Do you measure how much energy you’re using at home? If you don't, then you won't know which energy-saving changes will make the biggest impact. Measuring and monitoring your usage is key to saving money on your bill. 

If you’re paying for energy on a fixed direct debit, it can be especially hard to know exactly what it’s costing you before the bill comes, and by that point, it’s too late to make a change. 

Simply seeing how much energy is costing you can help you use less. It’s called the “feedback effect”. That together with behaviour change driven by insights, household comparisons, and best practice advice has helped Loop households cut their electricity bill by 16% and their gas by 10% on average.

Not only is that a world-leading efficiency saving that means around £250 off your bills, but it also equates to a carbon reduction of 310kg CO2e per year for an average dual-fuel household!

Keeping a close eye on your usage as you incur costs will help you avoid bill shock, and that’s where Loop, the free energy-saving app for your smart meter, can help! 

Sharpen your Energy Instinct

Your Energy Instinct is your ability to instinctively know the most energy-efficient way of doing something and being able to assess whether something is expensive to run. Understanding how your home uses energy enables you to zero in on the most energy-efficient way of doing something.  

It takes a bit of training but it accelerates you from an Energy-Saving Novice to an Energy Expert. Every time you open the free Loop app and see how much energy you're using, it's sharpening this instinct.

Your energy-efficient day 

Monitoring your energy usage doesn’t have to be difficult or time-consuming. Once you know what normal is for your home, you can develop some good habits to cut your consumption.

Here’s how you can use the Loop app throughout the day to keep in control of your usage.

Morning

You wake up and before you do anything, you put the kettle on, making sure to only fill it with the amount of water you need. You know that overfilling could cost you £11 over the year.

After a quick 5-minute shower in eco mode, you decide that using your hairdryer is necessary today. This 10-minute blow dry will equate to around £9 per year if you were to use a hairdryer daily.

Then, you find out your dishwasher wasn't turned on the night before. You check that it’s a full load and remember to use the eco setting so it will use less power to heat the water. You turn it on, feeling good that it uses less energy than washing dishes by hand. 

Using your dishwasher will cause a significant spike in electricity consumption, contributing to 8% of your electricity bill. On average, one load uses around 1.5 kWh. Running it overnight will be greener as the grid is less carbon-intensive and if you have a time-of-use tariff, it would be cheaper too.

➡️ Go to Track view by tapping on the lightning icon at the bottom of the screen and bring your energy use to life! How much does your morning routine add to your energy bill? Tap on ‘Day’ to find out. 

Afternoon 

Today is one of your work-from-home days. You know you could be using 25% more electricity throughout the day than when you’re in the office. So, once you’ve finished, you’re quick to turn off your monitors and laptop charger at the plug. 

These appliances left plugged in contribute to your  Phantom Load, our name for the electricity used by appliances switched on or on standby, quietly using energy without you realising. It also applies to the things you know are on but don’t know what they’re costing - like smart speakers, and the things you switch on and forget about - like extra fridges.

Wasted electricity makes up around 30% of the average household bill. Identifying and rethinking how you use these appliances is a simple way to save energy. 

➡️ Slay the Phantom! Tap on the Tick icon at the bottom of the screen and tap on ‘Optimise your Phantom Load’. See what wasted energy is costing you and the ways to cut it.

Evening

You’re ready to start making dinner. You avoid the oven as you know this can cost around £57 a year to run and choose your air fryer. This is the quicker and cheaper alternative. Your 1,000W air fryer costs just 12p to run for 30 minutes. However, an A-rated electric oven would cost around 17p. 

Then, after your long day, you sit down in front of the TV. Being mindful of your Phantom Load, you switch it off at the wall when you’re done watching. With modern electronics, the amount you’ll save by turning off your TV is small in comparison to big energy stealers that are left on all the time, either intentionally or accidentally. But, it all adds up and this change alone could save you just over £33 on your yearly bill.

Time to go to bed…don’t forget to turn the lights off! Lighting makes up 11% of a typical electricity bill. You’ve already swapped all your lightbulbs to super-efficient LEDs, so you feel good that you’re using 90% less energy than traditional bulbs. 

As you’re going upstairs, you glance at your smart meter in-home display to check you’re at your baseline usage and there isn’t anything on that doesn’t need to be.

➡️ Have you swapped to LEDs yet? See what you can save with our calculator. Simply tap the Tick icon at the bottom of the screen and tap on ‘Optimise your Appliances’.

Weekend

You’re spending the weekend at home, tackling lots of household chores during the day and an evening of socialising with friends. 

Tasks such as cleaning the dust off your radiators, and defrosting your freezer, are great to improve the efficiency of your appliances. However, when it comes to vacuuming, doing the laundry, and mowing the lawn, you keep an eye on your usage - these big energy-hungry appliances can add up.

Whilst you know you can’t avoid using these appliances, you make some simple changes to the way you use them, starting by using your vacuum and washing machine on their eco modes to minimise the amount of energy they need to use. You also wash your clothes at 30 degrees which uses 40% less energy than at higher temperatures, this saves you £22, and you wait until having a full load to run. You then swap the tumble dryer in favour of the clothesline to benefit from the natural warmth of the sun. Using a vented or condenser tumble dryer could add around £117 a year to your bill.

Although you can’t do much to improve the efficiency of mowing the lawn, or other similar non-discretionary tasks, just understanding what this is costing you helps you judge the impact it will have on your monthly bill. Not only will it give you the awareness to make informed decisions about how you use them, but it will also help you to avoid bill shock at the end of the month. 

Now it’s time to relax and socialise. Making the most of the sunny day, it’s time to use the hot tub! You know that even the most energy-efficient hot tub can set you back £50 a month, so you’ve placed it in an area of your garden away from the wind to help maintain a warmer temperature. You’ve also been keeping it covered with a thermal cover. 

➡️ How does your energy use compare to other households? Look at your bi-weekly Loop email to see your usage summary. See if you’re a high, medium, or low user.

➡️ Look over your household’s energy usage over the last week on the Loop app. What days and times did you spend the most? Which changes could you make that would cut your consumption?

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