Sustainability - Energy saving techniques

Some top tips to save the planet and your pocket:

Support Your School rewards a school £1 for every printer cartridge and £3 for every mobile phone handed in...with major cutbacks happening throughout the public sector it might be an idea to donate equipment to schools.
Try repairing any items instead of throwing them away...or sell items as broken on sites such as ebay for someone else to have a go.
Try not to leave electrical appliances on standby. Items left on standby can use 85% of the energy the would use if fully switched.
Tumble dryers are commonly the second biggest energy user in the home after the fridge or freezer. They are obviously used a lot less, but still use a huge amount of energy when switched on.
About 10 - 15% of your electricity bill is for lighting, so energy saving bulbs can cut yours costs considerably as traditional light bulbs waste energy through heat. Energy saving bulbs may be more expensive but last 10 times as long and use 4 times less energy.
Always turn lights off when you leave a room.
When using a washing machine, you might be surprised to learn that 85 - 90% of energy is used just to heat up the water. Therefore, dropping the water temperature could significantly reduce your energy consumption and with new ‘switch to 30 degrees’ you can still wash effectively.
When cooking use the right size pan, boil the kettle first and use a lid when boiling on the stove. Just boil the necessary amount of water for a cup of tea when making one...no need to waste energy boiling unneeded water.
Try to plan ahead and defrost frozen food in the fridge as this helps keep the fridge cool and decreases the amount of energy it uses. The location of the fridge is important, keep it out of the sun, against an outside wall so the heat it generates can escape, away from an oven or dishwasher that may generate heat, and allow for a few inches of space around your fridge so air can circulate...the cooler your fridge is, the less it has to work.
Do you have any hidden water leaks? Check your water meter, don’t use any water for a couple of hours, and then check again (maybe before and when you get in from work).
Turn the tap off when washing your face or brushing your teeth. You can waste up to 9 litres a minute by just letting the water pour down the sink.
Take a short shower rather than a bath could save you up to 400 litres a week.
Fix any dripping tap, you may be wasting 90 litres a week and energy used to heat the water which will cost a lot more than what might be the price of a new washer.
Think before throwing used water down the drain, for example, water in a pan after cooking, this could be used for watering plants around the house or in the garden (and may be full of nutrients).
Fit water saving devices in your cistern to save when flushing...you could save 3 litres a flush.
Using mulch on the garden will help the soil retain water resulting in you not having to water your garden as often.
A sprinkler system can use as much water in an hour as a family of four will use in a day. Your lawn only needs watering once a week (during a dry summer) and it is better to water in the morning when the temperature is lower and evaporation is less.
Install a water butt in the garden to collect the rain water...anything to minimise the use a a hose saves money and energy.
Turning your thermostat down by just a few degrees could save up to 10% on your heating bills. This small change in temperature may not be noticeable.
Insulate your house correctly. The main areas that will require insulation are your attic roof and the door to the attic, and areas under the floor above unheated areas for example a basement. A good tip to keep the heat from your radiators inside the house is to place heat reflectors behind them. You can buy radiator foil, or simply use ordinary kitchen foil, keep the shiny side facing the radiator.
Draw your curtains can also help retain a considerable amount of heat.
An old heating system will not be as efficient as it could be and you could end up wasting energy and money. Your energy company may have insurance you are entitled to resulting in an engineer servicing your boiler and keeping it running efficiently.
Buy electrical appliances with energy efficiency in mind...newer TV’s are much more efficient than older ones so could save you money on your bills whilst providing better viewing quality - the perfect excuse to upgrade!