Energy in the Home

Read through our tips and good practice advice below to see how you can reduce your household’s carbon footprint. Remember that by reducing your household energy consumption, you will not only help to mitigate the effects of climate change – you will save money on your energy bill too!

If you are a homeowner you can find more information from REAP   and the Energy Saving Trust Scotland

Home Energy Checklist

• Replace incandescent bulbs with compact fluorescent lamps. These give the same level of light as incandescent bulbs, yet use less than one-quarter the energy and last ten times longer.
• Turn off the lights when you leave a room. Get in the habit of only having lights on in the rooms you are in.
• Use natural lighting whenever possible. If the room you’re in is receiving sufficient light through the windows from daylight outside, turn the lights off.
• If your radiators have adjustable valves, turn the heating down in rooms you don’t frequently use. You will save energy by targeting your heating to spaces where you most want to be warm, such as the lounge room, and decreasing or even turning off your heating elsewhere.
• Make sure you don’t have windows open while heating. If the house gets too warm with the heating on, turn the heating down rather than opening a window.
• Wear a jumper in winter. Don’t have the heating up so high that occupants are wearing summer clothing when it’s freezing outside!
• Only boil as much water as you need – if you’re having a cup of tea, don’t fill the kettle to the top – just boil enough for one cup of tea. You’ll save time too!
• Don’t leave electrical appliances on standby. Appliances left on standby continue to use electricity, so get in the habit of turning things off at the wall when you are finished using them.
• When you purchase new electrical appliances, try to choose energy efficient products when they are available.

Other steps you can take

• Reduce your fuel consumption and increase your fitness by walking or cycling instead of driving when feasible. Also try to make use of public transport rather than using your car when you can.
• Drive your car more efficiently – by using smarter driving techniques, you might be able to reduce your carbon emissions (and save money on fuel!) Read more about efficient driving.
• Reduce your household waste production by purchasing low-packaged items, re-using plastic bags, and reducing the amount of food you throw out each week.
• Recycle as much household waste as you can.
• Maintain a compost or worm farm. If you have some outdoor space available, put in a compost for your organic waste – if you have a garden, you can use the compost soil for fertiliser!
• Consider investing in solar photovoltaic (PV) panels (electricity generation) or solar thermal panels (hot water heating) on your roof. You might be eligible for a grant to lessen the cost of the installation – find out more about household energy saving grants . If you are considering solar PV, read up on the  Government’s Feed-In Tariffs – you could be paid money for each unit of electricity generated by your renewable energy installation, even electricity you use