Energy Saving Week (20 - 26 October)

Monday, October 20th, 2008 by Nigel

This week is Energy Saving Week. In an effort to save energy and reduce some of our bills I’ve been on even more of an energy saving mission myself over the last few weeks.

In the last month I’ve been using a standby saver called Energenie. It’s a really clever little device that detects when you switch something to standby and automagically disconnects it from the mains.

It might not seem like a big thing, but according to the Energy Saving Trust, who run Energy Saving Week, stuff like TVs, stereos and computers left on standby in the UK use 7 Terra Watts of energy every year and costs us around £1 billion. Someone with a calculator worked out the emissions from all that wasted energy is the equivalent of about 1.4 million long haul flights.

I’ve also been toying with the Energy Saving Gas Net, which converts lost heat and gas from inefficient gas hob into heat and energy. Not only a great energy saver, but my sausages have never cooked so well.

While it is handy having all these gadgets to try out, the big difficulty is getting the rest of the family to remember to turn off the lights, close the curtains and not leave the heating on all the time. At least the Energenie means no one can leave the TV on standby all night!

What have you been getting up to for Energy Saving Week? Got any energy saving tips, or ideas on how to get the family on board? I could do with some help - comments below…