Households can save almost £500 each Winter on utility bills with these tips

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Published 5th Oct 2022, 12:34 BST

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Households can reduce their utility bills by close to £500 per year by making small changes to the way they use all their  appliances, say the  Association of Manufacturers of Domestic Appliances (AMDEA).

By simply always using the ‘eco-cycle’ on their washing machines and dishwashers, they can save an average of over £90 a year. Taking a similar approach to  the savings offered by all their essential appliances, householders can reduce their annual bills by around 20 per cent says AMDEA.

Washing on ‘eco’ is  one of  many easy ways to reduce utility bills, outlined on “Know Watt’s What”, a website providing  expert advice direct from the appliance manufacturers, to help households save money using the energy efficient features in  the 156 million appliances installed in our homes.

“Know Watt’s What” highlights many potential ways to save, including:

  • £54 per year by using the eco mode for every laundry load.
  • £37 per year by always using  the eco mode on a dishwasher
  • £58 a year choose rating ‘D’ over ‘G’ if  replacing a fridge freezer.
  • £130 using a heat pump dryer instead of a condenser tumble dryer
  • £108 a year  just by ensuring the families daily shower is no longer than 5 minutes
  • £33 a year by cooking a baked potato in a microwave once a week rather than the oven.
  • £20 a year using the fan rather than the conventional setting on an oven.
  • £57 a year if you rely on sensor technology to detect half load washes.
  • And a surprising £280 a year on a twice-weekly cappuccino fix if you dust  off your coffee machine to be your own barista.

The recommendations come as everyone braces for higher energy bills from 1 October. Even with the most recent changes to the price caps, at 34p/kWh  electricity charges will be 80 per cent higher than a year ago (18.9p/kWh) and despite government guarantees,  the more homes use the more they will be charged – reducing is a priority.

The keys to savings  are using the design features better, choosing energy efficient replacements and preserving the appliances’ performance with good maintenance.

Currently, the vast majority of users ignore the eco settings on their washing machines. Research for AMDEA found that less than one third of the machines that offer this programme are always used on this se