Home appliances are responsible for most of a household’s energy use.

There are many simple and quick things that can be done to change the amount of energy that you use with your appliances in the home.

When looking for a new appliance, you can compare between their energy efficiency rating simply by looking for the most stars.

Many appliances these days have a standby feature. This allows you to turn the device on or off with your remote control. But this feature comes at a cost both energy and monetary wise. Whilst standby is convenient it does consume power when used.

Having the temperature of your refrigerator or freezer set too low can increase the energy consumed. Fridges should be set to around 3ºC to 4ºC and freezers to -15ºC to -18ºC. A small change in temperature can increase the energy cost substantially since the fridge/freezer is the appliance which is running all the time.

Ovens, fridges and freezers have door seals, which need to form a tight fit for the appliance to work effectively. If these seals are worn or cracked they need to be replaced as they will be leaking either hot or cold air. This then causes the appliance to consume more energy to achieve the same result. To check the seals, hold a sheet of paper while closing the door. If the paper can slide out easily then the seals are not functioning correctly, and should be replaced.

When using a dishwasher, washing machine or dryer to do small loads, consider using the economy program to save water and electricity.

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