Uswitch published an updated version of its guide, "104 energy saving tips for your home", on 14 October 20251. The guide is written by Ben Gallizzi, its senior content editor for energy and electric vehicles, and sets out tips categorised by room, from the living room to the utility room1.
The guide states that homes in England and Wales only have an Energy Performance Certificate rating of Band D on average, citing Uswitch's own energy saving statistics1. Among the figures it gives, turning appliances off at the plug is put at up to £45 per year, and limiting hot water use at around £27 per year1. It says keeping shower time down to four minutes can save residents in Great Britain up to £60 per year, and that swapping one bath per week for a four-minute shower could save £101. Turning a thermostat down by a single degree is given as a saving of as much as £90 per year, and turning a boiler's flow temperature down to 60 degrees is said to improve its efficiency by around 4%1.
Several tips carry smaller sums. Avoiding overfilling the kettle is put at £10 a year on electricity bills, reducing dishwasher use by one run each week at £11 a year, and a new hot water cylinder insulation jacket, with a recommended thickness of 80mm, at £40 a year1. Draught-proofing is given as approximately £85 per year, plus £60 if a chimney is draught-proofed1. On lighting, the guide says LEDs use a quarter of the energy of incandescents and can last up to 25 times longer, and that they consume around a quarter less electricity than incandescent bulbs without any reduction in brightness1.
The guide also covers appliances and cooking. It says an energy-efficient 32-inch LCD will tend to use 50% less power than a 42-inch plasma screen, and that in most new TVs energy usage on standby is typically below one watt1. It notes over 22.5 hours of TV watched by the average British household per week in 20201. On ovens, it states that each time the door is opened the oven loses up to 25 degrees of heat1. It says a quarter of a home's heat is lost through the roof as warm air rises1.
Why it matters for households
The guide's figures are annual running-cost estimates for individual measures rather than a single household total, and they are drawn from a range of sources including the Energy Saving Trust1. For a household looking at where its energy independence starts, the pattern in the numbers is that the largest quoted sums attach to heating and hot water: the thermostat, the boiler flow temperature, draught-proofing and shower length, rather than to small appliances1. The guide's own framing is that some measures are quick and easy while others need significant investment of money and time, which it says should be offset by the impact of those measures1. It also notes that energy comparison and switching is back, but that even households that cannot switch can still act at home1. The Band D average rating for homes in England and Wales indicates where the existing housing stock sits on efficiency1.
What happens next
No further update date or revision schedule for the guide has been reported1.
Sources1 cited
- 104 energy saving tips for your home - Uswitch, uswitch.com