Households across Northern Ireland have a lot to digest in 2022 as the cost of living rises to record heights, with soaring energy bills and now an additional £380 jump in grocery bills.* Balancing this, whilst also looking to reduce the household’s energy footprint, is no mean feat.
Savings Expert and Managing Director at CompareNI.com, Ian Wilson, has some household tips that might come in handy: “Energy is an incredibly confusing topic right now. Due to the government price cap on 1st April, a backstop protection was put in place for many customers that caps the price of energy per kWh, aiming to curb soaring energy bills. It doesn’t however cap the overall bill, so households have been desperately trying new ways to help keep the amount of energy they use down.”
Ian and the team at CompareNI.com compiled some creative hacks that any home can try to help reduce their bills, while also helping to protect the environment:
Throw a dry towel in the dryer: Help soak up the excess water to reduce drying times which saves energy and money.
Change your washing habits: Wash clothes in cold water (or switch to ECO) and skip the dryer (which produces 1.8 kilos of CO2 per cycle) and line-dry your laundry instead. And only wash clothes when you actually need to, jeans for example, only need washed once a month.
Use natural solutions: For cleaning, instead of chemical-laden products, switch to cheaper, eco-friendly toilet bombs using baking soda and corn-starch.
Look for sustainable alternatives: Revamp the disposable kitchen staples with fabric cloths instead of wipes and paper towels, and use glass containers instead of Ziploc bags.
Water plants with leftover water from a hardboiled egg: Reusing water after boiling eggs boosts plants with much-needed calcium and saves water.
Reduce your lawn: By reducing the size of your lawn, you can cut the amount of time, money and chemicals needed to maintain it. Try growing a vegetable garden or your favourite flowers, which saves money on buying them.
Ian continues: “We’ve researched a few unusual hacks that could be handy to try but the best way to help protect the environment and save money is to look at long term changes. It doesn’t have to be the more expensive solutions right now like insulation and energy efficient windows, it could be smaller items like LED lightbulbs, draft excluders, reflective materials behind radiators and an insulation jacket for the hot water tank, these subtle changes can make an impact.
“For example, a regular 40w bulb running for 7 hours a day would likely cost homeowners £2.43 a month, replace just one bulb with an LED and it could be as little as 70p a month. If you have 20 light bulbs in your home that’s a saving of £34 a month.”
CompareNI.com is Northern Ireland’s largest price comparison website, and has helped over 650,000 users compare products from over 200 providers.
