other hacks include hanging washing outside as opposed to using a dryer (38%) and letting their hair dry naturally instead of using a hairdryer (26%.)
The study also found 28% of households use fans to cool off during the warmer months, with nearly one in five leaving them on all night, according to the OnePoll figures.
For those who have adjusted their energy habits for summer, bills have been reduced by an average of £22.09-a-month.
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And of those surveyed who have seen a reduction in their bills, the number of people with a smart meter was 23% higher than those without one installed.
The monthly financial saving, detailed in a report commissioned by Smart Energy GB, over the course of the year would amount to almost £270.
Some economists have said that this will be one of the most important years in the history of modern Europe, and saving energy in whatever way possible could become a necessity to conserve natural gas stores for winter.
TV presenter and author of the report Dominic Littlewood has also launched a new online mini-series in partnership with Smart Energy GB, called What’s Watt, which tracks three families across the UK as they take steps to reduce their energy use.
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“Visiting homes across Great Britain was an eye opener,” says Littlewood. “It’s clear that people have become more energy conscious—even though sometimes it’s one member of the household leading the change.”
“Whilst many people are taking lots of positive steps to manage their energy use, by working directly with families we found we were able to identify more simple steps they could take, such as getting a smart meter to monitor their energy use.”
“We’ve been making a lot of changes around the home to try and reduce our energy bills,” said Charlene Lijertwood, who was visited by Dom Littlewood on the show. “We considered ourselves to be on top of it but speaking to Dom has shown us ways to save energy we wouldn’t have considered otherwise.”
Smart Energy GB included a number of hacks to decrease energy-use in critical areas, including installing a water-efficient shower head, since around a fifth of the average household’s heating bills are spent on heating water, keeping an eye on refrigerator seals, or buying a fan that has a shut off timer that will prevent it from running all night.
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