Living Green

With the growing popularity of comparison websites, more consumers are voting with their feet than ever before and choosing to switch energy suppliers to save money on energy bills. But there are other ways to save on your monthly expenses, as well as cutting the negative impact of energy use on our planet. Here we give you some green tips that will help you cut costs too.

Use energy saving light bulbs – Did you know that just one energy saving light bulb could save you 26kg of carbon dioxide and £7 off your energy bills every year? The range of low energy bulbs available today is better than ever before with producers having to cater to the growing demand for them, so you can now choose from a variety of shapes and sizes, and even dimmable bulbs.

Don’t forget sunlight – Natural light is good for us, warming us up and making our bodies more healthy and happy. So it’s a shame that as soon as the light starts to fade we close the curtains and put the lights on. Instead, try using as much natural light as possible for as long as possible.

Turn out the light – If you’re not using a light, turn it off. Sounds simple, but if more of us would remember to do this, we’d all save energy, and you’d be surprised how much money you’d save. Leaving lights on in empty rooms is just a drain on your electricity account and on the environment too.

Use bulbs sparingly – Ask yourself if you really need a two or four-bulb light fitting. By replacing it with a single bulb fitting you’ll save energy and money, and it’s a cheap and simple improvement to make.

Standby at your peril – We know it’s so much easier to press the off switch on the remote, but when you see how much money you could save by switching your tv off at the mains rather than on standby, then making that mammoth trip across the living room to the off switch might not seem so bad. Energywatch claims that as much as £37 could be saved each year by households who remember to switch appliances off at the unit or wall.

Cut those kitchen costs – Your clothes will still come up shining after you’ve washed them at a lower 40 degrees, and by making sure you only ever do a full load of washing you’ll be operating much more efficiently. If you must do a smaller wash, use your machine’s economy or half load setting. As for your dishwasher – don’t use its dish drying option, let dishes dry naturally. Try not to use tumble dryers as these are very costly and energy heavy, hang your clothes outside or on a clothes horse instead wherever possible.

Shop for A grades – Next time you’re looking to buy an electrical appliance, look for the Grade A energy efficiency logo. This indicates that the appliance is the most efficient of its type.