What you can do at home to cut your carbon footprint and save money
1. Lights off
Turn off lights when they aren’t in use and you could save up to 10% of your energy bill. Using energy saving light bulbs could also save you up to £78 per bulb.
2. Boil what you need
Make sure you only fill the kettle with the amount of water you need. It will boil faster and you can save about 30% of the energy.
3. Cook smart
Turn your oven off a few minutes early and it will stay hot enough to finish cooking your food. Avoid opening the oven door too often to avoid losing heat and your food will cook faster. Using a microwave is also more energy efficient than a hob or oven.
4. Turn to 30°C
About 90% of the energy used by a washing machine goes to heat the water, so save energy by washing at 30°C. Most washing powders are just as effective at low temperatures and your clothes won’t fade so quickly.
5. Close your fridge
Every time you open the fridge or freezer cold air escapes which means it has to use more energy to get cold again. Don’t leave the door open for any longer than you need to.
6. Don’t standby
Turn appliances like TVs off rather than leaving them on standby. You could save up to £37 a year!
7. Turn the tap off
If we all turned the tap off when brushing our teeth we’d save enough water to supply 500,000 houses a day.
8. Cool it
Turn your central heating thermostat down by 1°C. You won’t feel the difference but you could cut your heating bills by 10%.
9. Start reflecting
Put heat reflectors behind your radiators to reduce the amount of heat lost into the walls. Tin foil with the shiny side facing the radiator works really well. Keep furniture away from radiators to avoid blocking the heat.
10. Unplug it
Unplug chargers when you aren’t using them, as they use energy constantly if left switched on. It takes a forest as big as 500 football pitches to absorb all the CO2 caused by chargers left plugged in when not in use.
