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Seeding Sustainable Communities
Top
Tips for Reducing Your Energy Usage
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Heating
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Set
the timer on your heating. If your house is well-insulated,
your house should retain its heat: you may only need the
heating on for an hour or two each day.
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| 2 |
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Set the thermostat in your house. There is no need to
heat your house to above 21°C. Turning your thermostat
down by 1ºC could cut your heating bills by up to
10 per cent and save you around £30 per year*.
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| 3 |
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Set
the timer on your water heating. Two hours a day will
usually provide enough hot water. Your cylinder thermostat
shouldn't need to be set higher than 60ºC/140ºF*.
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Lights and Appliances |
| 1 |
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Switch
off lights when you leave the room. It is a fallacy that
switching lights on and off uses more energy than leaving
them on.
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| 2 |
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Switch
your computer screen off if you are leaving your computer
for more than a few minutes. The majority of a computer's
energy is used by the monitor.
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| 3 |
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Don't leave appliances (e.g. TV, hi-fi) on standby. When
you are not using them, switch them off completely. Switch
off lights when you leave the room.
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| 4 |
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Buy
energy efficient appliances. Look for the energy saving
recommended logo when you're buying new electrical appliances.
Replacing an old, energy-inefficient fridge-freezer with
a new Energy Efficiency Recommended one could save you
up to £35 every year*.
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| 5 |
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Use
energy efficient light bulbs. Just one can reduce your
lighting costs by up to £78 over the lifetime of
the bulb - and they last up to 12 times longer than ordinary
light bulbs*.
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Other tips |
| 1 |
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Put
foil behind your radiators to reflect the heat back into
the room.
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| 2 |
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Wash
your clothes at a suitable temperature. There is no need
to wash clothes at over 40°C*, as modern washing powders/liquids
are designed to get clothes clean at this temperature.
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| 3 |
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Only
boil as much water as you need when filling the kettle.
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| 4 |
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Avoid
putting hot food into the fridge.
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| 5 |
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Close
your curtains at dusk. This will help to stop energy from
escaping.
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| *Information
sourced from the Energy Saving Trust: www.est.org.uk.
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