Determining to be Energy-Efficient
Aug
11
Decide here and now to become more energy-efficient. Look around your home at all the appliances you own. Many of them are plugged in and switched on even though you aren’t using them. Go round switching them off. Many are on standby but unless appliances are switched off at the electrical socket they are likely to still be using some electricity. Leaving televisions, computers, and so on, on standby uses up about 5150 million worth of electricity each year in the UK, which is utterly wasted and pushing up your bills.
Leaving your mobile phone charger plugged in and switched on even though there’s no phone charging on the end of it uses about three quarters of the electricity the phone uses while charging.
Turn out lights in rooms no one is using, and turn down the central heating thermostat and the temperature of your hot water. The whole family can wear jumpers around the house instead of basking in shirt sleeves. Check the temperature setting of your fridge. It’s wasting energy if it’s set lower than 3 degrees C. Take a look at the back of the fridge too. If the elements at the back are covered in dust it will be struggling to do its job properly and using more electricity than it needs to.
The fridge and freezer are more energy-efficient if they are full. If your freezer has empty spaces fill them with newspaper.
When you put your washing on, go for a lower temperature wash. It uses less energy and there’s a lot less risk of everything turning out blue or pink. And if you can dry the load outside or on a drying rack not only will you save energy by not using the tumble dryer but your clothes will smell fresher and be less likely to shrink.
Think about whether there’s a more energy-efficient way of using your appliances. For example if you only boil the amount of water in the kettle that you’re going to use rather than boiling a full kettle each time you want a cup of tea you save energy. If you have a fan-assisted oven using it with the fan on uses a lot more electricity then using it without. Make sure that your washing machine and dishwasher are full rather than doing small loads.
Over a longer period of time you can do a complete audit of the amount of energy each of your appliances uses. You can buy a simple gadget from electrical shops to plug your appliances into which measures how much is used. You can then see clearly where your electricity is going and get a clearer picture of what savings you can make.
Seeing the Light
When you’re out at the shops buy some low-energy light bulbs. As your normal light bulbs blow you can replace them with ones that use up to a fifth less energy while giving out just as much light. They are more expensive but they last a lot longer than ordinary bulbs - up to 12 years - and so will save you money in the long run. If you can afford to replace all your existing light bulbs with low-energy ones today that will be one of the biggest energy efficiency steps you can take but if your budget won’t stretch to that replace them one at a time.
Changing Your Energy Supplier
Some energy suppliers can sell you electricity generated by renewable sources such as wind power. Call your own supplier today and see if it offers a green energy package. Most of the big companies do. With some tariffs every unit you use and pay for is from a renewable source. With other packages you may pay a small premium on each unit which goes towards a renewable project. Every time you switch on a light or a kettle using non-green electricity you’re responsible for carbon dioxide emissions.
With green electricity there are hardly any carbon emissions. If your own supplier can’t come up with something suitable call around other suppliers until you find one that can, and switch.
Turning the Tap Off
Water is the most precious of natural resources and it has been taken for granted. From today you can reduce the amount of water you use just by cutting down on the amount you waste. The biggest waste comes from leaving the tap running while brushing your teeth. If everyone in the family gets out of that habit it’s a good start to a greener household.
When you run the tap to get hot water the cold you’re running off goes down the sink. Collect that water - in the kettle, in bottles if you like to have chilled water from the fridge, or a second basin so that you can use it to water your plants.
Make sure that the washing machine and dishwasher are full when you use them so you use them less often. If you’re washing up by hand don’t do it under a running tap. Take quick showers instead of baths but if you have a power shower or stay in the shower for longer than ten minutes you may use more water than for a bath. You can use bath water to water the garden (any bubble bath will be very dilute), wash the windows, floors, and the car.
Collect rainwater in a rainwater butt or a big plastic bin to use in the garden or for washing the car or bicycle. You may be able to collect the rainwater coming off the roof and down the spouting in a water butt. Keep a lid on it so it doesn’t evaporate on sunny days.
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