Electricity produced from the burning of fossil fuels creates harmful carbon dioxide emissions that enter into the atmosphere causing global warming and climate change. It is therefore crucial that we do our utmost to save electricity and grow towards a more environmentally friendly future. This idea of a more sustainable world is high on the agenda for governments worldwide who are seeking innovative ways to reduce carbon emissions. Companies and individuals are also looking for ways to lower their bills and their environmental impact. Businesses and households are becoming more aware of the wide range of energy saving products that will help protect the environment and save money. Energy saving products, such as kettles and bulbs, improve energy efficiency, help reduce your carbon footprint and cut down energy bills. However, in addition to such products and appliances, it must be remembered that by taking care of how we use electricity, this too will save money and help protect the environment as the cleanest watt is the one that does not have to be generated [1].
There are little things you can do every day to save electricity in your house or business without the need for investing in new appliances. A lot of these electricity saving tips cost nothing to implement and may seem obvious but most people ignore them and waste money unnecessarily. These little things can make a big difference:
- Half the heat lost in a typical home is through the walls and loft so insulating your home is a cost efficient way of keeping heat in and energy bills down. Loft insulation alone can save you approximately £150 per year.
- Fitting a British Standard ‘Jacket’ around your boiler will cut heat loss by over 75% and save money on heating bills as your water will stay hotter for longer.
- Significant reductions on your energy usage can be made simply by turning off switches or turning them down. For example, turning down your heating by one degree can save you around £60 per year and turning appliances off at the plug (rather than on standby) could save you £30 a year. Items left on standby use up to 85% of the energy they would use if fully switched on [2].
- Keep the heat inside by stopping draughts through windows (thick curtains), doors and letterboxes by using stick on draught excluding tape.
- Make sure radiators are turned down in rooms that do not need heating.
- Have showers rather than baths as they use a third less water and therefore far less energy.
- When using your dishwasher or washing machine, make sure they are full so you use them less and lower your energy use. Furthermore, turn your washing machine down to 30 degrees C and you will find your detergent still works fine.
- Fixing a dripping tap will save you money on water and water heating costs.
- When cooking, always use the correct size pan and the correct size burner. Also, only boil the amount of water you need in a kettle to save the time the burner needs to heat the water. Putting a lid on it will also help it boil quicker and prevent unnecessarily wasting electricity. Cook as much as you can in the oven at the same time [3].
- Make sure your fridge is out of direct sunlight and not close to the oven so that the heat it generates can escape easily. Also check the seal on the fridge to make sure no cold air is escaping.
- Defrost your freezer often to prevent it icing over because when this happens the freezer has to work harder, wasting more energy.
- Do not put hot food into the fridge as this will also make the fridge work hard to try and keep it cold.
- Turn of the lights when a room is empty and maximise natural light
- Try turning your water temperature down by 5 degrees. The likelihood is you won’t even notice the difference.
- Hang your clothes out to dry rather than use a tumble dryer.
- Switch everything off when you go away for more than one day such as central heating, immersion heaters, cookers etc.
- If you are not using your fireplace, block up the chimney with newspaper or cardboard and stop heat escaping up the chimney flume [4].
