Energy Saving Ideas for your Holiday Let

With rising energy costs and the ongoing cost-of-living crisis, holiday let owners are seeking ways to reduce expenses and manage the costs of running their properties. To help, we’ve put together a comprehensive guide featuring our top energy-saving tips.

As the UK's leading holiday cottage agency, we've partnered with Carbon Zero Renewables to compile the best guidance to help you save energy and reduce bills in your holiday home.

Conduct an EPC Survey

An Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) measures the energy efficiency of your holiday let on a sliding scale between A-G, with A being the most efficient and G being the least.

If you rent your property for a minimum of 6 months you will need to have a valid EPC with a minimum of EPC of E. The EPC assessment takes into consideration:

• The age, construction and size of your holiday let

• Heat source - including the boiler and heating controls and their energy efficiency

• Insulation - cavity wall insulation or loft insulation installed

• Renewable energy sources

• Lighting - energy-saving light bulbs or low energy light bulbs

• Windows - double glazing or higher

If you're looking to reduce your bills, this is a great place to start. For more information on Energy Performance Certificates for holiday lets, read our EPCs for Holiday Let guide.

Make small changes to reduce your bill

There are some larger alterations you can make to significantly reduce your energy usage, although they can be quite expensive and time-consuming to install. Smaller fixes that you can implement quickly and efficiently include:

1. Insulate your holiday home

One of the most important factors in keeping costs down is to avoid heat from escaping.

According to the Energy Saving Trust, a quarter of heat is lost through the roof, if the property is not insulated. Having loft insulation can help reduce heat loss through the roof, while cavity wall insulation is an effective way to help lower your heating bills.

Top tip: Installing a 10cm layer of fibreglass loft insulation, can cut down heat loss through the roof by up to 75%.

Replacing the curtains with heavy curtains that trap heat in can be a great quick fix to try and reduce your holiday let heating bill. You can also provide door draught excluders to help insulate your holiday let during the colder months.

The Great British Insulation scheme promises to deliver improvements to the least energy-efficient homes across the UK. The scheme is designed to help people insulate their homes in a bid to tackle fuel poverty and help reduce energy bills.

Although the initial costs can be high, the long-term savings can be huge. When insulation is done correctly it can last approximately 40 years, which will inevitably save you a lot of money on your heating bills over time.

Other tips for insulating to reduce heat loss:

• Fitting a hot water cylinder with an insulating jacket

• Install radiator reflector panels on walls which face externally

• Ensure your property is suitably insulated with UPVC double glazing where possible

• Insulate your ground floor and think about insulating the floor above unheated rooms, such as garages

For further reading about how insulating your home can help you this winter, visit The Energy Saving Trust.

2. Turn down the thermostat

Effective energy management and temperature regulation in your holiday let can significantly reduce heating costs while ensuring guest comfort.

For example, if you have a larger property and only two guests staying, you could be heating your property unnecessarily. By installing multi-zone heating systems, you can control the heating in different areas of your property remotely and avoid excess costs.

Setting a timer for your thermostat could also help you reduce heating bills and save money on your holiday let. Guests usually have control of the heating and use it depending on their needs; however, you can set a timer for the heating and manage the thermostat remotely.

Make sure to communicate with your guests to avoid any potential issues. For example, guests may need to sleep in separate rooms and require extra heating. You can also provide essential information in your holiday let welcome pack.

3. Use energy efficient light bulbs and appliances

Using energy efficient light bulbs is a great way to make small reductions on your energy usage. There are two main types of energy efficient light bulbs available in the UK:

• Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs)

• Compact Fluorescent Lamps (CFLs)

Consider replacing appliances that you provide in your holiday let, such as coffee machines, washing machines and microwaves, with eco-friendly alternatives.

4. Save water in your holiday let

Opening a property to paying guests means that you can't control how much water they use, but you can make small changes that can contribute to the reduction of water usage in your property. This can be particularly noticeable in larger properties with multiple bathrooms.

For example, changing your shower heads to add low flow water-saving heads in all of your bathrooms can make a big difference over time. Your guests will not notice that the shower head is automatically reducing the water and so this won't impact their experience.

If your property is not already on a water meter, in England and Wales you can get a water meter fitted for free, helping you to keep track of your water usage and in turn saving your money on your energy bills.

If you own a hot tub in your holiday let, make sure the cover is in good condition. Older hot tub lids are usually not as well-insulated and the heat will escape. Some hot tubs can be retro-fitted with extra insulation costing between £400-£600, saving around 30% on your overall running costs.

Investing in a heat pumps and turbo heater to boost water can also help you save up to 70% on heating costs. Make sure your hot tub is regularly maintained by a qualified individual or reputable holiday let management company to avoid breakdowns.

5. Provide friendly tips for guests

Your guests will expect to be able to use the property facilities whenever they like, but that doesn’t mean you can’t ask them kindly to mindful of certain things, such as:

• Switching off appliances at the wall during the night-time or when they are not in the property

• Being mindful not to leave lights on while they are away from the property

• Keeping doors closed to keep the heat in rooms

• Closing windows when they are not in the property

• Running dishwashers only when they are full or save the washing up to do all in one go

Low Carbon Heating Systems

Electric combi-boilers

Electric combi-boilers are boilers that run on electricity and they will provide you with all your hot water requirements and your heating at the same time. If your property is on the small side and is not connected to the main gas grid, then an electric combi-boiler could be a good option for your property.

It can often be set too high by default, and ends up heating water to a much higher temperature than necessary. You can reduce your usage by turning down the temperature of the hot water inside your boiler pipework.

Biomass boilers

Convert to a biomass boiler, which instead of gas uses sustainably sourced wood pellets and combusts them to produce heat. This also has long-term benefits to the environment, as well as your wallet.

You can read more about low-carbon heating systems in the full guide from The Energy Saving Trust.

Financial support for low carbon heating systems:

In general, low carbon heating systems can be more expensive than regular boiler options but there are some schemes available to help with the initial costs.

If you upgrade your boiler to a low-carbon heating system, you may be able to get a grant from the government's Boiler Upgrade Scheme to cover the upfront costs and installation.According to government endorsed advice from Simple Energy Advice, you could receive:

• £7,500 towards the cost and installation of an air source or ground source heat pump

• £5,000 towards the cost and installation of a biomass boiler

Before you replace your heating system you need to arrange for an independent professional to undertake a heat loss calculations report on your property to calculate what size heating system is appropriate for your particular property.

Ofgem has more information on their website if you'd like to find out more about financial support for installing low carbon heating systems.

Consider Renewable Energy in your home

What is renewable energy?

Renewable energy, or green energy as it is sometimes referred to, generates energy directly from natural sources. This could be from the wind, sun or water for example and these energy resources are naturally replenished. Renewable energy is becoming a very popular alternative for many people. There are many ways that you can use renewable energy in your holiday home.

Solar panels

In simple terms, solar panels use the sun to generate electricity that you can use in your holiday home. Photovoltaic panels are installed on the roof of the property and will convert the sun’s rays into electricity.

We know it’s often very cloudy in the UK but the panels can still generate power for you, but sunny days will always generate the most. Under the Government's Smart Export Guarantee, you can sell any excess power that you generate but don’t use to the national electricity grid.

Not only will solar panels make your holiday home more sustainable and eco-friendly, but it will also save you money on your electricity bill too. By using solar panels and battery storage you can save money on your annual bill.

You need a south-facing roof with no shade. When the panels generate more electricity than you are consuming they can produce free hot water, also this excess can be stored in batteries and used at night.

Hydroelectric Systems

It’s one of the oldest forms of generating electricity. Hydroelectric systems utilise natural running water to generate electricity. If your holiday let property is close to a lake or river, then a small-scale generator could be an option for you.

These natural water flows run 24/7, providing constant generation via a turbine, pump, or waterwheel. Of course, this is a very niche form of renewable energy for people looking to power their homes because you need to be close enough to natural running water.

You can find out more about renewable heating for your home by visiting the Energy Saving Trust's advice on generating renewable energy.

EV Charge Point

With many holiday let owners looking to have an Electric Car Charging Point fitted in their properties, it may be worth capitalising on this trend. Solar energy and EV battery charging allows you to keep your costs down, while usage goes up.

Support with your energy bills

The payment will be given to all households, including those set up as holiday lets. The Government and local councils are constantly changing grants available, you can refer to the Energy Saving Trust for up-to-date details.

Summary

The next steps would be to create an action plan, monitor energy usage, set targets and start with all the no and low-cost measures outlined above. We hope you've found some useful tips to help you save energy in your holiday let.

If you would like further advice on your energy and gas, you can get a wide range of independent advice on energy from Carbon Zero Renewables, Simple Energy Advice, Comparethemarket or MoneySavingExpert to find out more about potential savings on energy, water and gas.