A MONEY SAVING expert has revealed how vacuuming your fridge could cut your energy bills by up to 25 per cent.
Consumer champion at Which, Emily Seymour, who regularly shares her tips online, said there are “three easy things you can do” to reduce energy consumption in your home.
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Speaking to 5Live, she said: “At Which? we have been spending the last couple of months really focusing on what should the government be doing and what should energy companies be doing.
“Which of course is really important, but I think it is worth people remembering that there are lots you can do at home if you are worried about your energy bills, which we all are.
“To try and make sure we are using everything in our houses as efficiently as we are and keeping those bills down as much as we can.”
Firstly, she said it’s important to consider how you can use your home appliances more efficiently.
“When you think about all the big electricity drawers in your house, most of those are going to be white goods, your fridge, a freezer, a washer machine – those kinds of things,” she said.
“And those are all things that we use a little bit kind of casually you know – washing machines and dishwashers especially. You can try and make sure you are using them a little bit less, maybe running them full up to the max rather than sort of as and when you need them.”
She noted that one of the main perpetrators is the fridge freezer which has the potential to add as much as £150 a year to your bill if maintained poorly.
We previously detailed how some of the most common mistakes, like leaving the door open, or creating a mini ice age in the freezer tray, will only push up the prices you’ve got to pay each month.
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And Emily believes that vacuuming your fridge is one of the best methods of stopping your appliance from using up unnecessary energy.
She said: “There are filters on the side of your fridge which are bringing air in and out and helping the refrigeration process.”
“If you make sure you vacuum those, clean the dust out you can make them about 25 per cent more efficient – fridge freezers use quite a lot of energy, they are on all the time, it is pretty energy-intensive to cool things down.
“I thought that was quite a good one, just going around your house and making sure everything is working as efficiently as they can.”
Regarding other tips, she also suggested switching to an air fryer or a microwave instead of an oven if you are cooking smaller portions.
“If you think about it, ovens use a lot of energy and a lot of electricity to heat quite a big space, so if you are cooking something that is really small, putting it into a smaller space like an air fryer or a microwave, you have a look at them, you might find that they are more energy efficient to use because they are heating a much smaller space,” she said.
“That’s not necessarily true for every appliance but if you have a smart meter with a device that shows you your energy uses. I would say it is worth doing a little test if you have chips that you frequently cook or something like that.
“Just to have a look at the different appliances that you have got and see which one is using the most energy as you might see that the whole process of heating up the oven, cooking whatever it is. The oven working at full potential just for a small amount of food could be the least efficient way of doing it.”
Emily added that people need to prepare for winter by ensuring that homes remain “cosy and air tight.”
“Once we get into winter again and people’s thermostats start coming on and people’s heaters are on – that is really where the most of your energy goes,” she said.
“I would just say that electricity and the appliances are worth having a look at but actually, when it comes to it sourcing out your central heating – making sure your boiler is operating as efficiently as it can – if you haven’t had a boiler service yet this year, book that in as that can be a really good way to make sure that is operating efficiently.
“Only heat the rooms that actually need to be heated and just get all that draft proofing in place and make sure your home is nice and cosy before we get into the winter – that is going to be the big one.”
