Seven appliances to switch off ahead of Easter to save money

SWITCHING off a number of appliances at your home can be the easiest way to cut your energy costs as the weather gets warmer.

Leaving everyday items plugged into the walls or on standby could add hundreds of pounds to your bill.

1

But some of them can be easily turned off as they won’t be needed in the coming warmer months.

Ahead of the Easter week heatwave, we reveal the top seven appliances you should switch off to save money.

Heating

As the average temperature becomes higher and there’s more hours of daylight, heating devices can easily be switched off to save costs.

Experts said March 27 was the official day you should turn your heating off.

Jordan Chance, a heating expert from PlumbNation told The Sun previously: “Having the heating on only as and when you need it, is the best way to save energy.

“As the weather gradually begins to turn warmer, more and more people are keeping their heating on for shorter amounts of time.”

Now it could be time to retire your radiator and turn off the thermostat as the weather warms up.

If you don’t want to turn off your heating completely, changing the setting on your thermostat can also help you slash your energy bill.

We previously explained the exact temperature to set it at so that you can save cash and stay warm.

Tumble dryer

You might have been putting your tumble dryer to good use during winter when it’s hard to air dry your clothes.

But it might be time to switch it off as the warm weather approaches.

If you’re a bigger family doing three loads of washing a week and and piling it into the dryer, you’ll be spending £154 a year.

By ditching your tumble dryer during the warmer months, you could be saving around £52.

Uswitch energy expert Justina Miltienyte said: “Putting it on the washing line is free.

“Your clothes will take longer to dry on the line if they are dripping wet, so use your washing machine’s spin cycle to squeeze out the excess water.”

Another way to reduce your tumble dryer use is by doing an extra 10 minute spin in the washing machine first to get it drier beforehand.

We also reveal the cheapest time to wash and dry clothes to save money on energy bills – if you’re on the right tariff.

Electric towel rail

An electric towel rail can warm up your towels or help dry your clothes, but you might able to cut down your usage as the weather becomes warmer.

Smart meter data analyst Loop says it costs £176 to run annually so turning it off can be a good way of saving energy.

Microwave

Switching off your microwave after every use is another way you could save cash.

This is because they are seen as “vampire” appliances – draining energy unnecessarily, even when not in use.

Energy Saving Trust also says that a microwave is one of the appliances that will “eat up electricity” when left on standby.

Unplug it from the walls and you could save money on your energy bill.

If you’ve got any garden parties planned for the Easter weekend, you might be considering plugging in a second fridge.

But putting your drinks in a bucket of ice could be more cost effective.

An extra fridge, particularly one that goes unused most of the time, could be adding £99 a year to your energy bill, according to Loop.

Outdoor lighting

As the evenings get lighter, you can easily cut down on any lamps or lighting you use around the home and garden.

Outdoor lights can be useful if you are arriving home in the dark or sitting in the garden until late, and they can pretty up your property too.

But they’re not without cost. Loops says that having two 60watt outside lights on for 10 hours a night could add £125 a year to your energy bills.

That doesn’t mean you do should do away with security lights, of course. But you could consider having them on a timer so they’re not sitting on standby and using energy during daylight hours.

TV

TV is one of the most energy-hungry devices in the house when left on standby.

A telly uses 40 watts of energy when it’s being used, but still wants 10 watts when it’s sitting in standby.

That means it costs you 3.7p if you’re watching your TV for five hours, but it’ll still cost you 4.45p a day if it’s unused by sitting in standby mode, adding up to £16.24 over a year.

“Many wrongly assume that turning off via the remote switches it off entirely – however this isn’t always the case, ” Natalia Lachim from Discount Code told the The Mirror.

“Games consoles tend to be left switched on and plugged in as much as TVs and are often overlooked.”

More on household appliances , a money-saving expert has explained the five things in your kitchen that are pushing up energy bills and how to save costs.

Also, here are four energy tweaks you can make in warmer weather to slash £1,740 off your bill.

Elsewhere, we explain the latest energy bill help you can get including £200 loan and £150 council tax rebate.

This post first appeared on thesun.co.uk