Last updated: 25/11/20
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Unexpectedly high energy bills can hit students hard, as increased bills lead to making huge sacrifices on essentials like food!
Beyond this, arguments in student households become more intense as constant battles over the thermostat settings and the length of showers become a weekly occurrence. Not to mention a collective hatred for that housemate who sits in all day using enough electricity to power a small village.
Luckily, there are a few handy tips and tricks that you can use meaning that you can live in perfect harmony with your housemates as well as saving a fair bit of cash along the way.
Use the library
You pay for it, why not use it to its full advantage. Most university libraries have the heating pumped up full during winter and you never know, you might even get some work done while you’re there…
Ditch the shorts
If you live in a student house where people walk round in shorts all day during winter then things have to change. You’re not on holiday and nobody wants to see your knobbly knees.
There’s no better money saving tip than simply wrapping up warm. Grab some thick socks, a pair of comfortable trousers and make use of that huge jacket that you bought but never wear out of the house (due to it being soooo last year).
Check that meter
The majority of energy companies charge a direct debit based on how much energy the previous tenants used. You never know, they may have been excessive users which could result in you overpaying or on the flip side you could end up underpaying each month which can leave you with a hefty bill at the end of the year.
The best way to make sure you are paying for what you use is by supplying your energy companies with meter readings each month.
Always do a full load
We’re talking about the washing machine and, if you’re lucky, the dishwasher. Always make sure that you load both of these up to the brim before running a wash.
If you must share a load with a flatmate it’s not the end of the world. Pro tip, you can also buy something called a Colour Catcher meaning that you can wash colours and whites together.
Turn out the lights
No, we’re not talking about that awesome Nelly Furtado song. Turn out the lights literally means what it says.
There’s no need to leave the lights on all night so that the mice can find their way around and the same goes for daylight hours. Open the curtains and get some sun…
Turn down the thermostat
This may sound like an obvious option but not many students know that by shifting the temperature down by just 1 degree you could save 10% on your bill.
You won’t find many people arguing over just 1 degree and you never know you could try taking it down a degree every month to see if anyone notices.
Obviously there’s 100s of tips out there for reducing your energy bill but hopefully the ones above will start you off on the right track and get you in the mood for even more savings.
This post was contributed by Jake Butler from Save the Student.