Here are a few energy saving tips for your home, if you can think of anymore I can add to the list please This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it me.

Kitchen Appliances

Cook with small appliances. Using your toaster, microwave and slow cooker for certain food jobs instead of your main cooker uses less energy.

Clean or replace air filters. Make sure you replace filters on extractor hoods, humidifiers, vacuums, etc. Clogged filters decrease performance and cause the units to run longer –wasting energy.

Select the right size appliance. Consider your household’s needs before buying a fridge/ or freezer. One that is too big and empty wastes energy.

Clean the fridge unit. Gently clean dust off the elements you can easily reach and motor once or twice a year. A clean unit is more efficient. Make sure you unplug the item and gently clean it with a hoover or long handled brush.

Defrost a unit regularly. Too much frost makes your freezer work harder and wastes energy.

Reduce cooking heat. When you start cooking, begin on a higher heat. Once the liquid has reached boiling point lower the heat and simmer until the food is completely cooked. Boiling food quickly doesn’t cook quicker than a slow boil/simmer but it does use unnecessary energy.

Don’t peek! While baking try to resist the urge to open the oven door, as every time the door is opened the temperature can drop by 25oF and then needs more energy to build the temperature back up again.

Place a lid on it! When you are cooking and boiling put a lid on the pot wherever possible and practical. Putting a lid on keeps the heat inside and requires less energy.

Oven temperature. Buy yourself an oven thermometer to test and check the

Temperature you think you are cooking at, if the actual temperature is higher than you think you will waste more energy than is needed, as well as probably burning a few too many dinners!

Washing

Full wash loads. Always wash a full load in your machine or tumble drier. Doing a load that’s only part full uses the same amount of energy but you get less done, so by running full loads you need to use the machine less often!

Don’t over dry clothes! Drying laundry too much is tough on your fabrics and a total waste of energy. If buying a new drier try to get one with an electronic sensor – shuts off when washing is dry! Or only set your drier on for shorter times and keep checking it..

Clean the filter. After each load is dry, clean out the lint filter in your drier to keep the drier running efficiently.

Lighting

Energy saving light bulbs. Where possible use energy saving light bulbs, especially useful in children’s rooms where lights can get left on for longer periods of time.

Turn off lights. Whenever a light isn’t needed, if only for a short time – turn it off! Leaving lights on all the time uses more energy than turning them off and on.

Alter light level. If you use dimmer switches for your lighting lower the level of lighting down when full light isn’t needed, to save energy.