Simple Ways to Understand and Reduce Home Energy Use

(collaborative post)

Our homes are our sanctuaries. They’re safe and welcoming, providing a place to step away from the fast-paced world outside. But the comfort we create comes at a cost, both to the planet and our finances. This includes the energy we use to power daily rituals, from making a hot cup of tea to soaking in a relaxing bath.

Slow living encourages us to pause, notice, and reflect on everyday habits, including energy use. In line with this, we’ve been exploring how small changes can help us understand and reduce our electricity consumption, creating a more conscious lifestyle and sustainable home.

Why Reducing Home Energy Use is Important

Every time you turn on the washing machine or hop in the shower, you’re using energy. Whether electricity or gas, this has impacts that extend beyond the walls of your home, with an invisible cost that’s easy to miss. Over time, your usage adds up. You start spending more money on monthly bills, and your carbon footprint increases, putting more strain on our planet.

Reducing energy use is all about becoming conscious of your actions and their impacts. Each thoughtful choice, from switching off a light to lowering the thermostat, lessens both financial and environmental stress. In doing so, we create more space for calm, intentional living.

Getting to Grips With Your Energy Consumption

The first step to reducing the impact of your energy use is to understand more about your consumption. Try using an energy cost calculator for insights into how much your daily habits and tasks are costing you every month. This handy online tool makes it easy to track the cost of using appliances like kettles and ovens, giving you a better idea of how much electricity you’re using.

To start calculating your consumption, simply:

1. Select the device or appliance you’re using
2. Input how many times or hours you use it in a day

It’s as simple as that! With pre-set rates based on the government’s current energy price cap, the energy cost calculator does the rest.

How to Reduce Home Energy Use

Once you’ve worked out how much energy you’re consuming, look at ways you can cut back. This doesn’t have to mean big sacrifices; there are plenty of clever ideas for minimising the impacts of your consumption without giving up any of your home comforts, including:

Using off-peak energy

If you have a smart meter and are on an eligible tariff, you can plan your energy use around off-peak hours. These are times when there’s plenty of renewable energy to go around and suppliers lower their rates, making it a simple way to cut the cost of your monthly bills.

Rethink laundry habits

Lowering the temperature of your washing machine to 30°C is a simple shift that doesn’t require any compromise. Only pop a wash on when you have a full load, too, and air-dry your clothes when possible. Switching to eco-friendly laundry products is an added eco-friendly bonus!

Cook consciously

Be mindful of energy-saving hacks when cooking, like adding lids to your saucepans and cooking in batches. Boil your kettle with the least amount of water necessary, too, and always turn appliances off when not in use. These little changes add up quickly!

Embrace Conscious Living

So much of what we do in daily life isn’t done with thought. These knee-jerk reactions can make it feel like time is slipping away, as you go through routines without stopping to consider what you’re doing and how it impacts your life. Slow living is all about slowing down to be present in the moment, and considering your energy usage can help with that.

Rather than automatically turning on the radio or hoovering your home, you’re making conscious decisions. You’re choosing, for example, to wait until off-peak hours to do all your energy-consuming cleaning, and you’re being sure to watch your pasta boiling so that it can stay on the lowest heat possible. These might sound like small shifts, but each one encourages you to pay attention to what you’re doing and be mindful of the impacts of your actions.

You’re not rushing, which is the art of slow living.

Working With Your Energy Use

Ultimately, the cost of comfort is what you make it. By understanding your energy use, you can dig deeper into how your monthly bills add up and the knock-on effect your consumption has on the planet. From there, start exploring ways to lower your usage and create a more sustainable home.

Remember to maintain a slower, more mindful approach to your daily tasks, too. Whether you’re popping on the kettle for your morning coffee or loading up the dishwasher, pausing to think about the energy you’re using, and its true cost can lead to a more meaningful way of life.