Ways to be green – save energy

  1. Don’t fill your kettle if you are only making one cup of tea. Just heat the amount of water you will use.
  2. Use an induction hob or microwave to heat food.
  3. Keep a lid on pans when cooking. You will use less energy to cook your food.
  4. If the weather allows, dry your washing outside rather than using a tumble dryer.
  5. If it’s wet dry washing on your radiators when the heating is on, rather than using a tumble drier.
  6. Let your hair dry naturally instead of using a hairdryer.
  7. Keep food in your freezer organised so you can find things easily. Close the door when you can – don’t leave it open while you search through a box of food.
  8. Don’t fill your kettle if you are only making one cup of tea. Just heat the amount of water you will use.
  9. Use an induction hob or microwave to heat food.
  10. Keep a lid on pans when cooking. You will use less energy to cook your food.
  11. If the weather allows, dry your washing outside rather than using a tumble dryer.

  1. If it’s wet dry washing on your radiators when the heating is on, rather than using a tumble drier.
  2. Let your hair dry naturally instead of using a hairdryer.
  3. Keep food in your freezer organised so you can find things easily. Close the door when you can – don’t leave it open while you search through a box of food.
  4. If you have an “Eco” setting on a household appliance, like a washing machine or dishwasher, use it. It might take a little longer but you will use less energy.
  5. If you are buying a new household appliance, like a fridge, choose one with the best energy rating.
  6. Turn lights off when you don’t need them.
  7. Put low energy, or even better LED, light bulbs in your house. If you tried low energy light bulbs when they first came out and didn’t like them they are worth another go. Great improvements have been made in how they work.
  8. Turn your heating thermostat down a notch and wear a jumper.
  9. Adjust the timer on your heating so it isn’t on when you don’t need it.
  10. Install loft insulation if you don’t have any. If you do, then check it is thick enough  and maybe add another layer.
  11. Find any draughts coming into the house and use draught excluders. Where have all the door snakes gone?
  12. Fit secondary double glazing if you don’t have it.
  13. Check that your house walls are properly insulated. Get cavity wall insulation if you don’t have it already.
  14. Change your energy supplier to one that uses renewable sources.
  15. If you have a Smartmeter learn how to use it to make your energy use more efficient.
  16. Install PV solar panels on your roof.
  17. Install a heat pump to heat your house.
  18. Don’t drive round with loads of heavy clutter in your boot. The heavier your load the more petrol you will use.
  19. If you are thinking of changing your car, get an electric one.
  20. If you are setting up outdoor lighting, for patio areas or for intruder alerts, try to use LED lights that are solar powered.
  21. Don’t use a patio heater. Put on a coat or get a blanket. Otherwise, it is too cold to be outdoors.
  22. Don’t use air conditioning to keep cool. Open a window on the cooler side of the house and close curtains against the sun.
  23. When doing video calls, like Zoom, Facetime or Skype, turn off you camera. It saves 96% of the energy used in the call.
  24. Learn about the Powersave functions on your computer. Use the sleep and hibernate functions more quickly.
  25. If you use Google as your search engine, try out Blackle. It does the same search but on a black screen, saving energy.