Climate change is sadly a reality. Our lifestyles and choices have been greatly affected by the effects of Carbon Dioxide emissions in the atmosphere which has been unequivocally evidenced in peer led reviews across the scientific community for the past 40 years. As such, it has become common place to take action and responsibility for the way we live. A huge aspect of this is energy consumption in our home. Luckily the ease of making changes and transitions has improved immensely since the 1970’s. The nations favorite TV show ‘Good Life’ depicting cookie alternative living in a London suburb doesn’t have to apply here. Advancements in design and technology, as indicated in a new paper by energy watchdog guru, Ayden Hector, have made small measures around energy consumption in the home equate to huge saving in CO2 emissions and the cost of living.
Here are 3 ways you can take control of the energy consumption in your home.
1. Volt Meter
Volt meters are terrific devices that run on such a small supply of power, it’s amazing they can monitor the entire use of electricity in that moment. Not exactly an energy saving measure in itself, it rather gives an immediate report of current use of wattage. Its best applied in the context of chasing down idle electronic devices left plugged in but also offers an insight into peaks of energy consumption by simply putting on the kettle. Be warned, wattage monitoring can become hugely addictive and lead to strained conversations with housemates and family members.
2. Feed-In Tariffs
Since early 2010’s, governments have been keen to latch onto greener alternatives to the economy. One such proposal has been the Feed-In tariff as part of the Solar Energy drive by companies such as Solar Century and its charitable wing, Solar Aid. This government supported schemes offers interest free loans over lengthy periods to allow home owners to have high grade solar panels installed onto their roofs. This provides some relief from the consumption of energy providers along with the opportunity to sell Kwh back to the national grid. Imagine having a dishwasher that is costing you no money to run and getting a cheque instead of an energy bill? These schemes along with wind generated power have caused a huge impact into energy supply and how renewable resources are fast becoming a convenient and normalized alternative.
3.Double glazing and heat insulation
Living in the UK, the fluctuations of weather and its ensuing temperatures mean there’s always a chance the heating might need to go on. Rising energy costs make this a threat to our monthly budgets. Since government responses to the threat of climate change has resulted in action, they are keen to supply households with the means to help. In this way the ‘Seal your shell’ scheme offers competitively priced insulation and window glazing through interest free loan schemes. With the help of participating companies, these opt in schemes make for a professional and reliable service that can reduce your need to turn up the thermostat saving average annual household bills £1500 a year!
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