Home gadgets that can save you money on your bills
Written by
Tuesday 1st November 2022
As the cost-of-living crisis rumbles on, we’ve done some digging to see what gadgets you could introduce into your home to save you money on your energy bills. Some of the savings may seem small, but when all added together, the long-term the savings could be significant.
Electric blanket
The classic electric blanket is having a bit of a comeback at the moment. In fact, in a recent survey, 21% of people told us that they either already owned or were intending to buy an electric blanket to get them through the tough winter months.
How much can I save?
Of course, this does depend on how much energy is used to run your specific brand and what you pay for your electric, but according to SleepSeeker, the average amount you can save from using an electric blanket instead of central heating for 8 hours is £20.53.
Radiator reflectors
These nifty and cheap-to-buy little rolls of foil can make a massive difference to the amount of heat that is wasted through external walls. You simply pop a panel behind the radiator and it reflects the heat back into the room instead of it getting lost to the cold wall. Genius.
How much can I save?
According to HomeBuilding.co.uk, the simple installation of these sheets could save you £2.75 per radiator, per year. Granted, this doesn’t sound like much, but when they only cost a few quid, it’s a saving you really can’t afford to be missing out on.
Air fryer
Our recent poll revealed that 54% of people have an air fryer and a further 27% are interested in getting one, but are they worth the hype? Well aside from making delicious and nutritious meals for all the family, they can also save you some money.
How much can I save?
It depends what size air fryer you have, but generally speaking they are much cheaper than a conventional oven as they heat up more quickly and need to heat a smaller area.
Heated clothes horse
When the weather turns and we can no longer rely on fresh air and sunshine to dry our clothes, we need a cost-effective alternative. But having the heating on for hours or worse, using a tumble dryer can be very costly. But what about a heated drying rack?
How much can I save?
Based on USwitch’s calculations, a heated clothes horse could save £84.86 a year versus the cost of a tumble dryer – a significant saving and well worth looking into.
Tumble dryer balls
For those times you need to use the tumble dryer, these simple additions will help reduce the time needed. Not so much a gadget, but these little balls, usually made of wool, allow for the heat of the tumble dryer to be distributed more evenly and retain the heat in the drum for longer, reducing the total amount of drying time.
How much can I save?
According to the experts at Everything Homes, the drying time can be reduced by up to 25% just from dropping in a couple of small balls which cost next to nothing to buy.
Insulated flask
This one might seem deceptively simple, but a good flask can keep boiling water hot for hours, meaning fewer kettle boils in a day of working from home.
How much can I save?
According to Ideal Home, the average cost of boiling a litre of water is 6.5p, which sounds like nothing, but if you’re doing this multiple times a day, every day, even that cost can rack up.
We hope you’ve found some of these tips useful. We know it may seem like small savings, but they really do add up, so make sure you’re keeping an eye on things and implementing small changes over the long-term.
Written by
Stephanie Reid is a financial services expert with over eight years of experience writing money-saving articles at Novuna Personal Finance. She has written hundreds of articles on a variety of topics including interior design, home improvements and weddings - with a keen eye for spotting money-saving opportunities and passing these tips onto readers. As a mum of two, Stephanie knows how important budgeting effectively is for parents and often incorporates family budgeting tips into her guides.