If you can, you should always buy energy saving appliances. A-rated freezers, dishwashers and microwaves will help to reduce the amount of gas and electricity being wasted unnecessarily. When accompanied by good home insulation and eco-friendly building products, they can help you to firmly limit your carbon footprint.

But are you using your energy saving appliances to their full potential? Bear the following five things in mind if you want to ensure you’re actually being green by using eco appliances.

1. Never leave appliances on standby

The benefits of doing this are huge. Much like leaving a light on, standby modes use up lots of energy when the device isn’t even being used. Many energy saving appliances don’t even bother with a standby function any more, so look out for these when you’re shopping around.

2. Be conservative with the size of your energy saving appliances

It’s pointless buying a giant American-style fridge if you’re a smaller household. Just because a product has a label on it when you bought it saying that it was energy efficient, doesn’t mean that it’s suitable for you.  Be realistic with how big an appliance you’re likely to need, or your energy bills will be much higher than they could be.

3. Research the best energy tariffs

Buying energy saving appliances won’t be cost-effective if you’re on an unsuitable energy tariff. Consider going on the Economy 7 electricity tariff. This treats the price of electricity much like on and off-peak travelling times. Electricity will be cheaper at night than in the daytime, so you could use this as a good excuse to enjoy the great outdoors during the day instead of using up gas and electric at home. Using your washing machine by night will also mean you don’t have to spend your days off expensively catching up on your laundry.

4. Look out for the Energy Saving Trust logo on everyday appliances

We British love our tea. We often have our kettles boiling several times a day. Needless to say, this ends up being a big drain on energy. The Energy Saving Trust logo guarantees that a kettle has gone through rigorous testing to ensure they use 20% less energy than other kettles. Look out for their logo on other appliances too.

5. Look out for appliances which alert you when they’re finished 

Many appliances, such as washing machines, dishwashers and tumble-dryers, will make a loud ringing or beeping noise when they’re done. This’ll mean they’re not being left on when they’re no longer in use (as long as you hear the noise!). However, you shouldn’t take advantage of this function on tumble-dryers or you may be drying clothes for longer than necessary. You could also end up relying on it when you could be drying clothes on a washing line or indoor clothes horse.

Images: SamsungTomorrow, Surat Lozowick, Joakim Wahlander