Understand the environmental impact of your home

How to improve your use of gas and electricity

If you think are using too much gas or electricity have a think about a few simple things that could help you use less:

• How long is your heating on for - could you have it on less?
• Do you have old appliances that are not A rated?
• Have you installed low energy light bulbs in all your light fittings?
• Is your loft insulated?

If you want to know more about how you use your energy and what you could do to help reduce it, try our quick questionnaire to give you a personalised answer in minutes.

A device like the Electrisave can help you understand your electricity consumption and cost in your home in real time.

Electrical and gas efficiency

A great way to check out the efficiency of your house is to complete an Energy Savers Report Just answer a few questions to get your current energy rating and recommendations on how to improve your energy efficiency.

You can also see how much electricity you are using with one of our ingenious Electrisave gadgets They give you a real-time reading of your consumption and how much it is costing you.

Heating and insulation efficiency

We lose up to 50% of the heat in our homes through the walls and the loft, which can account for nearly £300 a year on energy bills. You could make huge savings with proper loft and cavity wall insulation.

Water saving

Helping the environment is not all about saving energy. Think about ways to save water too. Here are a few tips:

• Turn the tap off while you are cleaning your teeth or shaving.
• Fit a save-a-flush device to your toilet cistern – this could save around 2,000 l water per person per year.
• Have a shower instead of a bath.
• Buy new A++ rated dishwashers and washing machines, they use less water as well as less energy.

Recycling

9 out of 10 homes have a kerbside collection scheme. Don´t forget to:

1. Find out what your local council collects. Different councils have different methods and recycle different things, so help them out by sticking to the rules.
2. Have a system. Decide on a convenient place to store your items and make sure everyone in the house knows what to do.
3. Make sure you know when your recycling is collected and put it out on the right day. If you don’t have a collection scheme, find out where your nearest recycling bank is – you’re never to far away to make a difference.

As well as recycling, there are plenty of other ways to contribute. Compost bins or wormeries will take lots of your organic waste. And of course, the best approach of all is to reuse or reduce your rubbish.

Useful resources