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Saving energy in our homes is a great way
of reducing CO2 emissions and a really easy way to save
money! In the UK, 25% of all CO2 emissions we produce are from the
energy we use in our homes.
A good way to start becoming more energy efficient in our homes is to
increase our awareness of our own personal energy usage. Small changes can
include turning off lights when we leave a room and not leaving appliances, such
as televisions, on standby. A bigger change might include investing in draught
excluders for letterboxes, doors and windows, or putting insulation on our hot
water tanks. Check our
energy saving tips list
– and if you have any other good ones please send them in to
[email protected]
AfSL is starting an Energy
Action Group in Hulme. We are looking for volunteers from the local
community to contribute time, ideas and energy to making Hulme a more energy
efficient community to live in. The first meeting is at Hulme Library
Meeting Room, 18.30 – 19.45, Tues 22nd November. Just come
along, or contact [email protected]
for more info.
AfSL's tips
for saving energy
At home
- Use energy-efficient light bulbs - they use a fraction of the electricity
of ordinary bulbs and last up to 10 times longer!
- Turn down your heating by one degree and reduce your fuel bill by 10%!
Even if you don’t pay the bills!
- Turn electrical appliances off standby - 85% of energy used by a DVD
player is when not in use.
- Draught proof doors, windows, letterboxes and keyholes.
- Keep doors closed
- Cover windows with curtains to block out drafts at night
- Ask bill payers to change to a green energy provider - Renewable energy is
all naturally occurring energy sources such as wind, hydro, solar power,
biomass or landfill gas. The sun gives off enough energy in one hour to power
the whole planet for a year!
In the Kitchen
- Put lids on saucepans to save 80% more energy
- Use just enough water to cover the food
- Chop up your meat/veggies into smaller pieces to reduce cooking times
- Match the size of the ring to the size of the saucepan
- Use a microwave oven to cook small meals
- Keep electric hob rings clean to work more efficiently
- Fridge Doors – 1 minute open equals 3 minutes of energy to cool down again
- Defrost your freezer regularly, so it doesn't have to work so hard
- Don't overfill the kettle - just put in the amount of water you need
- Turn off dripping taps
- Always put the plug in your sink
- Soak dirty dishes in a washing up bowl
- Set your dishwasher to a lower temperature for heating the water they use
– this is where most of their energy is spent - newer models use up to 50%
less water than hand washing. Remember energy is used to clean and deliver
water to your home.
In the Bathroom
- Use a shower instead of a bath - it's five times cheaper!
- Take less time in the shower
- Turn off the tap when brushing your teeth
Doing Laundry
- Wash full laundry loads only on low-temperature programmes
- If you use a tumble dryer, spin-dry wet clothes first
At work
- Buy a laptop instead of a desktop PC
- Use a flat panel screen instead of a tube monitor - flat panels produce
less heat and draw less power
- Use an inkjet printer
- Send and receive faxes by email
- Print on both sides of the paper
- Write with smaller spaces
- Re-use scrap paper
Everywhere else
- Cycle
- Walk more
- Use public transport
- Share cars
- Buy local produce to reduce air miles – the average supermarket item has
travelled 1000 miles!
- Buy products with less packaging
- Buy less things that you don’t really need
- Use fewer plastic bags, buy a nice shoulder bag for your shopping
- Don’t buy tiny bottle drinks, which run out quickly
- Use ecologically friendly products
- Plant trees!
- Remember the 3 R’s – Reduce, Reuse, Recycle. Recycling is good but much
more expensive than reusing and reducing. Reuse is better, reduce is best of
all!
Even if you only do one of these things, you’ll have made a difference…
…small steps to change the world
Produced by an AfSL volunteer, 4th November 2005
Download this information as a snazzy poster! (PDF format, 331KB)
Pledge to
save energy or
switch to green energy
More on saving energy
Newsletter 2 contents page
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