A net zero guide to saving money

Easy Home Savings

Our website is full of ways you can save money while helping the South West to become carbon neutral too. But to make it easier, we’ve put them all in this guide for you. They are so simple that you’ll wish you'd have done them before.

Change Provider

Changing your energy provider to a 100% renewable one could save you a considerable amount of money each month. Check out these websites to find out more. 

• Energy help line 
• Big Clean switch
• Money supermarket 
• U switch 

Active Travel

Stop driving everywhere. Can you walk or cycle to where you’re going instead? Electric bikes are great too. You’ll be saving on fuel costs, cutting carbon emissions, and helping your fitness levels.

Switch off

An easy way to save money on electricity is to turn things off that you’re not using, like lights and computers.

LEDs

Switch to LEDs instead of using halogen bulbs. They save up to 80% in their energy use. If you used LEDs for 12 hrs a day then their life span would be 5 yrs and 8 months, whereas you’d be changing a halogen after only 4 months!

Smart Options

Smart thermostats use sensors to gauge how warm your home is, and controls it based on monitoring your heating behaviours. It ensures you are heating your home in the most cost-effective way. Some companies claim they can save you £300 a year! With so many on the market though, it’s definitely worth researching them first.

Smart meters are a great way to monitor your energy costs. They have an in-home display that shows exactly how much energy you’re using, as well as the associated costs. And research shows that homes can have energy savings of 5-20%, so if you plan to switch then check with your current supplier to see if they’re installing in your area. Amazingly you can cut heating bills by 10% simply by reducing your thermostat by 1 degree!

Timer Switches

These are very clever devices and will stop you wasting electricity by charging phones and iPads overnight. You simply plug your chargers into a timer plug to shut them off automatically when you sleep. There are loads of simple gadgets that allow us to set recharge times, thereby reducing electricity bills and saving our batteries in the process!

Don’t Standby

Leaving electrical equipment on standby is like feeding money between the floorboards. Turn off the TV at the wall when you’re not watching it, for example, and have a look for any other little red lights that are winking at you – they are quietly totting up your monthly bills.

Efficient Models

If you need to buy any new electrical appliances, then check Sust-it.net. It will tell you the annual running costs, helping you to choose the most energy efficient models.

Mindful Boiling

When making your (plastic-free!) cuppa, only boil the amount of water you need. It’s costing you around 2p every time you boil a full kettle*. Might not sound like much but that tots up pretty quickly over a month. (* Source: npower.com)

Load it up

Don’t wash half a load of clothes, wait until you’ve got a full one. Or, use the half load setting. Same goes for the dishwasher. You’ll quickly see the difference in your bills.

Save Water

Reduce your water consumption by up to 50% by fitting a tap aerator. They are easy and cheap to fit, won’t reduce your water pressure, but will save you lots of money while you’re saving water.

Stop Heat Loss

A lot of heat is lost from your home, meaning a lot of money being wasted. 25% of heat from your boiler is lost through the roof, 35% will leave through the walls, 10% gets out through the floor, and the rest escapes through your doors and windows. Apply for a Green Homes Grant Scheme and there are also subsidies and grants available for roof and cavity wall insulation. Contact the Home Energy Advice Service for more information. Another simple thing to do is to just close the curtains to keep the heat in, and instead of always turning on the heating when you get chilly, pop on a jumper instead!

Re-usables

Only 50% of our plastic can be recycled, the rest is single use, so it is only ever going to become plastic waste. So, going plastic-free is a great way to seriously help our environment but will also save money too. So, by using your own reusable coffee cup you will save money on coffee. And reusable water bottles provide free water fill ups.

Grow Your Own

If you’ve got green fingers, then by growing your own veg you could save a great deal of money. Courgettes, aubergines and Brussels sprouts are the most cost-effective vegetables to grow, with just one packet of seeds saving you around £149 on average.

Hire don’t buy

Instead of buying expensive bits of equipment that you might only use once, then have a look at the ‘Library of Things’. You can hire everything from tools to sewing machines, and just return them when you’re done. Saves on space, money and helps our planet too.