HEATED airers have become a popular cost-friendly appliance which help households save on energy bills.
However, many are still draining away important cash each month by placing their airers in the wrong place.
Heated airers can cost as little as 7p an hour to run – but could cost you for more hours depending where you store them[/caption]
The average energy bill is currently capped at £1,717 but you could pay more and less than this depending on your usage.
With the cap having rose this month by 10%, households are looking to reduce expenses as much as they can.
And while heated airers are usually a cheap alternative to running a tumble dryer or hiking up the heating – they could be costing you more than what they should.
Placing your airer in the wrong part of your house can extend the drying process, meaning you have to run the appliance for longer and at greater cost.
In fact, according to USwitch this could mean spending an extra 38p a wash load – pushing your bill up by as much as £90 across the year.
Energy spokesman Ben Gallizzi told The Sun: “It’s worth thinking about where to place your heated dryer in order to maximise its efficiency.”
“Try to avoid large, cold rooms that will slow down the drying process.”
He said that the appliances can cost different amounts to run depending on the amount of kWh, but under the new energy price cap can cost anywhere between 7p and 29p per hour.
This is compared to a tumble dryer which uses 2.5kWh of energy per cycle and costs 61p.
However placing your airer in a bigger room could add at least two hours to your drying time, costing as much as 38p extra every wash load.
This means if you have several people living in your home and dry three loads a week you could be overspending up to £90 on bills across the year.
This figure of course varies depending on how many people are in your home and how often you dry clothes.
The expert also advised people to “avoid areas of the house where there is little ventilation to minimise the potential build-up of damp.”
By opening windows a crack, you can make sure that all condensation leaves the room and the clothes don’t get more cold and damp.
However, it’s important to note that if you have your windows open wide, the heated airer won’t work as effectively.
This means the perfect places to dry clothes in smaller spaces such as utility rooms or spare rooms, with a window slightly opened.
It’s also useful to place the heated airer in a spot of sunlight, or a room which is slightly warmer than other parts of the house.
Other appliances which might be draining your bills
Your heated airer isn’t the only thing in your home which could be sat in the wrong spot and costing you cash.
Your fridge freezer might be eating away at your bills if there’s not enough space around it – by moving it to a spacier area, you could improve its efficiency by 15%.
Your food being stored in the wrong parts of your fridge could also be costing you cash, causing it to perish quicker and ramping up your shopping bill.
Meanwhile, your washing machine might also be positioned in the wrong part of your home which can cause mould and lead to damage costs.
And if you use dehumidifiers to tackle damp and mould in your home, they could be draining your energy bill if placed in the wrong spots.
Placing your rug or sofa over draughty areas of flooring, such as between floorboards, can also massively slash your energy usage.
And make sure that your sofa isn’t blocking the heat from your radiator – by helping the heat get the rooms of your home you could stretch your energy further.
4 ways to keep your energy bills low
Laura Court-Jones, Small Business Editor at Bionic shared her tips.
1. Turn your heating down by one degree
You probably won’t even notice this tiny temperature difference, but what you will notice is a saving on your energy bills as a result. Just taking your thermostat down a notch is a quick way to start saving fast. This one small action only takes seconds to carry out and could potentially slash your heating bills by £171.70.
2. Switch appliances and lights off
It sounds simple, but fully turning off appliances and lights that are not in use can reduce your energy bills, especially in winter. Turning off lights and appliances when they are not in use, can save you up to £20 a year on your energy bills
3. Install a smart meter
Smart meters are a great way to keep control over your energy use, largely because they allow you to see where and when your gas and electricity is being used.
4. Consider switching energy supplier
No matter how happy you are with your current energy supplier, they may not be providing you with the best deals, especially if you’ve let a fixed-rate contract expire without arranging a new one. If you haven’t browsed any alternative tariffs lately, then you may not be aware that there are better options out there.
How else you can save on energy
One important energy-saving tip to know is to never dry your clothes on the radiator, as this stops it from heating your home efficiently.
As a result, up to £55 could be wasted across the year.
The exact wastage depends on the size of your house and how much energy you use.
Heat can also escape your home through your chimney – The Sun recently wrote an article on how newspaper can be used to stop it from escaping.
By filling a bin bag with newspaper and stuffing it inside of your chimney, you could save as much as £90 across the year and reduce bills by 5%.
You could also buy a damper, which is designed to seal your chimney by blocking the flue system.
However these cost anywhere from £21 on Amazon, and as much as £84 from TLC Electrical.
Don’t forget to do regular annual boiler service checks either – they could save you up to £550 a year.
And for more energy saving tips, make sure to read our handy guide.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.
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