Turning off the lights and using an airfryer have been voted the top energy-saving actions to lower bills across the UK in a new poll.
Energy conscious smart meter owners say turning lights off in a room no one’s using is the energy-saving action they believe has saved them the most money since the start of the energy crisis in 2021.
A survey of owners, carried out on behalf of Smart Energy GB, found other top ways people think they have saved money include using air fryers instead of the oven (26%), and washing clothes at a lower temperature (25%).
On the other hand, energy-saving behaviours such as turning off plugs and devices rather than leaving them on standby (17%), not leaving devices charging overnight (14%), and only boiling the water you need in the kettle (12%) were voted as having less impact, saving people less money.
With energy bills having fallen by more than £200 per year on average on 1 April due to a reduction in the energy price cap, over half (52%) of respondents said they have invested financially in energy-saving measures in the last three years.
While the energy crisis has been difficult for many people across the country, almost six in ten smart meter owners say their understanding of their energy use and costs has improved since the crisis began in 2021 (59%).
Personal finance expert Lynn Beattie, aka Mrs Mummypenny, said: “It’s hard to know what energy-saving looks like without the gimmicks.
“It’s important to keep in mind that while one energy saving habit may not put a big dent in your energy bill, when you stack these habits up together, they can make a real difference, and the best way to keep track of this is through your smart meter’s in-home display.”
People are finding the in-home display (IHD) that comes with their smart meter increasingly useful; nine in ten (90%) find their IHD useful, and almost two thirds say the information it displays has helped them to reduce their energy usage.
With the National Grid ESO’s Demand Flexibility Service coming to an end for this winter on March 31st, almost two in five (39%) smart meter owners say they have taken part in initiatives like this that reward you for using less energy at certain times of the day, and almost nine in ten (89%) would take part again.
The top reasons why respondents enjoyed participating in these initiatives are being rewarded for changing their energy habits (54%), the challenge of saving energy (47%), and feeling like they are part of something bigger across the country (32%).
Victoria Bacon, from Smart Energy GB, said: “It’s clear that people across the country have a really strong sense of which energy saving habits work. It’s great to see that they are finding their smart meter in-home display increasingly useful as a tool to help manage their household finances.
“Smart meters allow you to access flexible energy schemes that offer rewards for using energy outside of peak hours.”
