Energy conservation

We all use energy to heat and light our homes, cook food, relax, entertain ourselves and generally make our lives more comfortable. But how much longer can we live this way?

Increasingly we are beginning to understand how the choices we make about our energy use impact on the environment. Where our energy comes from and how secure its supply is, are just as important as the price on the supplier's bill.

If we care about the environment we live in, we must now think harder than ever about the sort of energy we use, how we buy it and exactly what we intend to use it for. The case for reducing our carbon footprint is absolutely clear. Fossil fuels are finite resources and there is no chance of replenshiment within human timescales. The environmental damage caused by trying to reach the remaining scarcer resources far outweighs the advantages of exploitation.

The fundamental rules of demand/supply economics will force ever higher prices until the price fully regulates demand. The indications are that average household bills for fuel will increase dramatically over the next ten years! The UK is already a net importer of gas supplies, and by 2016 the vast majority of gas supplies will be from abroad. Gas supplies for power stations producing electricity will then be competing directly with those for domestic heating and industrial processes.

By conserving energy we can save money and make a real contribution to tackling climate change.

 

Energy efficiency

By conserving energy we can make a real contribution to tackling climate change and reducing carbon emissions.

Information on improving the energy efficiency of your home can be found on the website of the Energy Saving Trust, a not-for-profit organisation promoting all kinds of energy efficiency measures. Changing the energy supplier you use can also bring environmental benefits as well as saving you money - look at the websites of Ecotricity and Green Energy UK.

The National Audit Office have set out the case that the cheapest way to meet the UK's Target of a 20% carbon emissions reduction by 2020, is through energy efficiency improvements. The simplest way to cut the size of our energy bills and to help deliver the kind of reductions in greenhouse gas emissions that are urgently needed, is to put in place energy conservation measures.

Putting in place measures to conserve energy are all equally valid irrespective of whether your heating is woodfuelled or fossil fuelled. Some have expressed the opinion that if you have biomass heating then the "low carbon" nature of the fuel allows you freedom to burn as much as you like - put simply it gives you the right to waste both heat and money. Indeed it has been suggested that the current emphasis in the Building Regulations on carbon emissions rather than reducing energy consumption promotes using woodfuel as a panacea instead of adequate insulation. This really is the logic of the mad-house - Energy Conservation must be the first priority of all of us, however we heat the buildings we live and work in!

 

Top tips

Try these top tips to save energy!

  1. INSULATE
    Check on your loft insulation. It is essential that there is plenty of it - the deeper the better! If you keep old boxes in your loft make sure they're not squashing the air out of the fluffy stuff, as it is the trapped air that does the real work of insulating you from the cold. So, number one has to be make sure you have sufficient Thermal Insulation. The most sustainable type of insulation on the market is made from sheep's fleece. It's an eco and installer-friendly material and some of it is produced from local wool. Details can be obtained from Second Nature UK. There are also measures you can take to cut out draughts and to ensure your home is ventilated with air warmed by the stale air leaving through the wall vents. Check out the information on solar vent heat exchangers. Cavity wall insulation can be a good investment, and even solid masonary walls can be insulated either externally or internally to deliver real energy savings.

  2. EFFICIENCY
    Make sure all the stuff we have in our homes and businesses "to enhance our modern lifestyles" (as Wallace, or was it Gromit, put it) is as efficient as possible. Energy efficiency information on all household appliances and equipment is now available from retailers. Check the energy rating label on anything you are thinking of buying. If you are going to spend money on a new fridge or washing machine, make sure you won't regret trying to save a few pounds at the outset, by buying a cheaper but less efficient product. The cumulative costs of paying considerably bigger bills later will soon wipeout any cash you saved at the start.

  3. SWITCH IT OFF!
    The simplest technique of all - if it doesn't absolutely need to be switched on or left on standby, switch it off! Equipment on "Standby" can use a suprising amount of power. There are too many "worst" case senarios where the standby setting uses about 40% of the energy the equipment consumes when it is switched on and in use. The average energy use of equipment in standby mode is 25% of the "on" power consumption. Turning everything off could trim about £37 per year from your electricity bill. The industry is trying hard to ensure the ambitous "1 watt" target for all electronic equipment becomes a reality, but there is along way to go before every bit of kit can get by on just a single watt of energy while on standby!

  4. LOW ENERGY LIGHTING
    Switch to low-energy light bulbs. Lighting accounts for around 15% of a household's electricity consumption. Fitting a single low-energy light bulb can save about £10 a year off the electricity bill. Tungsten incandescent light bulbs use about 90% of the electricity they consume heating up the filament in the bulb until it is glowing white hot. They could more fittingly be called energy-guzzler bulbs. Many types of very inefficient bulbs are now banned in Europe. Low-energy light bulbs work well and save money.

    Light Emitting Diode (LED) lamps offer even greater savings. If you have halogen bulb downlighters at home, think about shifting gradually to LED bulbs - they are expensive, but use almost no electricity to produce bright effective lights. An added advantage is that there is hardly any waste heat from LEDs, so there is no risk of heat damage to the ceiling, unlike some mains or low voltage halogen bulbs. Don't confuse "low-voltage" with low power consumption. Low Voltage means HIGH current those familiar with Ohms Law don't need telling - the measure of power is Watts - LEDs of between 2 and 3 Watts produce the same level of light as a 40 Watt halogen light.

More information on the value of switching to low-energy bulbs is available on Ban The Bulb website.

 

Eco-kids top tips to parents

If your parents are struggling to get behind the Green Revolution, here are some easy ways to help push them in the right direction. This will not only help reduce carbon emissions, but also help save them money on heating and electricity bills:-)

  • If you catch them when they're just about to put the dishwasher or washing machine on with only a half load, stop them and suggest that they wait till they have a full load
  • Ask for your clothes to be washed at 30° instead of 40° - it'll use less energy, while your clothes will be just as clean
  • Get them to turn down your home's thermostat by 1°. This can help reduce heating bills by up to 10% and save around £60 per year
  • Parents love a cuppa, but remind them that if every household were to boil just enough water for a cup of tea, they could save 20kg of CO2 a year
  • Get on your bike! - 25% of car journeys are less than 2 miles long and cars use the most amount of fuel at the start of a journey. Rather than drive for short trips, why not suggest that you all cycle or walk?
  • When your out doing the weekly food shopping, encourage your parents to choose food which has been grown locally - long delivery trips mean more emissions. And only buy what you need
  • Ask your parents to switch all the light bulbs in the house to energy-saving ones. They cost £3 - £9 but save up to 10 times their price over their lifetime
  • Each year, TVs in the UK waste over £80 million worth of electricity being on standby mode. Get your family into the habit of making sure that the TVs in your home are switched off at the mains when not in use
  • Suggest you have a family night in watching your favourite film – on one TV altogether (and switch any other TVs off!)
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