tips on energy efficiency
Energy efficiency is easier than you might think. We have compiled a list of tips on energy efficiency, have a look, you could help save the planet, as well as a few quid:
- the average household in the UK creates around six tonnes of CO2 every year
- Turning your thermostat down by 1°C can save you up to £65 on your heating bill.
- washing clothes at 40 °C instead of 60 °C uses over 30% less electricity
- an energy saving recommended dishwasher will use around 40% less energy than a typical old one, saving you up to £13 a year
- just one energy saving recommended light bulb can reduce your lighting costs by up to £78 over the lifetime of the bulb. They also last 12 times longer than an ordinary bulb
- fitting a new high efficiency condensing boiler with heating controls can save you up to £180 a year and significantly cut your home's CO2 emissions
- heating controls can cut your heating bills by as much as 17%
- insulating hot water pipes could save you an extra £10 a year
- walls account for over 30% of heat loss in an un-insulated home
- It may seem silly but by putting on more layers of clothing to keep warm will save you money rather than turning up the heat.
- Use draft excluders at the bottom of doors.
- Why block out the daylight with dark heavy curtains? Use light-coloured, loose-weave curtains on your windows to allow daylight to fill the room.
- On sunny days, open the curtains and let the sun in.
- Close your curtains and blinds at night.
- Turn off the lights you're not using, or consider installing timers, to reduce the amount of time your lights are on.
- Only boil enough water that you need to avoid wasting both water and electricity
- When you are cooking on your new gas hob, adjust the flame to fit the pan, it should never come up around the side of the pan
- Fill the sink and wash the dishes by hand, not only will you use less water than a dishwasher, you will also be conserving electricity
- If you can't live without your dishwasher, make sure it has high energy efficiency to ensure that you are getting the best results
- Line dry your clothes, or...
- if you need to use a tumble dryer, make sure it's a natural gas one as it costs a third less to run than an electric one. They are also kinder to your clothes as they often have automatic shut off points which lets it know when the clothes are dry, minimising energy wastage and helping your clothes last longer.
