Rising Energy Costs – Keeping the House Warm and Saving Money
With today’s rising energy costs, finding ways of keeping the house warm and saving money this winter is vital. There are numerous ways in which you can save on your heating costs in winter, and first and foremost of these is fitting good insulation in your house.
Even if you can’t afford a professional job, it’s not too expensive to fit wooden blinds or thick curtains on your windows and plug up any draughts with cheap doorstops. Reducing the number of rooms you use and closing the doors to those you don’t need will cut down on your heating bills quite considerably, and also ensure that the family spends more time together.
If you set your heating timer to switch your heating off while you’re away at work and only warm up the house just before you get home, that will also help you in your fight against rising energy costs.
Another way of keeping the house warm and saving money is to ensure that your heating systems are in good running order, and if you can afford to invest in a new, more efficient central heating system, it will save you a lot of money in the long run.
Reducing UK carbon footprint a must
An expert on consumer energy in the UK believes it is crucial that Britons adjust their lifestyles in order to achieve goals set to cut carbon emissions. Kevin McCloud is an acclaimed writer and host of the Channel 4 TV series, Grand Designs. He also shares a passion for saving the environment and proposes sustainable solutions to the UK consumer energy dilemma.
This includes the use of energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tides and geothermal heat, otherwise known as renewable energy. McCloud recommends that current homes be equipped to effectively reduce carbon emissions. He appeals to corporate and public sectors to revolutionise consumer energy in the UK, and states, "Frankly there's not a hope in hell of meeting our targets unless we do something about the existing housing stock and unless we can retrofit and refurbish those homes to a new low carbon economy."
The Energy Savings Trust maintains that leaving a 100W light bulb on for just half an hour generates the same amount of C02 it takes to inflate the average party balloon. All in all, consumers can contribute to reducing their carbon footprint by changing to a more environmentally-friendly energy plan.