Chester and District Friends of the Earth greenchester.co.uk .. Chester Friends of the Earth present a guide to greener living in Chester [home page]

Energy

There are two key environmental issues with using energy for homes or business - how much you use, and where it comes from.

Reduce usage - change your behaviour

To reduce what you use the first thing to do is change your everyday behaviour, simple changes of habit that save you money, such as:

  1. Only boil as much water in a kettle as you need
  2. Put a lid on a pan when cooking
  3. Turn appliances on standby off
  4. Wash your clothes at a lower temperature
  5. Turn your thermostat down 1 degree (which might shave more than 5% off your heating bills)

Friends of the Earth have a more comprehensive list of how to save energy without spending any money.

Reduce usage - invest to save energy and money

Investing sensibly in your home will reduce your energy needs and in the long run save you money, again many of the things you can do are simple and pay for themselves in no time:

  1. Fit draught excluders to your doors
  2. Increase your loft insulation to 270 mm (about 10 inches - this can save 5% off your heating bill, and pay for itself very quickly)
  3. Put a thick jacket on your hot water tank
  4. Replace your light bulbs with energy efficient ones - one heavily used bulb might save you £7 a year
  5. Install cavity wall heating (can knock 15% off your heating bill and pay for itself in less than two years)
  6. Buy energy efficient devices whenever you replace an appliance - follow this link to find which ones use least.
  7. If your boiler needs replacing buy a condensing one

If you want to see how much difference there is between the cost of running an energy efficient appliance and that of an normal one - go to Sust-it.net ... it will only take a few moments to realise the hidden cost of power hungry household appliances.

Read more on The Energy Saving Trust's website, which also has links to information on the grants and help you can get to make your home more efficient.

Buying green, or greener, energy

Buying green energy from a renewable source means you have reduced your carbon footprint and really played your part towards a sustainable future.

There are two ways of doing this - your existing supplier may have a green tariff, using wind, hydro or other renewable sources, or you can sign up with one of the 100% renewable companies that provide electricity in the UK (see side panel for links).