CARBON REDUCTION

How can you effectively reduce your Carbon Footprint?

There are lots of ways you can help reduce your carbon footprint AND save yourself some money at the same time!

Below are some FREE and easy ways to reduce your carbon footprint:

  1. Only use the heat and light appliances you really need - don't leave TVs or videos on standby. Also switch off your PC screen and printer when they're not being used! This can save you hundreds of kilos of CO2 per year.

  2. Try turning your heating thermostat down by 1 or 2 degrees. You will probably hardly notice the difference and it will save about £10 a year. Keeping furniture away from radiators can also help - the foam in an upholstered chair is a very effective heat insulator!

    You'll find this can save you several hundred kilos of CO2 per year.

  3. When cooking, choose the right pan size for the food and the cooker, cut food into smaller pieces and put lids on pans as the food will then cook a lot quicker. If you are defrosting food, or just warming things up, then microwave ovens are ideal as they use much less electricity than conventional ovens.

  4. Regularly defrost your freezer and try to keep it packed full, even if this is with scrunched up paper to avoid wasting energy. You should also check the seals on your fridge/freezer to ensure no warm air is getting in - the seals should be tight enough to hold a piece of paper securely when closed.

  5. Try to have full loads when using the washing machine and use the lower 40°C wash. With today's washing powders this temperature is more than adequate to clean clothes and will save you up to three quarters of the cost of the hottest cycle.

    On some washing machines, only cold water is used to fill the machine when it is set to a low temperature, which means that there is no need to heat up the central heating boiler: look at your washing machine instruction manual to see if this applies. You also don't need to have your domestic water heated to a scalding temperature either, for most people setting the thermostat to 60°C/140°F is quite adequate. Washing your clothes in cold water or warm water can save 200kg of CO2 per year)

  6. The sun is the most readily available source of heat there is - and the cheapest! So make the most of it by opening internal doors of any rooms which get more sun than others and let the warm air travel through your home. Avoid using tumble driers and radiators to dry your clothes; on nice sunny days clothes can be dried outside

  7. Change a light - replacing 1 regular light bulb with a compact fluorescent (energy saving) bulb saves around (60kg) of carbon a year as well as saving around £10 per year on your electricity bill. If you were to change all the bulbs in your home for low energy bulbs you'll be surprised how much you'll save on you bill.

  8. Drive less - save one pound (0.5kg) of carbon for every mile you DON'T drive

  9. Check your tyres - keeping you car tyres inflated to the correct pressure can improve your MPG by up to 3%. Every gallon of petrol saved keeps around 9 kg of CO2 out of the atmosphere.
  10. Recycle more - You can save 1 Tonne of carbon by recycling just HALF of your household waste per year.

  11. Use less hot water less - it takes a lot of energy to heat water. use less hot water by installing a low-flow shower head. (150kg CO2 saved per year)

  12. Avoid products with a lot of packaging - you can save 500kg CO2 per year if you cut your rubbish by 10%