Top tips on how to reduce your energy bill

As we move into warmer days, rising energy costs can still pinch. Discover our simple tweaks you can make to reduce your summer energy bills and make your home more sustainable.

30 April, 2025

As we emerge from winter into warmer days, there are still lots of simple and effective ways to lighten the load on your energy and bills throughout the summer months.

It used to be that with the welcome return of spring and summer, we could breathe a collective sigh of relief that our energy bills would naturally ease off and give us a much needed financial break. But as the cost of gas and electricity has soared, even our summer consumption has us feeling the pinch. However, with a few simple tweaks to your everyday habits, it’s perfectly possible to make your home more sustainable and reduce your running costs.

Get savings savvy with our simple energy reducing solutions.

Reduce your water usage

Each typical household uses around 345 litres of water every day, and around 12% of a gas heated household’s energy bill is from heating water for showers, baths and hot water from the tap. Here are some easy fixes for saving water and energy:

Replace an inefficient shower head with a water saving shower head that reduces the water pressure and therefore the water flowing through it by 50%. By doing this, you could reduce your combined water and heating bills by around £60 a year.
A shower uses around 12 litres of water in just one minute. Use a timer in the bathroom and take a four-minute shower every day to considerably reduce consumption.
Swapping one bath a week for a four-minute shower could save you £9 a year on your energy bills.
Make sure your tap is turned off when you’re brushing your teeth or shaving and use cold water where possible to take the heat off your boiler.

Switch to LED light bulbs

Your old halogen bulbs are energy vampires. Replace them with energy-efficient LED lightbulbs that use a quarter of the energy and last up to 25 times longer.

The Energy Saving Trust* estimates that for an initial cost of £100 to replace bulbs, you’ll save around £40 a year on your bills and reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 35 kg. Also, make it a habit to turn lights off when you leave a room, and you can save up to £7 a year.

Be a mindful chef: energy saving tips for cooking

Making a few economical and efficient modifications to your cooking habits can save you energy and money in the long term:

Use the kettle to boil water quickly for cooking rather than heating it from cold on the hob. Making a single cuppa for yourself? By avoiding overfilling the kettle, you can save £10 a year on your electricity bill.
Use a double steamer that lets you layer up more vegetables using only one hob ring.
Use a lid on pots and pans to speed up cooking time and use less energy.
Defrost frozen food before cooking so it takes less time.
Batch cook in your oven and reheat individual portions in the microwave to help keep energy costs down.

Unplug appliances at the socket

Power pinching home electricals like chargers, microwaves and games consoles are sneakily leeching energy even when they’re on stand by mode. Get mindful about switching devices and appliances off at the wall when not in use and you can save up to £45 a year.

Invest in smart home devices

Heating and hot water accounts for over half of what you spend on your energy bills. Warmer days mean you rely less on your hard-working boiler and heating system, but there are still some actions you can take to make savings:

If you do need heating in the summer, the milder weather means you can run a combi boiler at a lower flow temperature of around 60°C and lower your thermostat to between 18°C and 21°C. Turning your thermostat from 22°C to 21°C can save £90 a year.
Using a smart programmer, thermostat and thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) means you can adjust your heating system to suit your schedule and the weather, control temperatures in individual rooms and shut off the heat to those parts of your home you’re not using.

Energy saving help and advice

Local councils often offer energy advice and can point you towards schemes and grants to help you make your home more energy efficient. Contact the Government’s advice service.
The Energy Saving Trust has reams of advice on saving energy at home, including energy tools and calculators, details of renewable technologies, and grants and financial support for property energy upgrades.
If you’re looking to sell or rent out your home, you’ll need something called an energy performance certificate (EPC) that shows the energy efficiency of your property based on a score from A to G and suggests recommended upgrades.

Landlords will have to make sure rental properties have a minimum EPC rating of C by 2030. While there is no minimum for selling a property, a higher rating might make it more appealing to potential buyers. Speak to your local KFH branch who can recommend an accredited assessor.