What raises electricity bills the most?

Written by Marc Howe

Rising energy bills are something we’re all facing at the moment. As the colder weather and longer nights set in, we find ourselves cranking up the heating and reaching for the light switches, but is there anything you can do to reduce your energy bills?

What uses the most energy in my Aylesbury home?

With rising energy costs, it’s no wonder people are starting to question which appliances consume the most energy. But many of the heaviest energy consumers are things that we simply cannot live without.

Uswitch.com says one of the biggest consumers of energy is taking a shower: an electric shower costs on average £3.72 per week per household when used for 87.6 minutes – the average amount of time a shower is used per week in the UK. Gas-heated showers aren’t much better, costing £1.48 per week.

Using energy consumption figures for 2020 published by Gov.uk national statistics, we can calculate that fridges and freezers consume on

average 370 kWh per household per year. Washing machines use a further 250 kWh, lighting accounts for 336 kWh, and cooking uses a significant 457 kWh.

Just those four everyday household appliances alone account for more than half of the average annual electric bill.

What can I do to make my Buckinghamshire home more energy-efficient?

Following common money-saving tips such as unplugging your phone charger when not in use or turning appliances off at the mains rather than leaving them on standby might help reduce annual energy bills, but don’t expect to make huge savings from doing that alone.

If you are serious about making your Aylesbury home more energy efficient, Double Glazing Direct can help by improving your home’s thermal efficiency. In a poorly insulated house, the energy you’re paying for can literally disappear out of the window.

According to Energy Saving Trust, 18% of heat loss occurs through poorly insulated windows. Single-glazing windows lose heat around twice as fast as double-glazing, and the latest triple-glazing windows offer even greater energy savings.

Heat can also be lost through your walls, floor, and roof. Adding cavity wall insulation, insulating floors, and improving loft insulation or converting a conservatory roof are all effective ways to keep heat trapped in your living spaces and improve your home’s thermal efficiency.

Energy-efficient window materials

Modern windows are a great investment for those who want to reduce their energy bills now and for the future too. Our range of energy-efficient windows are available with double-glazing or triple-glazing to bring noise reduction, added security, and improved energy efficiency to your Buckinghamshire home.

What are energy ratings?

All windows have an energy rating. Three factors are considered when awarding a window’s energy rating: its thermal transmittance (how well it keeps your house warm), air leakage, and the window’s ability to receive solar energy. The best windows are rated ‘A++’, with the worst performers rated ‘E’. At Double Glazing Direct, all of our windows are rated ‘A’ or higher.

Double Glazing

To help improve a home’s thermal efficiency, a double-glazed window uses two separate panes of glass in a sealed unit. Each pane of glass is separated by a vacuum or the void is filled with argon or krypton gas. Since the gas used has a significantly lower thermal conductivity than air, it helps keep the warm air trapped inside your home, and therefore means your heating doesn’t need to work so hard to maintain temperature.

The window is also strengthened and improves security by adding a second pane of glass.

Triple Glazing

Triple glazing takes double glazing one step further by adding a third pane of glass. Again the individual panes are separated by either a vacuum or filled with inert gas.

Triple glazing was first invented in the 1930s, but it wasn’t until the 1970s that it became widespread in chilly Scandinavian nations. Our triple-glazed windows can achieve U-values as low as 0.8, allowing for improved energy efficiency, heating costs, and noise reduction qualities of standard double glazing.

Take your time and browse through our triple-glazing brochure to design the home of your dreams with ease. For more information, visit our downloads section.

Frame materials

The glass is just one part of the overall window package, and to take full advantage of the thermal-efficient properties of double-glazing or triple-glazing, the window frame needs to be energy efficient too.

Our multi-chambered uPVC windows or our thermally advanced aluminium window frames, allow triple-glazed windows to trap more heat inside your home and provide less opportunity for that to escape. That makes them ideal for homeowners looking to improve the energy-efficiency of their house.

You can view our complete range of uPVC and aluminium sash, casement or flush windows online. Or you can speak to one of our team for expert advice on which upgrade is right for you.

Is it worth putting a tiled roof on a conservatory?

A conservatory roof with a Guardian Warm Roof will use up to 30% less energy than a traditional roof, making it a great option for conservatories that are in the home as an extra space but also need heating during cold winter months.

One of the other benefits of using a Guardian Warm Roof is that there is no need for frost protection. This means conservatory roofs can be designed in any style or colour and still look beautiful and stay warm.

You can enhance your conservatory and make it an integral part of your home rather than a separate area with our Guardian roof replacements. We can replace Victorian, Edwardian, P-Shape, Gable-Ended, and Lean-to conservatory roof styles with improved privacy and reduced noise and glare from the sun. Should you need them, we can also develop totally custom roof designs.

Tiled Conservatory Roofs in Aylesbury

Our experienced team of experts will take care of everything for you, frequently avoiding the need for planning permission. With a warming conservatory roof replacement from Double Glazing Direct, you can maximize the enjoyment of outdoor living.

Improving your building’s energy performance has the potential to increase your property’s value, so quality property improvements never sacrifice on thermal efficiency. It has been independently demonstrated that a Guardian Warm Roof can make significant cost savings on your energy bills, with options of long-lasting Guardian™ slates, natural-appearing Tapco slates, contemporary Metrotiles, and stunning Fakro roof windows.

There are a few other benefits to consider when choosing a Guardian Warm Roof over traditional roofs such as the fact that it will last an average of 25 years compared to 10-12 years with a traditional roof, and there is no need for any additional insulation.

How much will energy bills be in 2023?

The recent and drastic increases in energy prices are causing many UK households to question their energy consumption, with many homeowners asking ‘why is my electricity bill so high suddenly?’

The UK Government has offered some protection by way of its Energy Price Guarantee, which reduces the unit cost of gas and electricity to mean that homes with typical usage (12,000 kWh of gas, and 2900 kWh of electricity per year) will pay no more than £2500 for their combined annual energy bill.

But that rate increases in April 2023, rising to mean that homes with typical usage will pay £3000 per year. That rate will remain in effect until at least April 2024.

That’s better than the predicted £3700 per year that experts say we would have been facing without the Energy Price Guarantee, but it still means the average energy bill has nearly tripled since October 2020.

Start saving money on your energy bills in Aylesbury today

With energy prices looking to remain at high levels for the foreseeable future, now is the perfect time to improve your home’s energy efficiency. Contact Double Glazing Direct now to find out how to reduce your energy bills with our comprehensive range of energy-efficient windows and Guardian Warm Roof options, and start saving on those energy bills.

Call us on 01296 320252 or drop us a message with your requirements and one of our friendly team of experts will be happy to help.

 

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