How to Save Money on Energy Bills: 12 Tips That Lower Your Bill This Month

Your Energy Bill Is Probably Too High

The average European household spends €150-250/month on energy — electricity, gas, and heating combined. But most households waste 20-30% of that through inefficiency, old habits, and settings nobody ever changed.

The fixes below don't require solar panels or a new boiler. They're things you can do today, for free or near-free, that show up on next month's bill.

Heating & Cooling (The Biggest Chunk)

1. Lower your thermostat by 1°C

Every degree you lower your thermostat saves roughly 6-8% on heating costs. Going from 22°C to 21°C is barely noticeable but saves €80-120/year.

Wear a jumper. It's the most cost-effective clothing purchase you'll ever make.

2. Use a programmable thermostat

No point heating an empty house. Program your thermostat to lower temperatures when you're asleep or at work:

• Sleep: 16-18°C


• Away: 15-16°C


• Home: 20-21°C

A smart thermostat costs €100-200 and typically pays for itself in 6-12 months.

3. Seal drafts

Hold a lit candle near windows, doors, and outlets on a windy day. If the flame flickers, there's a draft. Fix with:

• Draft excluders under doors (€5-10 each)


• Weatherstrip tape around windows (€3-8 per roll)


• Outlet foam gaskets (€5 for a pack)

Typical savings: €50-100/year

4. Close rooms you don't use

Shut doors and close radiator valves in spare bedrooms, storage rooms, and guest rooms. Heating 5 rooms instead of 7 reduces your heating bill proportionally.

Electricity

5. Switch to LED bulbs everywhere

If you still have any incandescent or halogen bulbs, replace them immediately. LEDs use 75-80% less electricity and last 15-25 times longer.

Replacing 10 bulbs saves €110/year in electricity alone.

6. Unplug standby vampires

Devices on standby still draw power — TVs, game consoles, phone chargers, microwaves with clocks. Together, standby power accounts for 5-10% of your electricity bill.

Quick fix: Use power strips with switches. One click turns off 4-6 devices at once. Do this for your TV setup and your desk/computer area. Typical savings: €40-80/year

7. Run appliances at off-peak hours

If your energy plan has time-of-use pricing, run your dishwasher, washing machine, and dryer during off-peak hours (usually 22:00-07:00). Some plans charge 40-50% less at night.

8. Wash clothes at 30°C

Modern detergents work perfectly at 30°C. Heating water accounts for 90% of a washing machine's energy use. Dropping from 60°C to 30°C cuts washing energy by two-thirds.

Also: air-dry instead of using the dryer. A dryer uses 2-5 kWh per load — one of the most energy-hungry appliances in your home.

Hot Water

9. Lower your water heater temperature

Most water heaters are set to 60-70°C by default. Lowering to 55°C is still hot enough for showers and cleaning, but reduces standby heat loss significantly.

10. Take shorter showers

A 10-minute shower uses roughly 80 litres of hot water. Cutting to 5 minutes halves your hot water heating cost for showers — typically €100-150/year.

A shower timer or a waterproof playlist of 2 songs works surprisingly well.

Strategic Moves

11. Switch energy providers

In deregulated markets, switching providers is the single biggest saving. Use a comparison website to find the cheapest provider in your area. The switch is handled automatically — you don't lose power.

Typical savings: €200-500/year (especially if you haven't switched in 2+ years)

12. Check your insulation

Poor insulation is the #1 cause of high heating bills. Check your:

• Attic/roof — heat rises, and an uninsulated attic loses 25% of your heat


• Walls — cavity wall insulation can be retrofitted


• Windows — double-glazing pays for itself in 5-7 years

Many governments offer grants or subsidies for insulation upgrades. Check what's available in your country.

The Total Potential

Nearly €1,000/year — and most of these are one-time actions that keep saving forever.

Track Your Bills

The first step to reducing energy costs is knowing exactly what you're paying. Track your utility bills monthly with Portofelo and watch the trend line drop as you implement these changes. Seeing real numbers improve is the best motivation to keep optimizing.

Before you decide which change is worth making, it's worth knowing what each appliance actually costs you. I built an electricity cost calculator with Eurostat prices already filled in for 36 European countries — because the same tumble dryer costs €158 a year in Ireland and €42 in Hungary, and most advice online quietly assumes a country that isn't yours.