There are lots of steps that you can take to minimise the amount of energy that your household consumes. Read on to learn what these steps are.

Replace or repair damaged double-glazed windows promptly

Provided they are in good condition, the presence of double-glazed windows in your property can help to reduce the amount of energy consumed by your home's heating or air conditioning systems.  During the winter months, for example, they not only stop the cold air outside from getting into your home and lowering the indoor temperatures to an uncomfortable level, but they will also prevent the heat emitted by your radiators from escaping from the house via the windows.

This means that if you have these type of windows in your home, you don't have to keep your heating system switched on for an unusually long time just to maintain a comfortably warm temperature inside your house. This, in turn, ensures that your heating system does not end up consuming enormous amounts of electricity or gas.

However, double glazed windows can only help you to keep your home's energy consumption levels to a minimum if they are not damaged. If, for example, the sealant around the window's edges has loosened or a crack has developed in one of the two panes, some of the argon gas in between them (which is designed to prevent heat from travelling through the panes) might escape. If this should happen and you fail to have the affected window repaired or replaced promptly, any heat emitted by your radiators during the colder months or cold air generated by your air conditioner during the warmer months will escape through the opening in this window.

This may then lead to a significant increase in your home's overall energy consumption, as you will have to keep your heating system or air conditioner switched on for longer periods of time in order to maintain the right temperature inside your home.

As such, it is critical to act quickly if the condition of any of your property's double-glazed windows deteriorates.

Change your approach to making meals

The approach you take to making your meals can also have an impact on how much energy your household consumes. For example, if you have a hard-boiled egg as a snack on a daily basis, it would be better to boil up several eggs in one pot of water all at once and then keep these boiled eggs in the fridge so that you can eat them over the course of the next few days, rather than heat up a pot of water for one egg every day of the week. This simple change will reduce both the amount of electricity or gas consumed by your cooker and the amount of water you use each day.

Likewise, if you want to switch on the oven to cook your dinner in the evening, you might want to consider popping an additional selection of meals for the upcoming week into the oven at the same time and then leaving these extra dishes in your fridge or freezer so that you don't have to use the oven multiple times each week. This, too, will minimise the amount of energy that is used by this appliance.