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Saving Energy

There are many ways everone can do their bit to conserve energy. Not only does it save some of our planets valuable resources but it may well save you a bit of cash too, which is always good.

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A lot of heat energy is lost up the chimney flume, so if you are not using your fireplace, block up the chimney using newspaper or cardboard to save energy.

Turning your central heating thermostat down by just 1°C can save up to 10% on your fuel bills.

Insulate your home to save energy and reduce your bills. Insulating your loft can save £180 a year. You may also be able to get an energy saving grants to help with the cost.

Switch off all electrical appliances at the plug instead of using the 'standby' function. Appliances are still using electricity when on 'standby', and account for a massive 6% of all electricity usage in the home.

Letter boxes and key holes can let in draughts. Fit a nylon brush seal or a spring flap and put a cover over a key hole to keep the heat in.

The biggest long-term savings come from changing your energy habits and being more energy efficient around the home.

As you start to see savings its a good idea to re-invest this money in energy saving products and appliances to reduce your energy consumption even further. The long-term savings will more than pay for the cost of purchasing and installing these measures.

Start using these no-cost energy saving ideas around your home and measure the reduction in your next few energy bills. The more you apply the more you'll save.

Heating Tips

Time your heating to go off 30 minutes before you leave the house, and come on again 30 minutes before you are due to return.
Turn the room thermostat down by 1?C. This can save around £30 a year.
Make sure curtains or furniture are not in front of a radiator.
Draw the curtains at dusk to keep heat in rooms.

Using Electrical Appliances

Switch off appliances such as microwaves, TVs, videos, stereos, and computers, as they use energy when they are left on standby. A staggering 85% of the energy used by the DVD player is consumed when it is not actually in use.
Unplug equipment e.g. mobile phones, shavers and electric toothbrushes—once they are fully charged, otherwise they will keep drawing electricity.

Refrigeration

Avoid leaving the fridge door open. Avoid putting hot or warm food straight into the fridge; allow it to cool first.
Defrost your fridge regularly to keep it running efficiently and cheaply. If it seems to frost up quickly, check the door seal. It makes sense to avoid putting your fridge next to an oven or boiler. If possible, keep the freezer in a cool room or garage.

Washing machine and dishwashers

Only wash full loads or use a half-load or economy programme. Always use a low temperature programme as modern washing powders will be just as effective.
Modern dishwashers use less energy and water than washing up by hand.

Cooking

Match the size of the ring to the size of the saucepan or you will be paying to heat the air. Gas flames should only heat the bottom of the pan (not the sides)
Use a lid on saucepans, so the contents heat more quickly and you use less energy.
Pressure cookers, steamers and microwaves save energy.

Tumble dryers

In summer dry your clothes outside when possible.
If you are drying your clothes indoors, don’t put them over over a radiator. This stops the heat from reaching the rest of the room. Try putting up a clothes rail in an unheated room, opening the window slightly to allow damp escape and shutting the door to stop heat being drawn into that room.

Hot water

Only boil as much water in the kettle as you need.
In hard water areas, you need to deal with limescale to keep your kettle working efficiently for longer. At least twice a year, soak the element overnight in vinegar.
When washing up or running a bath turn the thermostat on your hot water tank down to 60c. This is a comfortable temperature for most people.
An ordinary shower uses just two fifths of the water for a bath. In contrast, power showers use as much water as a bath and sometimes more.

Cheap ways to save energy at home ...

Some of the most effective energy efficient improvements you can make to your home are either free or cheap to apply and will have an immediate impact on your energy bills.

The hardest part is becoming more aware of your energy habits and changing the way you use gas and electricity every day. Until recently, most of us have taken cheap energy for granted and expected a never ending supply on demand.

But as winter approaches many UK households face the prospect of even higher fuel bills as a combination of recent price rises and poorly insulated homes take their toll on the cost of living.

You can combat this by making a few simple changes to your energy habits and a small investment in insulation products. As 50% of the heat in your home is lost through the roof, walls and doors, this can have a dramatic effect on your heating bills this winter and beyond.

How will your home rate?

An added benefit of making your home more energy efficient is that it may be easier to sell.

From June 2007, all homes being sold in th UK will have to declare an energy efficient rating to potential buyers as part of a Home Information Pack. This rating will compare the efficiency of your home to others of the same type and may become an important buying feature as the cost of running a home continues to increase.

Saving water at home, in the garden or at work takes very little effort, but makes a surprisingly big difference. In general, this involves simply cutting out the amount of water we are wasting through our day-to-day habits. Turning the taps off when you brush your teeth, for example, can save up to 5 litres a minute. If the entire adult population of England and Wales did this, we could save a total of 180 mega litres a day, enough to supply nearly 500,000 houses.

SAVING WATER

Tips on Saving Water at Home

Vegetables and fruit should be washed in a bowl rather than under a running tap and the leftover water can be used for watering house plants.Use the minimum amount of water required when you boil water in saucepans and kettles; that way, you’ll save energy as well as water.Try keeping a bottle or jug of water in the fridge instead of running taps until the water runs cold.Half-load programmes on dishwashers and washing machines use more than half the water and energy of a full load so don’t put them on until they are full.Try not to leave the tap running while you brush your teeth, shave or wash your hands, as this can waste up to 5 litres of water per minute.While waiting for the water in the shower to warm up, collect the water in a bucket and use it to flush the toilet or water plants.A 5-minute shower uses about a third of the water of a bath. But remember that power showers can use more water than a bath in less than 5 minutes.Old toilet cisterns can use as much as 9 litres of clean water every flush. Reduce this by placing a ‘save-a-flush’ or ‘hippo’ in the cistern.Cotton wool and tissues should be put in a waste bin rather than flushed down the toilet.Dripping taps can waste up to 4 litres of water a day. Replace worn tap washers for a quick and cheap way of saving water.
Burst water pipes can cause serious damage as well as waste water. Ensure your water pipes and external taps are lagged in time for the cold winter months.

Tips on Saving Water in the Garden

Collect rainwater and use a watering can instead of a hose. If you prefer to use a hosepipe, fit a trigger nozzle to control the flow. Water Butts for your garden can be purchased at Greenfingers Trading LtdWater your garden in the cool of the early morning or evening. This will reduce the amount of water lost to evaporation.If you water plants and shrubs too often their roots will remain shallow, weakening the plant. Leave them alone until they show signs of wilting.Regularly weed and hoe your garden, to ensure that watering helps plants and not weeds.Plant flowers and shrubs that thrive in hot and dry conditions such as thyme, evening primrose, rock rose, Californian poppy, pinks, lavender, buddleia and hebes.Mulches such as wood chips, bark and gravel help to prevent water evaporation and also suppress weed growth, saving you both water and time spent weeding.Lawns can survive long periods of dry weather if the grass is not cut too short. Even if the grass turns brown, it will quickly recover after a few days of rain.
Garden sprinklers can use as much water in an hour as a family of four uses in a day. If you use a sprinkler, many water companies require you to have a water meter fitted.

Top 5 cheap ways to save energy at home

Start applying these measures to see your energy bills reduce. But before you do, check with your energy supplier and local authority as you maight qualify for an energy saving grant to help you with any costs.

1.LOOK FOR THE LOGO

When you replace your existing appliances, look for products that display the energy saving recommended logo. These products have to meet strict efficiency criteria, don't necessarily cost any more than less efficient models and can save you £50 per year.

2.CHANGE YOUR LIGHT BULBS

Lighting accounts for 15% of our electric bills and research by the Dept of Environment has shown that £1 out of every £3 spent on lighting and heating a home is wasted.

Normal light bulbs cost less than energy efficient bulbs, but they don't really save you money. An energy saving light bulb will cost you around £3.50 compared to 50p for a normal one, but it will save you around £9 on your annual electric bill and up to £100 over its lifetime!

3.INSULATE YOUR HOT WATER TANK

Insulating your hot water tank will reduce heat loss by up to 70% and you can fit them yourself for £10.

It costs you money to heat your water, so to minimise the heat lost from the tank fit a water tank jacket thats at least 75mm thick. It will only cost a few pounds and save £15-£20 per year.

4.STOP DRAUGHTS

A typical home loses 20% of its heat through draughty doors, windows and ventilation ducts.

Fit draught proofing products to your doors, windows and keyholes. You can buy them from DIY stores but check that they comply with standard BS7386 for maximum efficiency and durability.

5.INSULATE YOUR LOFT

Insulating your loft is one of the most cost effective ways to reduce your heating bills and you can do-it-yourself.

By laying down loft insulation to the recommended thickness of 270mm you could knock up to £200 off your annual heating bill. Make sure you use protective gloves and goggles if you install the insulation yourself.

How to apply for home energy saving grants ...

Although many home energy improvements are cheap to buy, some of the most effective efficiency measures can cost hundreds of pounds each.

There's no doubt that your initial investment will be recovered within a few years due to lower energy bills, but many homeowners simply cannot afford to pay the full price of improvements like installing a new boiler or having cavity wall insulation.

So if you are considering making improvements to your home, energy saving grant's and special offers are available from energy suppliers, the Government and local authorities.

Energy supplier grants & offers

Whoever supplies your electricity and gas, you can still be eligible for grants and special offers from any energy provider. UK energy companies over a certain size are obliged to contribute to Goverment home energy efficiency targets by providing discounted energy saving products and subsidised installation.

Government grants & schemes

The UK Government supports various energy efficiency schemes with eligibility dependant upon your location. In England the scheme is known as Warm Front, in Northern Ireland it is called Warm Homes, in Scotland Warm Deal and in Wales it's the Home Energy Efficiency Scheme. Although you don't need to be on benefits to receive these grants, those who are can receive greater financial assistance with purchase and installation.

Warm Front scheme (England)

Warm Front is the government's main grant-funded programme in England. Eligible households are offered a grant of £2,700 or £4,000 (if oil central heating has been recommended) to help with energy efficient insulation and heating products. To apply for a Warm Front grant you need to contact the scheme manager Eaga Partnership Ltd.

Eaga Partnership
Freepost Warm Front Team
12054
Newcastle Upon Tyne
NE2 1BR
Freephone 0800 316 6011

Warm Deal scheme (Scotland)

Warm Deal is a grant scheme offered by The Scottish Executive and provides a grant of up to £500 to make homes more energy efficient. To apply for a Warm Deal grant you need to contact the scheme manager Eaga Partnership Ltd.

Eaga Limited
Freepost
SCO 4421
Edinburgh
EH6 OBR
Freephone: 0800 072 0150

Home Energy Efficiency scheme (Wales)

The Home Energy Efficiency Scheme offers grants to low income households and aims to reduce fuel poverty by lowering energy bills and improving energy efficiency. Eligible households that receive benefits can apply for a grant of up to £1,500. To apply contact the scheme manager Eaga Partnership Ltd.

Eaga Partnership Ltd
Unit 4
Ty Nant Court
Ty Nant Road
Morganstown
Cardiff
CF15 8LW
Call freephone: 0800 316 2815

Local authority grants & schemes

Most local authorities provide well established energy efficiency schemes with some offering a reduction in council tax for certain measures. Use the database link below or contact your local council.

How to find energy saving grants in your area

The best way to find energy efficiency grants in your area is to use the Energy Saving Trust grant database. Simply enter your post code, select a few options and a comprehensive list of grants and offers is displayed in seconds.

Climate changes are natural phenomena that have been happening since the Earth was created approximately 4.6 billion years ago but recently there has been unprecedented warming. Use our interactive tool to see what climate change is and the effect man is having on it.

Things like leaving lights on unnecessarily or overfilling the kettle all waste energy and result in needless carbon dioxide emissions. This section looks at the impact we are having on climate change and what's being done to help prevent it.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, by 2008-2012 the UK must reduce it's baseline emissions of six major greenhouse gases by 12.5 per cent from a baseline target set in 1990. The UK government has also set a target to reduce carbon dioxide emissions to 20 per cent beneath that baseline. The long term goal is to reduce the carbon dioxide emissions by 60% by 2050.

If everyone with gas central heating installed a new condensing boiler we'd save over 13 million tonnes of carbon dioxide a year, as much as the annual emissions of over 2 million homes.

We should all do our bit to reduce our impact on climate change by making a few simple changes to our lifestyle. After all, climate change is a direct result of the way we consume energy. It affects us all.

Changes in the atmosphere

Concentrations of greenhouse gases are now higher than at any point in the past 800,000 years³. This change has happened very quickly and although the full impact is not completely known, it is possible to predict with some certainty what this change will lead to.

Global temperature warming

Greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) trap heat in the atmosphere which would otherwise escape into space. Of course, as more heat gets trapped in the atmosphere, the earth below heats up too. Over the past century, average global temperatures have risen by 0.7°C and computer modelling suggests that at least half of the increase since 1900 and most of the warming over the past 50 years has been caused by human activities³.

According to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, global temperatures are predicted to rise by between 1.4 and 5.8°C over the next century.

During August 2003, the hottest temperature ever recorded in the UK was taken in Brogdale in Kent. It was 38.5°C and between 4th and 13th August 2003, over 2,000 people in the UK died as a result of the heat³. Studies show that summers of such exceptional warmth are twice as likely to occur due to the presence of increased greenhouse gases and by 2050 may occur every two to three years¹.

Rising temperatures also causes flooding, as weather becomes more extreme. The number of people affected by floods worldwide has already risen from 7 million in the 1960s to 150 million todayª. The autumn and winter floods in 2000 in the UK were the worst for 270 years and flooding on farmland cost the farming industry nearly £500 million³.

Sea levels will continue to rise for several centuries after greenhouses gas concentrations in the atmosphere are stabilised because of the very large thermal inertia of the oceans. A noticeable effect of higher sea levels is the use of the Thames Barrier, which has increased from a few times a year when it was constructed to an average thirteen times a year now

Since 1990, global temperatures have risen by 0.2°C and atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations have increased from 354 parts per million (ppm) to 380 ppm¹. The ten warmest years on record have all been since 1990. Six of the ten warmest years on record in the UK were between 1995 and 2004.

Climate Change: Timeline

1827: French polymath Jean-Baptiste Fourier suggests the existence of an atmospheric effect keeping the Earth warmer than it would otherwise be. He also uses the analogy of a greenhouse.

1863: Irish scientist John Tyndall publishes paper describing how water vapor can be a greenhouse gas

1890’s: Swedish scientist Svante Arrhenius and an American, P.C. Chamberlain, independently consider the problems that might be caused by CO2 building up in the atmosphere. Both scientists realize that the burning of fossil fuels could lead to global warming, but neither suspect the process might already have started.

1890’s to 1940: Average surface air temperatures increase by about 0.25 °C. Some scientist see the American Dust Bowl as a sign of the greenhouse effect at work.

1940 to 1970: Worldwide cooling of 0.2 °C. Scientific interest in greenhouse effect wanes. Some climatologists predict a new ice age.

1957: US oceanographer Roger Revelle warns that people are conducting a "large-scale geophysical experiment" on the planet by releasing greenhouse gases. Colleague David Keeling sets up first continuous monitoring of CO2 levels in the atmosphere. Immediately Keeling finds regular year-on-year rise.

1970s: Series of studies by the US Department of Energy increases concerns about future global warming.

1979: First World Climate Conference adopts climate change as major issue and calls on governments "to foresee and prevent potential man-made changes in climate".

1985: First major international conference on the greenhouse effect at Villach, Austria, warns that greenhouse gases will "in the first half of the next century, cause a rise of global mean temperature w hich is greater than any in man's history". This could cause sea levels to rise by up to a meter, researchers say. Conference also reports that gases other than CO2, such as methane, ozone, CFCs and nitrous oxide, will also contribute to warming.

1987: Warmest year on record. The 1980s turn out to be the warmest decade, with seven of the eight warmest years recorded up to 1990. Even the coldest years in the 1980s were warmer than the warmest years of the 1880s.

1988: Global warming attracts worldwide headlines after Dr. James Hansen of NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies lab tells a Congressional hearing "global warming is at hand." And blames a blame major US drought – which fueled massive wildfires in Yellowstone Park -- on its influence. Meeting of climate scientists in Toronto subsequently calls for 20 per cent cuts in global CO2 emissions by the year 2005. UN sets up the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to analyze and report on scientific findings.

1988: U.S. Congresswoman, Claudine Schneider (R-RI), authors the first significant piece of legislation aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the Global Warming Prevention Act.

1990: The first report of the IPCC finds that the planet has warmed by 0.5 °C in the past century. IPCC warns that only strong measures to halt rising greenhouse gas emissions will prevent serious global warming. Provides scientific clout for UN negotiations for a climate convention. Negotiations begin after the UN General Assembly in December.

1991: Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Philippines, throwing debris into the stratosphere that shields the Earth from solar energy, which helps interrupt the warming trend. Average temperatures drop for two years before rising again. Scientists point out that this event shows how sensitive global temperatures are to disruption.

1992:Framework Convention on Climate Change, signed by 154 nations in Rio, agrees to prevent "dangerous" warming from greenhouse gases and sets initial target of reducing emissions from industrialized countries to 1990 levels by the year 2000. President George Bush signs on behalf of the United States.

1994: The Alliance of Small Island States - many of whom fear they will disappear beneath the waves as sea levels rise - adopt demand for 20 per cent cuts in emissions by the year 2005. This, they say, will cap sea-level rise at 20 centimeters.

1995: Hottest year yet. In March, the Berlin Mandate is agreed by signatories at the first full meeting of the Climate Change Convention in Berlin. Industrialized nations agree on the need to negotiate real cuts in their emissions, to be concluded by the end of 1997.

In November, the IPCC agrees that current warming "is unlikely to be entirely natural in origin" and that "the balance of evidence suggests a discernible human influence on global climate". Report predicts that, under a "business as usual" scenario, global warming by the year 2100 will be between 1 °C and 3.5 °C.

1996: At the second meeting of the Climate Change Convention, the US and President Bill Clinton’s administration agree for the first time to legally binding emissions targets and sides with the IPCC against influential "skeptical" scientists. After a four year pause, global emissions of CO2 continue their steep climb, and scientists warn that most industrialized countries will not meet Rio agreement to stabilize emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000.

1997:Kyoto Protocol agrees legally binding emissions cuts for industrialized nations, averaging 5.5 per cent, to be met by 2010. The meeting also adopts a series of flexibility measures, allowing countries to meet their targets partly by trading emissions permits, establishing carbon sinks such as forests to soak up emissions, and by investing in other countries. The precise rules are left for further negotiations. Meanwhile, the US government says it will not ratify the agreement unless it sees evidence of "meaningful participation" in reducing emissions from developing countries.

1998: Follow-up negotiations in Buenos Aires fail to resolve disputes over the Kyoto "rule book", but agree on a deadline for resolution by the end of 2000. 1998 is the hottest year in the hottest decade of the hottest century of the millennium.

1999: Scientists, reconstructing the global climate for the last 1,000 years, using weather records, tree-rings, coral and ice-core readings, declare that the decade of the 1990s is the hottest at least in the last millennium.

2001: Newly elected U.S. President, George W. Bush, renounces the Kyoto
Protocol because he questions the science and he believes it will damage the US economy.

2001: International talks finally conclude the fine print of the Kyoto Protocol.

2001: United Nations weather agency reports that 2001 is the second hottest year in the 140 years that meteorologists have been keeping records. Nine of the 10 warmest years since 1860 have occurred since 1990, the agency said, and temperatures are rising three times as fast as in the early 1900's.

June 3, 2002: The United States sends its "U.S. Climate Action Report 2002”, to the United Nations. The report "strongly concludes that no matter what is done to cut emissions in the future, nothing can be done about the environmental consequences of several decades' worth of carbon dioxide and other heat-trapping gases already in the atmosphere." It further states that "Some of the goods and services lost through the disappearance or fragmentation of natural ecosystems are likely to be costly or impossible to replace."

The report also warns of the substantial disruption of snow-fed water supplies, the loss of coastal and mountain ecosystems and more frequent heat waves. "A few ecosystems, such as alpine meadows in the Rocky Mountains and some barrier islands, are likely to disappear entirely in some areas," it says. "Other ecosystems, such as Southeastern forests, are likely to experience major species shifts or break up into a mosaic of grasslands, woodlands and forests."

June 17, 2002: Study released by Montreal-based Commission for Environmental Cooperation, which was created under the North American Free Trade Agreement, calls for "immediate action" to tackle harmful greenhouse gases, such as carbon dioxide.

July 22, 2002: California Governor Gray Davis signs the nation's first law to restrict emissions of so-called greenhouse gases from the tailpipes of cars and trucks.

2002: Since 1980, the earth has experienced 19 of its 20 hottest years on record, with 2002 the second hottest ever recorded, and 1998 the hottest.

2002: Japan, the European Union and its 15 member states and Canada ratify the Kyoto Protocol.

Note: This document was created by Green House Network with editing by Ross Gelbspan and by cross-referencing a timeline posted on http://www.newscientist.com.

As well as the information on these pages there are regular energy saving tips on the main page as well as information on how we are doing based on visits to this site. Why not set ecooogle as your default homepage to keep updated and save a little energy each time you load your browser

The UK's carbon footprint is over 500* million tonnes of CO₂ per year. Individuals account for 45% of this. Find out how you can reduce your footprint.

Use the calculator to measure your carbon footprint and find out what practical steps you can take to make it smaller. On a personalised page, you can track your progress, update your carbon-reducing actions and see a Google Map featuring the footprints and actions of everyone taking part. To share ideas, ask advice or find people in your local area to collaborate with, join the UK Carbon Footprint discussion group. Google Carbon Footprint calculator

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