1. Turn down the thermostat
For each degree you cut the thermostat, expect to cut bills by 4%, or about £65 a year on average for a typical home.
With the recent rise in the energy price cap, Ofgem has warned energy bills are set to increase by 54% this April.
As energy costs rise and with inflation reaching its highest record level since 1992, now is a perfect time to reflect on how much your house may be costing you and how downsizing to an Audley property could save you money on your energy – leaving you to spend your money on enjoying retirement.
British Gas estimates the average energy bill by house size from 1st April will be:
| Gas and electricity usage | Average annual consumption | Average annual cost** | Average monthly cost** |
| Low (flat or 1-bedroom house / 1-2 people) | Gas: 8,000 kWh Elec: 1,800 kWh | £1364.20 | £113.69 |
| Medium (3-bedroom house / 2-3 people) | Gas: 12,000 kWh Elec: 2,900 kWh | £1970.57 | £164.22 |
| High (5-bedroom house / 4-5 people) | Gas: 17,000 kWh Elec: 4,300 kWh | £2735.61 | £227.97 |
** Electricity unit rate 28.34p per kWh plus standing charge of 45.34p per day and gas unit rate 7.37p per kWh plus standing charge of 27.22p per day. Rates effective from 1st April 2022
Older properties with large unused rooms, single glazing or uninsulated lofts and walls all contribute to higher energy bills. Energy Performance Certificates (EPC) show how energy-efficient a property is with a grade rating of A being the best and most energy-efficient and G being the worst. The average EPC rating for a home in the UK is D which means there are improvements that can be made to the majority of homes to help save property owners money on their bills, and lessen their environmental impact. To discover how energy efficient your current home is and what improvements can be made, find the latest EPC for your home.
Moving to a new build Audley property could not only save you time in maintenance but also your monthly bills, for example at Audley Stanbridge Earls in Romsey the current average monthly energy bill is £70 (electricity and gas) with an average EPC rating of B.
At Audley all the new build retirement properties have double glazed windows, insulation in the walls and between the floors and all these features help you keep the thermostat down. Additionally, we fit low energy lighting to help with energy efficiency.
If you are looking to downsize but would like to save money in the mean-time, Money Saving Expert shares their top energy saving tips to help keep costs down:
3. Water saving shower head
Whilst it might not look like much, updating your shower head to a newer, water-saving model can reduce the volume of water used by half, but still ensure you have an enjoyable showering experience.
In the UK each person, on average, uses 142 litres of water per day. Consider a household of 4 or 5 people and this rises to over 500 litres of water used each day.
4. Energy-saving light bulbs
Lighting makes up 15% of the average UK household electricity consumption. Replacing all the bulbs in your home with LED lights could reduce your carbon dioxide emissions up to 40kg a year – equivalent to the carbon dioxide emitted by driving your car around 140 miles!
Making your home more energy-efficient can become quite time consuming and even energy-saving initiatives such as solar panels can come with large initial upfront costs, so the reward for decreasing your energy usage can be a long wait. It can take months, if not years to recoup the costs. If you would like to find out more about our new build retirement properties, and to see if downsizing your home could help save you money on your energy costs, discover one of our luxury retirement villages.
