Reduce Your Carbon Footprint: Nigel's Top 10 Energy Saving Tips for the Home

Here's my top 10 energy and power saving tips helping you to save money, reduce your carbon footprint and to live a more eco friendly life.

Make sure you are not standing by
Did you know that an average family can save 150kg of CO2 a year just by turning things off? Appliances in standby mode account for around 10% of UK household energy use - so unplug devices when not in use, or invest in a standby saver - it'll save you around £40 per year.

Energy efficient lighting
In most homes, lighting accounts for 10 to 15% of the electricity bill. Use a smart meter to compare the power consumption of normal light bulbs with that of low energy and energy saving light bulbs - you'll be amazed at the difference, and at how much you can save (about 80% of the energy of normal bulbs, actually).

Rechargeable Batteries
In the UK we throw away over 650 million batteries every year, polluting the soil and filling landfill sites. Rechargeable batteries save energy and the slightly higher cost os recovered in the first five charges. Recharging costs are also minimal.

Watch your washing
I try not to wash my clothes on a setting above 40C. A wash at 60C uses 30% more energy as 90% of the energy used by a washing machine is used in heating the water.
At the same time why not try an eco-friendly washing powered such as Simply Laundry the first UK laundry product to be awarded the EU Eco-label or Soapods soap nuts a natural laundry soap that literally grows on trees.

Buy an energy efficient appliance for your home
I love my Eco Kettles because they save energy and money! In particular the innovative Eco Kettle has a unique double chamber that allows me to measure out exactly how much water I want to boil, saving electricity, water, money and time, making it better for the planet... and you still get to have a great cup of tea. I think that's pretty smart thinking - making the Eco kettle one of my favourite products, and an essential for any eco friendly kitchen or workplace.

Save energy from your fridge
It's a messy job but I try to defrost my fridge and freezer to maintain efficiency and I have a Savaplug saving up to 20% of my fridge's energy by better regulating it's power use. The award winning Savaplug was developed in conjunction with the Department of Energy, and saves you money on fridge and freezer running costs whilst being better for the environment. When fitted, it helps your fridge or freezer run more economically by adjusting the electricity supply according to the motor's needs. This means that they will also be kinder to the environment.

Share your shower
Having a shower not only saves on water, but it also saves on the energy used to heat the water. Why not try a shower timer? As water conservation becomes ever more important, this great water saving device will train you to save water when having a shower. The Shower Coach shower timertimes exactly 5 minutes, showing you when it's time to turn the shower off. According to the BBC's water saving tips: taking a 5 minute shower every day rather than a bath uses a third of the water and will save 400 litres of water a week.

Lower your thermostat
I like woolly jumpers - wearing one means I can turn the heating down. Lowering your thermostat by just 1.5C can save up to 10% on heating bills and reduce the greenhouse gases your household produces by up to a tonne. Also don't forget to regularly bleed your radiators to get rid of inefficient air bubbles.

How about a solar powered or wind up alternative?
Why not use a solar powered or wind up household gadget. You can buy wind up torches, wind up radios, and solar mobile phone and MP3 chargers. I love my new Wind Up Eco Media Player which means that I can watch my favourite movies or music videos, listen to mp3 music files or tune into the radio. Designed by Trevor Bayliss it has 2Gb storage, that you can easily add to this with plug in SD memory cards. The eco wind-up system means that I never need to worry about running out of power or wasting environmentally harmful batteries - one minute of winding gives me up to 40 minutes of play time.

Turn off your tumble dryer
Household appliances that give off heat such as tumble dryers, use lots of electricity. Whenever you can hand your clothes outside to dry. Turning off the tumble-dryer is a 100% energy saving solution. If you have to use your tumble dryer and you're looking to save money and energy, and for an eco friendly alternative to fabric conditioners you might want to try DryerBalls®. DryerBalls® are safe, non-toxic and environmentally friendly, they'll save you money, reducing your drying time by 25% and saving on electricity.


Do you have any other household energy saving tips to share?
Email me at helpme@nigelsecostore.com, and we might add them to this list!

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