It can be frustrating dealing with high energy bills, but you can easily save some money by changing the time of day you do laundry.
Switching your laundry schedule may be a hassle, but energy providers tend to charge more during peak hours, which is when most people in Britain do their laundry.
Allie Ogletree, a money-saving expert from Save On Energy said: “Many energy companies charge extra for electricity usage during their peak hours. These price differences are called time-of-use (TOU) rates.
“Plans with a TOU structure offer different rates depending on the time of day. Your energy plan may have cheaper energy rates during low-demand or off-peak hours and more expensive rates during high-demand times.”
Most people do their laundry on weekdays in the early evening between 4pm and 7pm as this is when many people have finished working, so doing laundry outside of these hours will cut down on your energy bills.
When to wash laundry in the summer
However, there is a very simple way to save more money doing laundry in the summer as the cheapest time to do laundry is the morning.
Summer mornings tend to be the time for the lowest demand for electricity, so washing clothes as early as possible in the day can result in lower electricity bills.
Allie explained: “During the summer, run your washer early in the morning. This is when your home is the coolest and demand is lowest. Once the sun comes out, it’s only a matter of time before energy usage peaks on those hot afternoons.
“By that time, most homes will have [fans] cranking — and your energy provider is more likely to increase rates for the higher demand.”
In the winter, it tends to be the opposite as people are more likely to switch their heating on first thing in the morning meaning there is a higher energy demand, so the best time to wash clothing during the colder months is actually at night.
Other ways to save money on your laundry
Drying clothes on the washing line outside during the warm summer weather is an obvious way to cut back on electricity, but you can also save money by running a cold water wash on the washing machine.
Allie said: “Your washer uses about 90 percent of its energy to heat water. Switching your temperature settings from hot to warm can cut energy consumption in half — and shifting from warm to cold can save even more.”
Make sure to also limit the amount of washing loads you do to only two large washes a day to save money as well as the washing machine will use the same amount of energy no matter how many clothes you are washing.
Allie said: “If you do too much laundry in a single day, you risk running your washer or dryer during peak hours. This will cost you more in the long run than if you spread out one or two loads per day during low-demand hours.”
