Energy Efficiency at Home

With household energy costs on the rise, creating a more energy-efficient home has never been more important. It's the single most effective way to take control of your bills, reduce your environmental impact, and improve your home's comfort. This guide provides a complete roadmap, from foundational energy-saving tips to the ultimate home energy solution.

Connor Braddy

7/23/20254 min read

A Complete Guide to Energy Efficiency at Home

Improving your home's energy efficiency is one of the smartest home improvements you can make. A more energy efficient home not only helps you save money on your household energy costs but also reduces your carbon footprint and creates a more comfortable living environment. This guide will walk you through every level of energy saving, from small changes to major upgrades, helping you to reduce your energy consumption and slash your bills.

Understanding Your Home's Current Energy Performance

Before making improvements, it's helpful to understand your current energy use.

Energy Performance Certificate (EPC): Your home's Energy Performance Certificate is a great starting point. It rates your property's energy efficiency and provides recommendations on how to make your home more energy efficient.
Smart Meter: A smart meter provides real-time data on your energy consumption, showing you exactly how much energy your appliances are using throughout the day.

The Foundation: Simple Energy Saving Tips for Every Household

You can start to save energy today with these simple tips, many of which are recommended by the Energy Saving Trust.

Reducing Heat Loss: Insulation and Draught-Proofing:

Did you know that over half of a typical home's heat is lost through the walls and roof? Tackling heat loss is the single most effective way to improve your home energy efficiency.

Loft Insulation: Insulating your loft space is a crucial step. Materials like mineral wool insulation are effective at trapping heat, helping your house to stay warm during the colder winter months. Some homeowners also consider spray foam insulation.

Draught-Proofing: Seal gaps around your windows and doors with simple draught proofing strips to reduce heat loss. For older homes, installing secondary glazing can be a very effective upgrade.

Smarter Habits for Daily Energy Saving

Lighting: Switch all your old light bulbs to modern LED bulbs. They use significantly less electricity to produce the same amount of light.

Appliances: Turn all your appliances off standby mode when not in use. When you wash clothes, use a lower temperature setting. Whenever possible, let your clothes air dry instead of using a tumble dryer. Shortening your shower time can also significantly reduce your hot water consumption.

"Insulation and solar panels are key components, but the battery is the brain that makes it all smart. It’s the last piece that manages your energy so not a single kilowatt hour of free solar power is wasted and gives you total control."

Peter Marshall
Technical Founder
Volta Eco Systems

The Next Level: Upgrading Your Home's Core Systems

Once you have the basics covered, the next level of energy efficiency at home involves upgrading your core systems.

Investing in an Energy Efficient Heating System: Your heating system is a major consumer of energy. Upgrading to a modern, efficient boiler or a heat pump can create substantial energy saving benefits.

Generating Your Own Power with Solar Panels: Installing solar panels is a major step in reducing your reliance on power generated from fossil fuels. Solar panels allow you to generate your own free, clean electricity.

The Peak of Efficiency: Mastering Your Home Energy with a Solar Battery

The upgrades above are powerful, but the key to ultimate efficiency is adding a home battery. A battery storage system solves the main limitation of solar: it allows you to store the excess energy you generate during the day. This means you can use your own free electricity at night, or save it for the colder months. You can even charge the battery with cheap electricity from the grid during off-peak hours.

The Volta Eco PowerPod: The Heart of Your Energy Efficient Home

The Volta Eco PowerPod is the technology that brings all your efficiency measures together, creating a truly smart and self-sufficient home.

All-in-One System: The PowerPod is a complete, integrated system that includes the battery and the inverter, simplifying the installation process with your solar panels.

Intelligent Management: The ECOS app is the brain of your home's energy. It learns your usage patterns and automatically optimises when to use solar, battery, or grid power to ensure you are always using the most cost-effective energy at home.

Long-Term Value and Security: The PowerPod uses safe, long-lasting LFP battery technology and is backed by a 10-year warranty, making it a durable, long-term investment in your home's efficiency. It also provides seamless backup power during an outage, giving you ultimate energy security.

Finding Support for Your Home Improvements

Before beginning any major improvements, it's a good idea to seek advice. Your local council may have information on grants or support schemes available for energy saving improvements like insulation.

Ready to take your home's efficiency to the next level? Contact our team today.