By Asitha Jayawardena
Covid-19 is a global crisis now and the UK is no exception to this global pandemic. Right now, Britons isolate or stay at home, going out for shopping for essentials, exercise and work in this lockdown.
Confined to the boundary of home, what do you have in mind? Well, money comes first unless you are a multi-millionaire. The other things like food (unless you have a garden with covid19-vegetations you planted) and school (if there are children) come after that.
How can we make money while I stay at home?
Staying at home has made the people realise about energy – how to make my house more energy efficient?
There are several tips.
Bulbs
When talking about electricity, light comes first.
Replace the light bulbs with energy-efficient LED bulbs if you have them. Energy efficient bulbs last longer and could cut down the bill by £35 annually.
Turn off unwanted lights.
Clean the bulbs and lamp shades because dust will make them dim. If you are not an essential worker but only stay at home, this one will suit you.
Daylight
Keep the curtains open until night time so daylight will come in. Make windows clean if you have nothing much to do.
Washing and drying
When you wash your clothes, set the temperature to a lower value, say 30 or 40oC.
Once the clothes are washed, dry them in the garden. Since the lockdown, you can check the weather on TV or mobile phone and see the dry days and wash them.
Bath and sink
If water is too hot, turn down hot water to 60oC.
Choose a shower instead of a bath if you have both. Shower consumes far less water than a bath and it is hot water you use.
Use a glass or bowl when brushing teeth. Keeping tap open loses water.
Another activity is shaving.
Kitchen-wise
Microwave is better than oven when you heat food.
When filling the kettle to boil water, fill it by the amount you need. The current consumed will depend on the amount of water.
An aerator in a tap will consume less than 60% of water.
Laptop and printer
Use laptop instead of desktop if you have both. Laptop will consume less energy.
Read documents on screen instead of taking a printout to read.
Standby
Do not leave the appliances in standby mode. TV, tablet, smartphone or any other device should be switched off, especially for the night. This can save us £80.
Heating
Turn down the thermostat by one degree – if 20oC, make it 19oC. This can save around £60 a year.
If you have unused rooms, use the valve in the radiator to prevent heating it.
Switch the energy provider
If you feel that you are paying too much, switch the energy provider. Visit https://www.uswitch.com/ to do this and save £200 a year.
Follow these tips – at least some of them – and you will rejoice in the future.
More….
How to keep your energy bills down during the coronavirus lockdown https://www.clearscore.com/learn/managing-money/how-to-keep-your-energy-bills-down-during-the-coronavirus-lockdown
Energy saving tips for coronavirus self-isolation https://www.ukpower.co.uk/gas_electricity_news/energy-saving-tips-for-coronavirus-self-isolation
Sustain 
The thing about curtains is they are also good for insulation – so best to shut them as soon as you have to put the lights on, so they help to keep in the warmth overnight. In summer we leave curtains closed in the bedrooms during the day to stop the sun shining in and the room overheating.
I am enjoying not having to do any ironing during lockdown as no one will see anyway – saves my energy and time too!
My son spent a couple of hours this week going round sealing some of the cracks around windows and skirting boards where the draughts are coming in. Loft hatches are often leaky around the joints too and you can use insulation tape as you would round a window.
Thanks
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Thank you for the comment. Cracks around windows, not ironing and curtains are energy efficient approaches in this lockdown.
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