Energy savings in your home

Small changes can make a big difference. Consumers often hear this advice in relation to their health and eating habits, but the same applies to your home heating bills.

This is especially true given how much homeowners spend on utility bills: an average of €975 a year to heat their house and a further €1,082 on electricity, according to AA Ireland.

To cut these bills, though, you may need to spend a little to accumulate the long-term savings.

Whether you have €5 to spend or €5,000, improving the efficiency of your home will pay over time.

Lightbulbs

Tight on money but still eager to get more efficient? Look to the light and ask if you are really getting the most from your bulbs.

Simply replacing standard light bulbs with CFL bulbs can have an effect on your electricity bill. CFL light bulbs start at €4.99 and, depending on the bulb, can last up to five years.

You’ll have paid off your investment within one year, and can look forward to 75% energy savings after that.

Draught excluders

The heating is up full blast but you still can’t get the chill out of the room? If you’re in an older house, you may be losing precious heat through your windows and doors, due to that pesky draught.

Triple-glazed windows might be outside of your budget, but purchasing some self-adhesive foam, which can be secured to door and window frames could make an instant difference. The best part: you can buy a packet for as little as €6.

Radiate the Heat

Depending on where your radiator is positioned, it might be pumping out the heat but not to the right areas of the room. Radiator heat reflection foil costs around €7 and works by sending the heat from the back of your radiator into the room. Toasty goodness.

Chimney Balloon

Heat from your sittingroom will literally go up in smoke if you don’t have a chimney balloon. At €25, this little contraption will seal up your chimney, stop draughts and will pay for itself within three months.

Boiler Servicing

Not only is it important for safety, but an annual servicing of your boiler, which will cost between €80 and €90, will reduce your heat consumption by 3% to 5%.

Lagging Jacket

You put a nice coat on to keep you warm on a cold day, and the same should be the case for your water cylinder. A lagging jacket won’t break the bank at €15.

Not only will it keep your water hotter for longer, it can reduce costs by up to 30% and will pay for itself within three months, resulting in an annual saving of €60.

Electricity Monitor

Is that fridge freezer running up your bill, or would easing off on the tumble dryer lead to big savings?

Investing in an electricity monitor will cost you less than €40 and will arm you with information on the real culprits in your home that are draining your resources.

So remember the old maxim: knowledge is power.

Nothing quite beats the look of an open fire, but how much is the view costing you?

Upgrade Attic Insulation

A huge amount of your house’s heat escapes through the attic, but upgrading your insulation can keep the warmth trapped in. Upgrading your insulation from 100mm to €300mm will cost you over €700, but as there is a SEAI grant of €300 that you can apply for, it should cost you approximately €400. This could reduce your heat loss by 20% to 25%.

Heating and Zone Controls

Installing heating and zone controls to your central heating will regulate your heat and means you can have each room in the house at the temperate you prefer. The cost ranges from €800 to €1,000, but as SEAI grants are available for up to €700, this will halve your investment. You’ll see a reduction of 20% on your bills, which averages out as a typical saving of €300 a year.

Spend: €500 to €1,000

Solid Fuel Stoves

Nothing quite beats the look of an open fire, but how much is the view costing you? A solid-fuel stove is a big investment. They start at about €500 and can go up to €2,000, depending on the model, but you’ll be looking at heat and electricity savings of at least €150 to €200 a year, and more if you are able to stretch the budget. Plus many come with windows that allow you to still enjoy the dancing flames.

Wall Insulation

Insulating your walls can instantly transform a cold room into a cosy one. There are different types of wall insulation for different types of houses. Cavity walls are the cheapest, easiest and fastest walls to insulate and fortunately, for many farmers, detached farmhouses are usually constructed with this wall type. However, you’ll need to get this checked out for yourself. Pumping polystyrene insulation into un-insulated wall can cost over €1,000 but there is a SEAI grant of €300 for cavity insulation. This will reduce home energy bills by 20% to 30%, with a typical annual saving of €300. If you don’t have a house that allows you to insulate cavity walls, you may need to dry line internal walls instead. This will cost significantly more, but SEAI grants up to €2,400 are available for detached houses.

central heating boiler

If your central heating boiler is over 15 years old, it may need to be replaced. If this is the situation, opt for a new condensing boiler, which has an efficiency rate greater than 90%. This investment could cost you anywhere between €2,000 and €4,000, depending on your home and the efficiency of the boiler, but you will be eligible for an SEAI grant of up to €700, provided it’s a high-efficiency boiler.

Aldi’s World of Wine Festival

Calling all wine lovers. Aldi’s World of Wine festival – featuring 15 great-tasting products priced from €6.99 to €14.99 – has started this week and it’s time to stock up. The collection, chosen by some of the great winemakers Aldi works with, has a diverse collection of reds, whites and a sparkling rosé, each with a unique background.

Some of our favourites include Big Bill (€9.99), a bold wine that takes its name from William "Big Bill" Millar, a South African boxing champion, decorated war hero, Springbok rugby captain and the first general manager of one of South Africa’s most renowned wine producers, KWV. Like the man himself, this drink is larger than life. It encompasses fruit-driven flavours together with notes reminiscent of peppery spice and dark chocolate.

Castellore Cococclola (€6.99), native to Abruzzo in Italy has Coco-chi-o-loa, a rare grape, fresh and fun with citrus, green apple and zingy acidity. And for Spanish wine lovers, check out El Mayoral, The Foreman (€10.99), a powerful wine that is rich and supple, with sophisticated aromas of blackberries, soft juicy tannins and a long-lasting finish.

get $800 US TAx back

Have you worked in the US during the last four years? You can claim back tax of $800 on average. Tax refund specialists Taxback.com are calling on Irish students who travelled to the US on a J1 working holiday visa to apply for a tax refund.

In Ireland, Cork tops the poll for requesting tax refunds through Taxback.com’s database. Students from Kildare, Limerick, Mayo and Galway followed suit on reclaiming their tax from their J1 summers spent working in America.

To reclaim your US refund you will need a W2 form, which you should have received from your American employer/employers before you left the country and your final payslips, as well as ID information.

House insurance unaffordable

Over one in every three Irish homeowners have difficulty finding insurance at an affordable price, according to AA Ireland. The report found that 30% of almost 7,000 surveyed said they had difficulty in obtaining house insurance at a fair price, while just 8% said they have never had trouble finding affordable cover.

Despite an increase in flooding incidents in recent years, just over 4.5% of those surveyed admitted they had experienced problems in obtaining home insurance due to the risk of flooding in their area. However, homeowners in Cork and Clare were significantly more likely to have experienced issues securing home cover because of flood risks.