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Break Down your Energy Costs to Save Money
Among the mistake that many people make when their electricity bill drops through their letter box is to look at the bottom line only, usually while shaking their heads in disbelief. There are also a lot of people who afterwards go around almost boasting about how their electricity bill is, as if they had no control over how it mounts up. The truth is that we all need to consume electricity; it does make life a lot more pleasant. Yet it doesn't need to control our lives, instead we have to control our electricity costs. In order to do so, we have to break it down into ingredients, and like a cake, reduce the number of currents we put in.
In these economically troubled times, and with the prospects of another hard winter before us, the need to conserve energy should be a priority, with steps to reduce costs across the board, and not just electricity, should be on the list of priorities for UK families.
What is known is that an average family will spend around £100 a month on average for electricity, with the bulk of these costs falling between October and March inclusive. Statistics show that these costs are broken down as follows.
Home Heating: 40%
Water Heating: 12%
Lighting: 12%
Electronics (Computers, televisions, audio systems) 9%
Electric Appliances (Cookers, washing machines, dryers): 9%
Refrigerators: 8%
Cooling (Air Conditioning, Fans) 3%
Miscellaneous: 7%
Taking these statistics into account will help the average UK family assess their account and understand how to save money. The first thing that they need to define is exactly how much they want and can afford to spend on energy over the year. They will have to take into account that as home and water heating will account for half of their costs, and more of these costs will fall on only half of the year, they will be able to recognize how much their fixed electrical costs will be, taking in such categories as lighting, electronics, electronic appliances, refrigeration etc.
The real battle will be to reduce home and water heating costs, and this is possible. For instance, the correct use of timers and thermostat control can make a surprising dent in a family's electricity account by ensuring that the heating and hot water system is in use only when the family is at home. The initial outlay on timers and thermostats will be returned in next to no time, and the financial effects will be considerable. It goes without saying that switching appliances and even lighting off when not in use is a must, as well as computers. Another good tip is to place refrigerators as far away as possible from other appliances which generate heat. That kind of action can knock a major hole in energy costs.
By taking these steps and others like them, energy costs can be dramatically reduced, and there is no reason why we should live in fear of the day that the electricity bill arrives.
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