7 Energy Saving Tips for your Home

Looking to save energy at home? Why not try these 7 handy tips.

1. Free your radiator

Moving furniture away from radiators can help make a room more comfortable by letting the warmth circulate better – 42 per cent of homes have one or more radiators blocked by furniture (or cats). 

2. Be brighter

Replacing all standard bulbs and halogen spotlights in your home with energy saving light bulbs such as LEDs could save you £35 a year. 

3. Don't stand by

You can save around £30 a year just by remembering to turn your appliances off standby mode.

4. Get a head

If you’ve got a shower that takes hot water straight from your boiler or hot water tank (rather than an electric shower), fit a water efficient shower head. This will reduce your hot water usage while retaining the sensation of a powerful shower.

A water efficient shower head could save a four person household (eg a family of four or even a shared student flat) around £67 a year on gas for water heating, as well as a further £100 on water bills if they have a water meter. 

Calculation is based on the assumption that the family takes just under 20 showers a week and replaces a 13 litre/minute power-shower head with a 7.7 litre / min water efficient shower head, and the family are charged £3.01 per cubic meter of water used (includes sewage charge).

5. Draught excluder

Unless your home is very new, you will lose some heat through draughts around doors and windows, gaps around the floor, or through the chimney.

DIY draught-proofing of windows, doors and blocking cracks in floors and skirting boards can cost around £200, but can save up to £25 to £35 a year on energy bills

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6. Take control of your heating

More than half the money spent on fuel bills goes towards providing heating and hot water. Having a programmer and thermostatic radiator valves installed could save you between £80 and £165 a year. Even turning down your room thermostat by just one degree can save between £85 and £90 a year.

Whatever the age of your boiler the right controls will let you:

- set your heating and hot water to come on and off when you need them

- heat only the areas of your home that need heating

- set the temperature for each area of your home.

7. Turn off lights

Turn your lights off when you’re not using them. If you switch a light off for just a few seconds, you will save more energy than it takes for the light to start up again, regardless of the type of light. This will save you around £15 on your annual energy bills.

Thanks to the

for the facts and figures 

Gas Safety Week, Homeowners

We are proud to be supporting Gas Safety Week 2018, taking place 17^th – 23^rd September. 

Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is co-ordinated by Gas Safe Register, the official list of gas engineers who are legally allowed to work on gas.  

Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. Every year thousands of people across the UK are diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. It is a highly poisonous gas that can kill quickly with no warning, as you cannot see it, taste it or smell it.  

By taking care of your gas appliances properly you are taking care of your home and your loved ones. Follow these few simple checks to keep you and your family safe.

Gas Safety Week, Landlords Responsibilities

We are proud to be supporting Gas Safety Week 2018, taking place 17^th – 23^rd September. 

Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is co-ordinated by Gas Safe Register, the official list of gas engineers who are legally allowed to work on gas.  

Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. Every year thousands of people across the UK are diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. It is a highly poisonous gas that can kill quickly with no warning, as you cannot see it, taste it or smell it.  

Landlords are legally responsible for the safety of their tenants. Landlords should make sure maintenance and annual safety checks on gas appliances are carried out by a Gas Safe registered engineer.  

If you’re a landlord, you are legally obliged to make sure:

Gas Safety Week: Fighting for a Gas Safe Nation

We are proud to be supporting Gas Safety Week 2018, taking place 17th – 23rd September.
Gas Safety Week is an annual safety week to raise awareness of gas safety and the importance of taking care of your gas appliances. It is co-ordinated by Gas Safe Register, the official list of gas engineers who are legally allowed to work on gas.
Badly fitted and poorly serviced gas appliances can cause gas leaks, fires, explosions and carbon monoxide poisoning. Every year thousands of people across the UK are diagnosed with carbon monoxide poisoning. It is a highly poisonous gas that can kill quickly with no warning, as you cannot see it, taste it or smell it.

Life at Bluewire Hub

Today we hear from John Allen, owner of Bluewire Hub Ltd talking about becoming a Domestic Energy Assessor and what life is like at Bluewire Hub.

Why did you become qualified as a DEA?

In 2013 I was working for a property services company in Milton Keynes and they needed some DEAs to carry out EPCs for ECO work and renewable energy installations. As I was carrying out all of the ECO and renewable surveys at the time it seemed sensible that I became qualified to do the Energy Performance Certificates as well. Green Deal was in its infancy at the time so I also became qualified to carry out Occupancy Assessments at the same time.

Why Bluewire Hub?

I set up Bluewire in 2014 as I wanted to create a more professional image to any potential clients. It is important to me that we are recognised as a reputable, reliable, professional yet friendly and flexible company to do business with. We agree service level agreements with our corporate clients and will always work hard to meet these. In the last 4 years we have grown our customer base from 1 to 18 corporate clients across Milton Keynes and Northamptonshire as well as a number of individual homeowners and landlords who find us via on line searches and social media interactions.

How does a Solar PV system work?

How does a Solar PV system work

Solar Photovoltaics, or Solar PV for short, is the environmentally friendly technology used to capture normal daylight and convert it into electricity for you to use in your home or office.

Solar PV cells are made from layers of semi-conducting material, usually silicon. When light shines on the cell it creates an electric field across the layers. The stronger the sunshine, the more electricity is produced. Groups of cells are mounted together in panels or modules that can either be mounted on the roof of your home or on the ground if you have sufficient space.