It is not really all that difficult to reduce our electricity consumption at home, though it may be more difficult in the office where many things are beyond our control. There are however still ways that we can contribute to a reduction in energy usage.
1/ A major contributor to the consumption of energy is leaving appliances such as televisions and DVD players on stand-by when they are not in use. Turning off unused appliances at the wall when they are not in use is probably the biggest and quickest way to reduce consumption. Even the humble mobile phone charger saps electricity when it is left plugged in, apparently doing nothing.
2/ Turn your central heating down by a couple of degrees and put a jumper on if you are feeling cold. It is really not necessary to have a sub-tropical house.
3/ Turn off unused lights and reduce the wattage of your lightbulbs as it becomes necessary to replace them. A 40watt bulb is just as good as a 100watt bulb. There is a school of thought that says low energy bulbs are no more efficient than a tungsten light bulb, particularly over short periods as the bulbs use a lot of energy to heat up before they can work properly. Ask yourself if it is really necessary to have the light on to watch the TV?
4/ Don’t leave the computer running and not being used. it has power saving settings for the monitor and the drives so use them. It doesn’t take long to power up again when you next want to use it.
5/ Don’t boil a full kettle of water just to make one cup of tea. Peak demand for electricity occurs at the end of Tv Programmes and it puts unnecessary demand on already stretched amenities when you put the kettle on.
6/ Reduce the wash temperature on your washing machine to 30degrees, instead of using the normal 40degree setting.
As you can see, it’s not difficult. It just requires a Little bit of thought and some care and attention to detail. Everybody has different ways of doing things but if we all work in the same direction big things can be achieved. After all, acorns grow into Oak trees.
