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There is so much that you can do in your own home that saves energy and in turn saves you money. Some of the things below do cost money, some more than others, but most are completly free!!

Try and Repair: Try and repair things if you can, you'd be surprised how easy it is to fix things around the home, even what you might image as difficult. There are lot's of online resources such as fixya.com and diydata.com that give simple instructions on DIY and repairs. You can also buy stare parts online for lot's a household appliances. I bought a Dualit toaster as I new I could get replacement parts. When the timer broke, I bought a new timer for a fifth of the price of a new toaster - the Dualit does cost more than most toasters, but will last for years longer than cheaper alternatives. Also when it breaks, I don't throw the whole appliance into landfill, only a small part. Their are also a lot of other online forums that can help you repair anything from your washing machine to the boot lock on your car - some of them are really detailed and even include photos - this can save the cost of a new machine or a costly call engineer call-out.
Give Old Things Away: Leave things you no longer need outside your house for others. You'll be surprised what other people will take away and how quickly it will disappear from your driveway! Just tape a note on the top to let everyone know it's free to take away.
Green Electricity & Gas: You can buy energy that has been produced from renewable sources like wind turbines and wave power. Most suppliers will offer a green tariff, but they will likely only have a minute proportion of green power. Ecotricity offer a much more comprehensive green tariff (virtually all green with a small amount of 'brown' eneragy) and is one of the only purely renewable energy producers - they principally operate wind turbines. A portion of the bill you pay is also guaranteed to go towards building more turbines. Ecotricity also now provide a green gas tariff. Although this sounds like an odd proposal, they say that they will eventually produce gas from biomass reactors and other more renewable sources.
Drinks: Only fill the kettle as much as you need it - boiling unnecessary water uses power and cost money. I mostly drink cold drinks - water is better for you anyway!
Ironing: Don't iron everything! You don't need to iron T-shirts and jeans if you fold them thoroughly and, like kettles, irons use a lot of power. Besides the energy saving, this means you don't have to do so much ironing - not everyone's favorite chore!
Lights: Switch off lights that aren't needed.
Light Bulbs: Please try and use fluorescent and LED lightbulbs. So many people complain about the colour of fluorescent bulbs (i.e. not as 'warm' as traditional filament bulbs), or that they are sometimes slow to warm up. In the same way that people adjusted from candles to filament bulbs when they came in, it's easy to adjust to fluorescent bulbs - the human eye actaully adjusts anyway, so after a while, you actaully won't notice. Good quality fluoro bulbs will also save a lot of money, especially when compared with the 'twinkly' LV (low voltage) bulbs commonly used used in kitchens and bathrooms these days. You need around four 50Watt LV bulbs to give the same light as one 20Watt fluro bulb. Also, LV lamps only have around a 500hour life-span compared with up to 10,000hours for fluoro - doesn't take a genius to work out the obvious financial savings here. It's also worth pointing out that the only place we use flilament bulbs is at home - in offices / factories / supermarkets, fluoro bulbs are used - we seem to be able to cope in these environments.
Switch off - Don't Use Standby: Switch off appliances (washing machines/dishwashers), chargers, and entertainment equipment (PC/TV/Sky Box/Games Console etc) when not in use. All of these types of electrical equipment use power, even when not in use - it may not be much, but it all adds up - especially if you consider 60million other people in the country doing the same. Also, don't just use the standby button, actually switch it off at the mains - TV's/sky boxes etc can be turned off completly.
Reduce Water Consumption: Again, this one saves you money on your water bill. There are many ways to reduce water use, just consider how much you are need each time you turn on the tap. Here are some ideas: Fit a dual WC flush - one for wee, one for floaters. Alternatively, wrap a brick in a plastic bag and plop it in the WC cistern. Only put as much water in the kettle as you need. Don;t leave the tap on when brushing teeth. Take shorter showers (not baths). Don't water the lawn or garden plants - let the rain do it for you. Only wash clothes when they actaully need it and make sure the wahsing machine is full. Do the washing up by hand - dishwashers do use more water whatever the manufacturers tell you.
Insulate Your Home: You don't need to worry too much if you have a new house as these are already insultated to quite a high standard. However, if you have an old house like me, it's a really god idea to make sure your home is very well insulated. It costs a fortune to heat your home and is getting much more expensive each year. It's worth noting that there are often government grants for home insulation. Things to consider:
- Loft insulation - a lot of heat is lost through the roof. There are also some green types of insultation like lambs wool avalable.
- Cavity Wall Insulation - traditionally, this was by foam compounds or polystyrene balls. However, there are recycled paper pulp products avaialabel that do an equaly good job.
- Double Glazing - Single glazing is the worst at loosing heat. One of the best savings / payback is by fittings double glazing.
- Seals - make sure all your windows and doors are well sealed and don't let in drafts.
- Chimney - If you have an open fire place, stuff an old pillow in a plastic bag up the opening. Make sure to tie a ribbon on the end that dangles in the hearth to remind you it's there when not in use - otherwise you'll set fire to your chimney!
- Curtains / Blinds - Although double glazing reduces the amount of heat lost through your windows, you should also make sure you have curains and or blnids, nets etc as these will reduce the losses further. They'll also make your home feel more homely. Make sure the curtains are as thick as possible and lined with 'thermal' lining material.
Wear a Jumper: As long as it's not too cold, wear a jumper instead of turning on the heating. The longer you can delay turning on the heating approaching winter, and forthermore the sooner you can turn it off in spring, the better.
Adjust Your Heating System: When you do come to start using your heating in the winter, make sure you set the timer and thermostat to only come on as and when required. Remember to switch it off completely when going on holiday.
Efficient Heating System: If you have an old heating system, consider replacing it with a much more system, i.e. a condensing boiler. These are up to 86-95% efficient than older style boilers (60% efficient) and can save a huge amount of money. The downside is that they will cost from £800-£1500 depending on what you get. DirectGov explains the options in more detail and provides some good links.
Solar Thermal Panels: This option is for the serious eco-wariour as it's very expensive, but you could consider getting water heating solar panels on the roof. These are the sort of panels that heat water in tubes that are used to heat hot water and central heating. This can save a lot of gas. I wouldn't recommend using the alternative solar technology, photovoltaic (PV) solar panels, as they are extremely expensive, produce very little electricity and take at least 3-years to pay back the in-built carbon (i.e. the carbon used to process, manufacture and transport the panels).
Consider Your Next Home Makover: Do you really need to replace your kitchen or bathroom bcause you don't like the colour any more? It's very wasteful to replace a working kitchen just because it looks out of date - why not just paint the cupboard doors, replace the door handles or worktop. Some minor changes like this can completly transform a room.
Responsibly Dispose (Pass On) Old Fittings and Furniture: If you do feel you 'need' to update your kitchen, bathroom etc, don't just skip the old cupboards or bath. You can put them in your garage or workshop as useful storage units. Alternatively you can sell them in the paper (someone will buy them), or give them away using the freeads of freecycle. There's always someone who can find a good home for things you might not 'need' any-more.

If you want to find out more about sustainable homes, Uncle Tim has written a book called 'Simply Sustainable Homes' which is available from Amazon etc.


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