Keeping energy usage low in shared accommodation can be a challenge, particularly if a large number of people are living together. In any group there will be people from various backgrounds, particularly among students who may have come from all over the country and the world, with differing priorities and attitudes to energy saving. It is possible to minimise collective consumption though, with some effort and organisation, and is worth it not only to conserve energy resources, but to save money too. A small shift in behaviour might be needed – for example students moving into private accommodation who have previously paid all-inclusive bills in advance might have fallen into the habit of thinking “it’s all been paid for anyway”, and after all everyone does things slightly differently anyway. This is what creates the major difference between, for example, four people living in a shared house, and four people living in a house as a family, along with the fact that everyone in a shared house takes bill paying responsibility, and that there are some things they might all do individually rather than as a group, automatically needing more energy. Combining some of these activities can quickly reduce energy consumption, but of course this depends on joint and individual needs and preferences. If energy saving as an entire group isn’t possible, conscious attempts to do so by even one or two occupants can still, particularly in an environmental sense, make a difference.
General consumption
Heating and lighting are two big areas of energy use, in any home or building. Turning off lights in empty rooms and switching things off completely instead of leaving them on standby is obvious, but not instinctive to everyone, and sometimes things are left on in locked empty rooms so that nobody can turn them off. Use of energy saving bulbs wherever possible reduces energy consumption, and minimises waste if an inaccessible light is left on. Energy used by equipment on standby is harder to eliminate for items in individual rooms, but communal appliances at least can be switched off at the wall when not in use, particularly if they are positioned so that it’s easy to reach the switch. Many halls and communal stairways have timer switches already fitted – these should be repaired as soon as possible if they become jammed.
Bedrooms should be cooler than the rest of the house to facilitate sleep [1], but this can be difficult if they are being used to live and work in, as well as sleep. If there are communal areas, these could be kept warmer while the bedrooms are heated at a lower level. Kitchens will naturally be warmer during and after cooking or if there are a few people in them, and if several people are in communal areas rather than individual rooms the number of rooms being lit also decreases too. Keeping doors, particularly to empty rooms, shut helps to keep heat in. Of course it isn’t always practical to have everyone in the same room, but shared areas can be used for socialising and eating. For example, watching one television together (arguments about what to watch aside) is much nicer socially and environmentally than everyone watching several televisions separately. Similarly, while it’s likely there are going to be several computers and phones that need charging, and these aren’t exactly easy to share (although if there are places where they are used that allow charging, such as trains, libraries and study areas, charging them there whilst in use reduces electricity consumption at home, which all helps), things like games consoles can be used by several people at once. It’s worth bearing in mind that some use much more energy than others, for example a Playstation 3 can use more than twenty times as much energy as a Nintendo Wii [2]. The Sust-it website [3] gives energy consumption comparisons for a wide range of electrical goods, which is also useful if a new appliance is needed.
Some tariffs provide a free energy meter, which although they have to be plugged in use a very small amount of energy per year and could more than make up for that in the amount of energy they help save. They show which appliances are using the most electricity (they can also be borrowed from libraries if they don’t come with the tariff, so this can be checked at least once) and whether consumption is high, medium or low at any one time. This can highlight which television would be best to have as the communal one, for example, or if something has accidentally been left on at times when consumption should be low. At night or when everyone will be away for a while, if only the fridge and freezer should be running but the energy consumption reading is much higher, it’s less likely that a light or computer will accidentally be left on. If your energy provider does not provide an energy monitor then why not look into purchasing one for the benefit of everyone within the shared accommodation.
Dripping or leaking taps should be fixed as soon as possible, as over time drips add up to litres and litres of water, possibly thousands [4], and if it’s the hot tap it might be increasing gas or electricity consumption too. The amount of energy used to heat hot water, and use of water itself can be quickly reduced by taking showers rather than baths [4] – a house with a shower only is not necessarily a bad thing.
Washing and drying clothes
If a washing machine is installed, washing can be done jointly, or for anyone not comfortable with that, it’s best if enough washing can be saved to do a full load at once. Things like towels and bedding will fill out the machine if there aren’t enough clothes. Most items, unless really dirty, can be washed at low temperatures on short cycles. This can eliminate the need to separate out dark and light colours and whites for many items too, but colourfastness should always be checked first. Washing half loads uses a lot more than half of the energy and water than a full load [5], which adds up significantly over time.
Drying can be a problem if there isn’t a garden – even with a balcony, tenancy contracts might stipulate that these aren’t to be used for drying clothes. A tumble dryer isn’t always the best answer, as a lot of items can’t go in them anyway, and they often use more energy than a washing machine [6, 7]. If one is used, again full loads are best [8]. If clothes have to be dried inside, drying directly on the radiators might dry them quicker, but it also makes the radiators work much harder to heat the room and releases water vapour right next to the walls, which isn’t good for wallpaper and paintwork and can be costly later. Use of as many clothes dryers as there is room for will help, as the more air that can circulate around the material, the faster it will dry. They can be put near open windows for the same reason, if the weather’s warm enough. If heating is set to come on at certain times then having washing cycles finishing at this time will allow washing to initially dry more quickly than in a cold room, and it should be spun in the machine before being taken out. If any signs of damp appear where the washing is being dried, this should be checked and sorted out as soon as possible – if a room is prone to or likely to develop damp, it shouldn’t ideally be used for drying. If space, and safety, allow, indoor washing lines can be set up when needed using string or twine.
Cooking, shopping and food waste
Similarly, cooking together reduces the amount of energy used. Food might take slightly longer to cook if more of it is being cooked at once, but this is still far less consumptive than doing smaller amounts in several batches. Water used for washing up can be minimised too if everything is washed together rather than hot water having to be drawn multiple times for a small number of items, or if a dishwasher is run on a full rather than a half cycle [8]. Washing up by hand should be done in a bowl rather than under a running tap [4]. If the tap has to be run to get hot water, the cold water could be caught and used for something else, like washing vegetables or watering plants.
Buying food jointly might be difficult, especially considering differing tastes and budgets, but as well as saving energy, cooking together can also reduce food waste and means things can be bought in larger packs, which is often cheaper. Food that isn’t going to be used could be offered to someone else before it goes off so that it’s not wasted. And even if food can’t be bought jointly, if going in a car is the only viable option then making shopping trips together reduces and shares the petrol costs. If several people are unpacking food at once, it can be tempting to leave the fridge and freezer doors open, but this means that they are warming up and will need to use more electricity to get cold again. Whether cooking is done jointly or individually, microwaves and stovetops use less energy than cooking in an oven [9]. If an oven is used, opening the door as little as possible prevents too much heat escaping [8]. And clearing up spills as soon as they happen can make a surprising difference to the amount of cleaning products used in the kitchen.
Some of the things above might seem obvious to some people, but it’s always worth remembering that they might not be to others. It’s not always easy to coordinate habits in a large group of people, and there will always be some who are more energy conscious and perhaps considerate than others, but reducing consumption and therefore the size of the bills is beneficial to everyone, and of course the environment.
[1] http://www.dothegreenthing.com/wiki/display/WIKI/Turn+down+thermostats+on+room+heating.
[2] http://www.sust-it.net/energy_saving.php?id=71
[4] http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/In-your-home/Water/Water-saving-advice
[6] http://www.sust-it.net/energy_saving.php?id=1
[7] http://www.sust-it.net/energy_saving.php?id=41
[8] http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/In-your-home/Products-for-your-home/Kitchen-appliances
[9] http://efficient-products.defra.gov.uk/spm/download/document/id/786
