Thousands of Irish households are struggling with rising electricity and gas bills.
Prices have soared in recent months with many families paying hundreds more for energy than previous years.
While the Government has given billpayers two €200 energy credit and will supply a third one in March, people are still looking at ways to get those bills down even further.
Read More : The one appliance you could stop using today to save €450 this year
Switching can be a good way to save some money but but there are five simple tricks you can do from today without switching that could save you €850 a year, €70 every month.
Switcher.ie has revealed its five handy hacks to start saving right now:
Lighten the load
Shrink your laundry costs by running one less washing machine cycle per week to save €0.43c per week, that's over €22 per year.
Set the temp to 30 degrees and fully load your drum to keep washes to a minimum. If your washing machine has an eco programme, use it to save 30% on energy usage.
Save a further €5.19 per week on your weekly laundry when you ditch the dryer. It's one of the most expensive appliances in our homes, using between 2.5-3 kilowatts per hour (kWh) per hour, so use it sparingly.
Save: €5.62 per week, up to €292.24 per year
Scale back shower time
Reduce your shower time from 15 mins to 10 mins per day and save up to €2.13 per week - a whopping €111 per year. Turn the thermostat down a notch and save even more.
Simply drying your hair for 10 mins, 6 days per week will set you back 0.65c per week. Towel dry for longer and trim drying time to 5 mins to save yourself 0.32c per week and up to €16.64 per year.
Save: €2.45 per week, up to €127.40 per year
Meal replacements
Swap your electric cooker for smarter appliances that don't cost the earth. By rustling up dinner in a slow cooker instead of the oven and sizzling sausages in an air fryer instead of on the hob you could save €2.14 per week.
If your kettle is conking out, replace it with a rapid boil kettle to save up to 0.93c per week on your cuppa. Together these simple swaps could save you €3.07 per week, that's €159.64 per year.
Save: €3.07 per week, up to €159.64 per year
Stack it up, cut the cord
You can rack up savings by loading your dishwasher to the max and halving your weekly washes. Cut down from 4 cycles to 2 and save around €1.30 per week or €67.60 per year.
When you're upgrading household appliances consider exchanging your corded items to cordless, so you only pay for charging time. You could save around €8.84 per year just by swapping your old upright hoover for a nifty cordless model.
Save: €1.47 per week, up to €76.44 per year
Ditch or switch
Whether you're working from home, or gaming into the early hours, running a desktop computer could cost you up to £3.50 per week. If possible, ditch the desktop and use a laptop - they're far more energy efficient - and save yourself up to €2.42 per week.
Gloomy winters means the lights are on for longer, but simply switching your 60 watt bulbs with 5 watt LED bulbs that have the same light output could save you at least €1.33 per week.
Save: €3.75 per week, up to €195 per year
By doing all of the above you could save yourself €850 over the course of the year. These figures are based on one KwH of electricity costing 43.27 cents in January 2023 (Including VAT).
Switcher.ie's Energy Expert, Eoin Clarke, says: "Whilst global gas prices are falling, the drop isn't raising a smile for consumers just yet, with rising food prices and high energy bills still hitting Irish households where it hurts.
"Despite the glimmer of hope that energy prices could stabilise, it could be a while before people see their bills shrink. By scaling back some home habits and swapping to smarter, more energy-efficient appliances, you could save hundreds of euro.
"Our message is reduce and replace wherever possible. Look to tweak your daily routines and if you need a new appliance, always opt for the energy saving choice because those small changes stack up to make big savings."
For more tips on how to save money and cut your energy bills and visit Switcher.ie for more expert guides.
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