Tips and ideas to save you money
Energy Bills too high?
In a recession money saving ideas make even more sense, so here are some energy saving ideas to help ease your bills.
Energy saving light bubs: There is no question that these save you money but don’t but from the Chinese or 100 peseta shops. Buy a reputable brand or from somewhere that has high quality products.
The new LED ones are spectacularly cheap to run but still quite expensive to buy here in Spain.
They use between an eighth and a tenth of the energy incandescent ones use and last a zillion times longer.
Just google “led lightbulbs” to buy online.
Club together with friends to buy more than one to save on shipping costs when you buy online.
Switch lights off if you aren’t in the room.
If you are reading then use a reading lamp rather than having the room lights on. The same apllies for working and playing on your computer, use a desk lamp (with an energy saving bulb of course)
Standby
Standby consumption can account for 5% of your electrical consumption
Just leaving your DVD player or TV or Audio equipment on standby costs you money! Switch them off at the wall.! If your power sockets are behind a wall unit buy a good quality extension lead with an on off switch.
It is a myth that computers “like” to be left switched on.
Neither do screen savers save you energy, they were invented to stop an image being burned onto the screen of the old CRT type monitors. Switch off at the wall!
If you are doing a big download or burning a CD why not switch the monitor off?
Washing machines and dishwashers can also sit using power after they have finished their job. Switch them off!
Save your washing or washing up to make a full load. One full load uses less energy than 2 half loads!
It can get quite chilly on a night in the winter even here in Nerja so at dusk close your curtains (good quality curtains will help keep the heat out in the summer as well as warm in the winter) and are a million times cheaper than double glazing.
Mobile phones: only charge them when they need it and remember to unplug the charger afterwards. Some phones now even give you a reminder to do so once they are fully charged.
Do you like tea or coffee? Fill the kettle with just as much water as you need (but remember to cover the element)
Dripping taps a nuisance? Apart from the waste of water if it is your hot tap that is dripping it is costing you energy as well as water.
If your toilet cisterns are the old huge things putting a house brick or two in the cistern can save at least a litre of water every time you flush!
A tip from Debbie:
We use bottled gas for our fire and cooking. When the gas seems to have run out turn the bottle on it’s side you will get at least 6 more hours of gas, when that seems to be running out pour boiling water over bottle and you will get even more out of it.
