Our Budget Advisers Want To Help

Reduce your energy consumption

• Keep the temperature at a comfortable level, e.g. 21°C.
• Lower the temperature to 3°C for the night or before leaving the house.
• Install a thermometer in the entrance hall to determine the indoor temperature rather than trust the temperature shown on the thermostat, which is often inaccurate.
• Adjust the temperature in the entrance hall and in unoccupied parts of your home to 15°C, then close the doors so as not to lower the temperature there.
• Have all equipment running on natural gas or fuel oil inspected once a year.
• Put on more clothes when it is very cold outside.
• Regularly clean radiators, plinths and hot air ducts, and avoid blocking them with bulky pieces of furniture or other objects.
• In the winter, use a ceiling fan at the slowest speed to increase hot air circulation. The blades have to push the air upward and thus must turn clockwise.
• Use curtains rather than metal or plastic blinds.
• Let the sun shine in through the windows during the day and close the curtains at night.
• Avoid heating the hall whenever possible.

• Decrease the length of your showers (7 to 10 minutes maximum).
• Turn off the shower while you are soaping yourself.
• Only use the washing machine when you have big washes to do and preferably use with cold water.
• Rinse the dishes in cold water.
• Use the dishwasher only when it is full.
• Set the water-heater temperature to 55°C or 60°C.

• Put lids on pots to speed up cooking.
• Place the refrigerator as far away from heat sources as possible and leave sufficient space behind it to permit air to circulate (3 in. if it has condenser coils, otherwise, 5 in.).
• Clean the condenser coils on the refrigerator at least once a year.
• Set the temperature of the refrigerator at between 2°C and 4°C and that of the freezer between -17°C and
• -19°C.
• If the freezer is more often empty than full, put in containers of water and let them freeze. This ice will help the freezer maintain its temperature more easily.
• Let your dishes dry by themselves in the dishwasher (turn off the drying cycle).
• Clean the lint filter in the clothes dryer after each use.

Air quality

• Check the humidity level using a hygrometer (it must range between 25 and 45 %).
• Air all parts of your home once a day by briefly opening windows and doors in order to create a light draught, rather than using a dehumidifier.
• Connect the dryer duct to an outside exhaust equipped with a damper and make sure it is well sealed.
• To expel moisture, turn on the extractor hood while you are cooking and the extractor fan while you are taking a bath or shower and let them run for a few minutes more after you are done.
• Avoid hanging up clothes to dry inside.
• If the ambient air is too dry, seal air leaks rather than using a humidifier.

• musty smell, of earth or alcohol
• water spots possibly caused by infiltration or water damage, floods or drains backing up
• green, black, white or multicolored spots on the inside surfaces of exterior walls, on the ceiling, in cupboards, in closets, on the back of furniture, on carpets, on window ledges, in damp places, in the bathroom.
• rot stains
• damp materials (wood, carpet, wallpaper), damp bed linen and clothing
• presence of mist, water condensation or frost forming regularly on windows or other surfaces.

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