HOUSEHOLDS bad energy habits could be adding a whopping £117 to their bills each year.

You could be losing out on huge amounts of cash each year by picking up bad daily habits at home which waste energy.

Find out if youre wasting cash with bad energy habits

According to the comparison and switching service Uswitch.com, nearly all households (96%) admit to having at least one bad energy habit that could be costing them money.

For example, they admitted to regularly leaving lights on, running appliances for longer than they need, and failing to turn them off at the plug when they are not in use.

Energy expert at Uswitch Elise Melville said: Energy bills are on the rise as winter arrives, so now is a good time to think about improving your energy habits to save money.

“Occasionally leaving the lights on or overfilling the kettle could be forgiven now and then, but if these bad habits are the norm, you could be adding hundreds to your energy bill unnecessarily.

The expert also recommended that households download the free Uswitch mobile app to track how much energy they are using

It can connect to your smart meter if you have one, showing you which parts of your home are eating up the most energy and showing you where to start limiting your usage.

Its especially important for households to be conscious of their energy usage this winter as the energy price cap rose by 10% this month.

Learning small ways to reduce your consumption is a useful method to lessen the financial burden this winter and could save you as much as £117 across the year.

To find out which bad energy habits you need to scrap, keep reading.

Using the tumble dryer on a sunny day

When it comes to tumble dryers and other white goods, Elise recommended: using the eco mode and running them only when full to keep costs down.

But there are also many instances when you shouldnt be using your tumble dryer at all like if its hot outside.

According to the Uswitch survey, 42% of households admitted to doing this.

A tumble dryer which uses 2.5kWh of energy per cycle costs 61p, and if you have multiple people living in your house and do three cycles a week, this might cost around £95 over a year.

Uswitch said this is £29.54 more cash than you need to be spending annually.

To stop the drain on your energy bill you should maximise good weather by drying your clothes for free on a washing line.

Other ways to save on tumble dryer expenses include heated airers which can dry clothes in the winter for a low cost if placed in the right part of your home.

Letting the hot shower run while youre not in it

Most of us like to wait before getting in the shower to give the water some time to warm up.

But 39% of households admitted to leaving the shower running even when it was hot.

This costs households an average of £19.41 extra on bills every year.

To cut this cost, always remember to stand by the shower and check when its warm so you can get in straight away.

Money-saving experts recommend you try and keep your normal body shower to under five minutes.

If youd like to reduce your general water wastage from showering, an aerated or regulated shower head could save you around six litres per minute and £40 across the year.

Running the washing machine at 40C or more

Uswitch said that more than two-thirds of households set their washing machine at more than 40C.

By making an easy change to your settings and washing your clothes at 30C, you could save £17 across the year.

To cut these costs its also important to regularly put the appliance on eco mode to save energy.

Running the tumble dryer when its not full

Around half of households also admitted to running the tumble dryer when it was not full.

And by making this change households could save an additional £16 each year.

Which, when combined with your savings on washing machine use, could amount to a grand saving of £40.

Letting the hot tap keep running while washing up

Letting the tap run while youre doing your washing up is pouring money down the drain.

In fact, its adding approximately £10 each year to your annual energy bill.

Over half of households admitted to this bad habit while doing the daily activity.

Uswitch said: A running hot tap can waste 100 litres in just ten minutes, also wasting 20p in energy costs.

Households that do this one a week could run up an additional £10 a year.

Its better to run a certain amount into a washing up bowl so you can see how much youre using, or turn the tap on just to wet your sponge.

Leaving lights on when not in the room

Nearly three-fifths (58%) of households leave the lights on when no one is in the room, which could add nearly £8 to annual bills.

Switching off lights is an easy thing to do, but can sometimes escape your mind when youre in a rush.

Its worth always checking the rooms of your house before you leave or go to sleep at night as it could save you precious cash.

You can also install energy-saving light bulbs which can save £55 yearly compared to normal bulbs.

Running the dishwasher when its not full

Running the dishwasher when it’s not full adds an average of nearly £8 a year to energy bills and almost half of households admitted to doing this.

You could also save an additional £16 by putting your appliance in eco mode.

By doing this as well as making sure you have a full dishwasher load, you could save £24 total.

Running the washing machine when its not full

Uswitch also said that half of households admitted to running their washing machine when it was not full.

They said: With washing machines costing households £27 a year on average in electricity, an extra wash every week could add an extra £7 to yearly bills.

If you did this as well as remembering to heat your wash at 30C, you could save £24 each year.

Leaving the TV on when no one is using it

The expert revealed that nearly 20million households admit to leaving the telly on when no one is watching adding £1.61 a year to bills.

Its always worth remembering this one before you leave the house, as wastage could be even more than this if left for long periods of time.

Leaving gadgets on standby

According to the research, 73% of households also admitted to leaving devices on standby, which is when its switched off, but not at the plug, and still uses energy.

And remembering to unplug all electricals which arent being used, you could save up to £6 a year.

Leaving the fridge door open

If you leave the fridge door longer than needed, you could be wasting £1.59 a year.

A third of households admitted to this bad habit which is wasting them unnecessary cash.

By doing this you could also be spoiling food at a quicker rate, meaning youll have to pay more money for extra food shops.

The Sun explained in a recent article the best way to store food in the fridge to save money.

Charging your phone when its reached max battery

Few households will notice that leaving your phone on charge while it has a full battery is wasting energy in your home.

In fact, 73% of households say they do this.

Leaving your phone on a charge like this can also damage your battery health and cause it to die quicker in future.

One way you can fix this is by going to Battery in Settings and turning on Optimised Battery Charging so it automatically stops when it is full.

If your phone doesnt have this feature, make sure you charge it before bed and unplug it before you sleep.

If you turn it off, it will still be full in the morning.

How to save on your energy bills

SWITCHING energy providers can sound like a hassle - but fortunately its pretty straight forward to change supplier - and save lots of cash.

Shop around If youre on an SVT deal you are likely throwing away up to £250 a year. Use a comparion site such as MoneySuperMarket.com, uSwitch or EnergyHelpline.com to see what deals are available to you.

The cheapest deals are usually found online and are fixed deals meaning youll pay a fixed amount usually for 12 months.

Switch When youve found one, all you have to do is contact the new supplier.

It helps to have the following information which you can find on your bill to hand to give the new supplier.

Your postcode Name of your existing supplier Name of your existing deal and how much you payAn up-to-date meter reading

It will then notify your current supplier and begin the switch.

It should take no longer than three weeks to complete the switch and your supply wont be interrupted in that time.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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