Dalai Lama Interview
What can you do?
A home that is not energy efficient has a direct impact on damaging the environment. One quarter of all carbon dioxide emissions come from the energy we use to heat and light our homes, and power our household appliances. That is why identifying the energy wasters in your home can reduce the harm to our environment as well as saving you money.
Energy Saving Tips
Here are a few really simple, cheap and easy ways to increase the energy efficiency of your house:
Fitting draught excluders to doors is one of the simplest ways to reduce heat loss. There are many cheap and easy to fix excluders available from DIY stores. You can also get PVC seals or foam seals for your exterior doors.
- Floors are also a problem when it comes to draughts. Stop draughts and heat escaping through floorboards and skirting boards by filling gaps with newspaper, or sealant.
- Make sure your windows are draught proofed. If you are going to replace your windows consider double-glazing, while seeming expensive it will save you money on heating costs in the long run. A low cost, short-term alternative to double-glazing is to tape polythene across window frames. Again sealant around the frame can reduce draughts.
- Curtains: close your curtains at dusk to stop heat escaping through the windows. Lined curtains reduce the loss of heat through windows. You can purchase special interlining which is attached between the curtain and the lining and acts as an extra barrier.
- Is your heating too warm? Try turning your thermostat down by 1°C. It could cut your heating bills by up to 10%. And if you're going away for winter, leave the thermostat on a low setting to provide protection from freezing without wasting too much energy. A timer switch on your immersion heater will provide hot water just when you need it and could be a worthwhile investment.
Hot water: For most people, setting the cylinder thermostat at 60°C/140°F is fine for bathing and washing. Make sure you cover your hot water tank with a lagging jacket. Lagging conserves energy and is a very cheap way of saving energy and money. Baths also use more hot water than showers, so consider taking showers instead of taking baths.
- Always put the plug in your basin or sink. Leaving hot water taps running without a plug is like washing money down the plughole.
- Always turn lights off when you leave a room and adjust your curtains or blinds to let in as much light as possible during the day. Traditional lightbulbs use a lot more electricity and require more frequent changing Energy Saving lightbulbs. Energy saving lightbulbs or Compact Fluorescent Lights (CLFs) use electronics that allow them to create highly efficient lighting which uses a fraction of the energy required by traditional light bulbs. CLFs use 80% less electricity and last 8 times longer than traditional bulbs.
- To cut down on wasted energy, avoid leaving appliances, such as televisions, videos, stereos, computers on standby and remember not to leave them on charge unnecessarily.
- Defrost your fridge regularly to keep it running efficiently and cheaply. If it tends to frost up quickly, check the door seal. And if you absolutely have to site your fridge next to a cooker or boiler, leave a good gap between them.
When using washing machines and tumble dryers always wash a full load and if you can't, use a half-load or economy programme if your machine has one. Always use the low temperature programme bearing in mind that modern washing powders will be just as effective at lower temperatures. And don't put really wet clothes into a tumble dryer; wring them out or spin-dry them first. It's much faster and it will save you money. Many Modern washer/dryers use technology which makes them much more energy efficient. If you are thinking of changing an appliance make sure you look for an energy efficient one, it will save you money in the long run.
- Insulate your attic. One third of heat can be lost in a home through the roof. Insulating your attic will pay for itself in energy saving over a short period of time.
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