At home, there are possibilities to think about how you can reduce energy in every room, but how can you keep energy usage low in your living room? From insulation to energy-efficient lighting, let’s dive into what steps you can carry into your home and find energy saving tips for Spring too.
Insulation
Before thinking about other solutions in keeping energy bills low, ask yourself if your home is insulated well. This can include wall, loft and floor insulation. Although these can be a little expensive and are no quick fix, perhaps you are looking for smaller ways of keeping your home insulated. Switching to heavy curtains with additional lining is one way that heat is kept inside your home. Remember to avoid keeping any furniture directly in front of your radiators, and hide the curtains behind rather than in front too!
Carpets and rugs can also help reduce any heat loss in your home, by insulating your floor. If you already have carpet, then you are already at an advantage, But, if you have wooden or laminate following, perhaps adding a rug to your room will help reduce any loss of heat from the floor. Wool rugs are the best option if you are considering this!
Lighting
The living room is where you may spend the most time in your home, sitting watching TV at the end of the day. So, thinking about how you can use energy efficient lighting in your living room is a must. If you tend to use ceiling lights or lamps, check that these are energy-saving light bulbs with a low wattage. LED light bulbs have been a popular choice, in replacement of the conventional lightbulb.
To reduce energy usage and also create a softer setting in your living room, fitting a dimmer switch may help reduce your energy bills. If you want to avoid using any lighting completely, perhaps you would like to switch to battery powered lamps or even candles.
When the sun is out, which we know is a rare occurrence in the UK, take advantage of this and use it to heat your home during the day. Opening your curtains will allow any available sunlight to heat up your living room. Plus, when the sun sets, close your curtains to retain the heat stored throughout the day.
Avoid Standby
If you have any appliances in your living room, avoid leaving these on standby, which can lead to wasted energy usage. Although it may only be minor, switching off your TV or other appliances is a good habit to carry. Older appliances can eat up energy a lot more than newer appliances. Of course, you may not be able to replace all your old appliances at once, but this is something to consider.
