Loft
Check if you have loft insulation, if yes it should be about 1ft deep, if not, and you feel you have a requirement, please complete this form.- If you do have loft insulation, make sure you don’t put any heavy items on top of it as it will squash the insulation and make it lose most of its insulating properties.
- Having good loft insulation can save up to £200 a year
Walls
- Check if your walls are cavity walls. You can usually tell if they are cavity walls if they have a regular brick pattern like the picture here.
- 'If you do not have cavity walls and feel you have a requirement, please complete this online form
- Insulating an unfilled cavity could save £155 a year
Bathroom
Turn your tap off while you’re brushing your teeth.- Have a shower instead of bath, saves energy and water.
- Don’t be longer than 5 mins in the shower. Try using a shower timer and make it a competition for your kids to beat the clock!
- Use water hippos in your toilet cistern (saves 3 litres a flush) or a Save-a-flush (saves 1 litre a flush). Toilet Hippos should be used in toilets of 9 litres or more, Save-a-flush in smaller cisterns of between 6 and 9 litres.
- Open windows after a shower to extract the moisture – remember to close your window afterwards.
Study
Turn your computer and monitor off after use – you could use a power down standby saver plug available from your energy supplier or the shops. Computers use a lot of power while idling, it can vary a lot - but be up to 170 watts!- If you’re buying a new computer or laptop, check out the new ‘green’ ones for low energy use. Laptops use a lot less energy than a desktop computer, but are less upgradable so they may have a shorter life span.
- Re-cycle your wasted paper and if you have a printer, only print if you have to.
Garden
Use re-cycling bins for paper, plastic bottles/packaging, glass bottles.- Use a compost bin – but try to minimise waste – 30% of the food we buy is thrown away. The energy used to produce and transport this food is massive.
- Grow your own vegetables in a vegetable patch – they taste better and being self sufficient is the most sustainable thing we can do.
- Grow your own fruit such as apples, plums, pears.
Windows
Use draft proofing rubber or foam strips on your windows and doors, these are available from DIY stores.- Draw your curtains at night time to keep the heat in and tuck them behind the radiator rather than in front.
- These could save over £30 a year.
Floor
Lay down carpet or rugs to hold heat on cold flooring, which also reduces sound travelling to flats underneath. You can buy carpet and rugs with a thick thermal underlay to minimise the loss of heat.- This could save over £30 a year.
Heating
Use a combination of both the room thermostat and the individual Thermostatic Radiator Valves to control the temperatures in each room. A thermostatic radiator valve is the control on the inlet to each radiator, usually with a setting of 1-6, the valves intelligently turn the radiator on and off depending on room temperature. - Get a thermometer and use trial and error with these valves to adjust the temperature for each room; Government recommended temperatures are:
- Living room - 21 degrees maximum, 18 degrees recommended as a healthy temperature where children are present
- Bedrooms - 17 degrees maximum (falling lower at night)
- Bathroom - a maximum of 24 degrees
- Kitchens - 18 degrees maximum
Washing machine/dryer
Washer/Dryer - Wash clothes at 30 degree with a modern detergent, try to use full loads and unless heavily soiled us a quick/eco wash.- Drying clothes - dry clothes outside where possible rather than using a tumble dryer, or you could dry them in the bathroom or another room – just make sure you keep a window open to let the damp air out – this will make things dry much quicker. You could close the room off, turn off its radiator and wait! Just make sure it is safe to leave the window open unsupervised!
- Don’t regularly hang clothes on your radiators as they’ll block off the heat to the room and could cause damp.
Bedroom
You can keep your room temperature at around 17 degrees (falling lower at night whilst you sleep). This is a considered a healthy temperature for sleeping according to Government advice.- Have a thinner duvet for summer and a thicker duvet for winter.
- If you’re buying a new wardrobe, think about buying one made from sustainably source wood, these do not usually cost any more – but you can be assured that trees have been planted to replace the wood used in your furniture.
- For kids, use a low energy night light – look out for the best which use super low energy LED bulbs.
- Recycle clothes that your children have grown out of so quickly – if you swap with neighbours it could save you some money!
Living room
Don’t keep TV’s, DVD’s, chargers and stereos on standby, turn off the power at the plug. For example – a DVD often uses up to 85% of its total energy use whilst not in use!- Alternatively, get hold of special standby plugs, available from DIY stores and your energy provider.
- Use energy efficient lightbulbs – you can get up to four free from EAGA, contact 0845 491 8655 and quote RFInsert
- For un-wanted furniture such as sofas, use the free-cycling service where people will be collect your sofa free of charge and dispose/re-use. Contact your local free cycling scheme, charity collection scheme or Council. There us usually something available – one persons junk is often another’s treasure!
Kitchen
Fridge/Freezer - Always buy A-rated or better white electrical goods – washing machines, fridges e.t.c. They don’t cost a lot more and will quickly pay for themselves through the money saved in energy.- Fridge/Freezer – let food cool down first and make sure they are full so you’re not wasting energy by cooling empty space.
- Oven – always use the correct size hob for the pan – heat the bottom of the pan not the sides so you don’t waste energy – and keep a lid on.
- Oven – an oven stays very hot for at least 5 mins after you turn it off – so turn it off 5 mins before your food is ready, and just leave the food inside.
- Dishwasher – most modern dishwashers use less water than washing up by hand.
- Taps and Sink – Add an efficient water aeration flow adapter – these can control the flow of water by increasing the amount of air in the flow. This lessens splashes, uses less water - but has no obvious loss of power. Remember making hot water takes energy, so on a hot flow this will also save you energy. You can source these from your water supplier.
- Extractor fan and vents – make sure your extractor fans are always kept on with vents open – to reduce condensation and damp.
Garage/driving
Use your bike for shorter journeys instead of taking the car. Your work may offer a bike-to-work scheme where you will get your tax back on the purchase of a bike.- Have your food delivered from supermarkets, rather than taking your car. The supermarket will batch deliveries so this saves on CO2, it also means you can do something more useful with your time! Once set up, the online store will remember your previous shops so each time you order will be quicker than the last.
- Consider planning as many jobs as possible in one car trip. The first kilometre produces 60% more fumes and the lubricants haven't reached the correct temperature so engine wear is higher.
- Idle your engine during its initial start for no more than 30 seconds. An idling engine produces 80% more pollution than when the vehicle is in motion. Modern car engines warm up faster when they are in motion.
- Make sure you know where you're going! Motorists waste 350,000 tonnes of fuel per year getting lost! Visit the AA website for free online route planning.
- Could you car share instead? Join a local car share scheme if available. Search the internet or ask your Council.
Saving car fuel
Adjust your driving to save fuel – keep the revs below 2000 wherever possible, avoid harsh acceleration and braking. Keep the right pressures in your tyres. All in all, you could save up to 25% of your fuel.- Avoid using the air conditioning, which uses up to 15% more fuel. All on board electronics are also using extra fuel.
- Traffic lights are programmed to change according to the speed limit. If you are stopped at one red light but then drive on at a sedate speed you will usually find that by the time you reach the next few sets of lights, they will be turning green for you.
- Service your car at least every year – this ensures maximum efficiency.
- Make sure that your tyres are inflated to the correct pressure.
- Reduce weight and drag by simply removing unnecessary items from in and on your car that do not need to be there for a particular journey. These can include buggies, golf clubs, tools, roof racks.
- If you’re thinking about changing your car, opt for an efficient one – some can even do 70 miles to the gallon.
- Check the number of miles you did each time you fill up. This will also alert you to any faults that increase fuel consumption and emissions.