#8

Reduce energy usage at home

Even if your home is powered by renewable energy, reducing the amount you use will be better for the environment (and your wallet too!).

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What you can do right now:

  • Good

    The energy saving trust has a great list of quick things you can do to help save energy around the home, these include:

    • Take short showers, not baths
    • Switch devices off completely
    • Fit a thermostat to control heating
    • Turn the thermostat down
    • Turn off lights & fit LED bulbs
    • Wash pots in the sink not under the tap
    • Limit washing machine usage
    • Dry clothes outside in summer

  • Better

    Fix any problems around the home

    Leaky taps and radiators, draughty hallways, and poor insulation are just some of the areas that can add up to lost energy in the home.

    By making your home has efficient as possible, you can reduce the amount of energy you need to power it.

    You can also employ the age old technique of layering up in winter - jumpers, blankets, onesies to the rescue!

  • Best

    Look into alternatives to gas - it's incredible to think we still pump natural gas into our homes.

    Things like heat pumps are one alternative, but the technology is still quite new.

    Another option is to have an "Earth day" each week or month and challenge yourself to use no energy whatsoever. Think of it like a self-created power cut.

Why is this important?

According to provisional figures from the UK government, in 2017 the residential sector emitted an estimated 64.1 Million tons of CO2 with the vast majority of that coming from natural gas. That figure doesn't include domestic electricity which was included in the energy sector of the report (which had estimated emissions of 105 Million tons!)

Efficiency is a major factor in the amount of energy we use to power our homes. The more efficient our homes are, the less energy we need to power them, the lower the impact on the planet.

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